Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System

[email protected] (Joseph P. Sullivan) · Mon, 11 Dec 1995 12:45:07 -0600

Pete's description of the VME58 situation is accurate except that 
firmware version 1.4 is NOT recommended. That leaves 1.3 and 1.8
as the versions that are verified working on the MVME167 and MVME162 
(both 68040) processors. If anyone has experience with the VME58 on 
other (faster) processors please let us know. 

I have also done multi-board(up to 8)/muli-axis(up to 6) tests with 
no problems once the short address space had been cleared of other
drivers. Each VME58 take 4K of short address space so it goes fast.

I have not done a specific test for endurance either but have had 
no problems on the VME58s we've been developing on for a year. 

Joe Sullivan
APS/XFD

Pete's response to Tony: 
> I have purchased 3 of these VME 58-8 (8-axis stepper motor controller).
> To date, each of them can work individually under EPICS.
> I have used them to drive the full complement of 8-axes simultaneously.

> We'll be running 3-7 of these cards per VME crate on our beam line.
> We'll have 3 or four VME crates on our beam line.

> When I tried to operate these three boards _together_ in one VME crate,
> two of the boards have given me fits: "Access Error" is reported at
> iocInit time and vxWorks dies then.  These boards have been back to OMS
> a couple of times; each time OMS tells me that they find no problems
> but have replaced one of the chips.  Joe Sullivan at APS is convinced
> that it's a timing problem that OMS can't see because they haven't had
> a 25 MHz crate processor.  OMS is purchasing a mv167 so that particular
> situation should be fixed soon.  Maybe then, OMS can figure out what's
> wrong with two of my cards.
> 
> I borrowed five VME 58-8 cards from APS/XFD here at Argonne and
> booted my crate with all of them no problems.  Talked to all 40 motor
> axes individually.  This confirms that my VME 58-8 problems are with 
> the two individual cards, not in my crate.
> 
> About EPROM Firmware versions:
> Joe and I talked about this the other day.  Version 1.8
> is the most recent version of the EPROM firmware that can be used
> with EPICS.  DO NOT TRY TO USE v1.9.  Your crates will get
> "Access Error" (or was it Bus Error).
> Other versions that work are: 1.3 & 1.4
> 
> (Most of these version upgrades are to provide the address pipelining
> feature to a non-EPICS user of VME 58-8 boards.  EPICS does not
> use this feature.  Apparently, we are quite sensitive to changes
> in the OMS firmware.)

> As far as running these motor controllers for long periods
> of time, such as an overnight data scan, can't say I've been 
> in a position to do that yet.

Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System

Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System