975 replies to this topic

[Cameron]

Weird... I thought I posted this on this thread, but it ended up on the other one about CCD EOL... 

Reposting over here:

Happily finally doing the DOF portion of my cabinet with a full Pinscape implementation.

The v2 guide has been amazingly helpful and informative!

 

mjr, I'm glad to help with adding additional sections to the documentation if you would like help with that.

Just let me know. Can't PM you here or would have done that.

 

Thanks!

 

Cameron

[mjr]

mjr, I'm glad to help with adding additional sections to the documentation if you would like help with that.

Just let me know. Can't PM you here or would have done that.

 

Thanks for the offer!  Definitely let me know if you have any sections in mind you'd like to take on.

[mjr]

I figured out by turning off the "Reset on disconnect" option in the Pinscape setup I'm back to my normal behaviour.  Can I keep this turned off? With either setting, when I enable sleep mode, the KL25Z is flashing red quickly twice which seems to make sense. I had a quick look at power management in Windows and the box for allowing the device to bring the PC out of sleep mode is actually greyed out and unchecked. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place. I was just concerned with turning this setting off.

 

It's perfectly fine to leave that turned off as long as it's working for you - specifically, if the KL25Z reliably re-connects to USB each time you boot.  The whole point of the auto-reboot is to work around weird connection problems that happen with some USB chip sets, where the device won't re-connect on its own after reboots or after power cycles or whatever else.  Ideally, *no one* would need the auto-reboot enabled, because it's really just there to work around mysterious incompatibilities that ideally wouldn't exist in the first place.  If everything's working for you without it, it means that you don't have any of the mystery problems, so you don't need the workaround.

 

 

Also, I realize that it has been mentioned a few times in last couple hundred posts that I've read but I'm just confirming that the flashing green/yellow combination indicates everything is okay even though I have no plunger installed and "Plunger sensor setup" is set to none. The green/blue combination is much more pleasant to the eye!

 

Right, yellow/green and blue/green are basically the same thing ("USB connection good, everything healthy") except that yellow/green has the added meaning that the plunger isn't calibrated.  

 

There used to be a bug where it would flash yellow/green even if "No Plunger" was selected, but that's supposed to be fixed now.  If you have the latest firmware and it's still doing it, it must not be as fixed as I thought it was.

[Dexjee]

hello,

 

i want to add a shaker to my pinscape setup. At the moment i just run a kl25z with a ULN2803A connected to control contactors.

so far i have gathered that the Johnson HC970 Series DC 6-12V is a good motor option. Additionally i would need a 12v power supply since the contactors run on 24v.

 

I´m a bit lost on which additional parts i need to connect it to the pinscape and how the wiring of the whole setup would look like.

Can anyone help out?

 

Thanks

[marc9]

Hi, you can use a fully assembled opto coupler board with your uln2803A. It costs about $7-10 and it is pwm compatible:

 

Or look here for other pwm and non pwm compatible circuits (for big toys like your shaker):

 

Edited by marc9, 17 October 2018 - 11:41 AM.

[Dexjee]

thanks for the reply i guess i´ve already read your blog post about the topic. (thanks for those aswell!)

 

so with your information - would this be the correct schematics? (sorry for the amazing paint drawing   )

https://i.imgur.com/78tj8dG.png

Edited by Dexjee, 17 October 2018 - 01:15 PM.

[marc9]

thanks for the reply i guess i´ve already read your blog post about the topic. (thanks for those aswell!)

 

so with your information - would this be the correct schematics? (sorry for the amazing paint drawing   )

https://i.imgur.com/78tj8dG.png

Looks good And you use the common free wheeling diodes inside the ULN 2803a in your picture. Good idea.

[savinte]

tl;dr; - when having issues with auto launch on zb launch ball tables like AFM and MM set the push in distance to something high like .5

 

ok spent all day debugging issues on my pinball cab.

 

I think i found a solution to my plunger zb launch ball issue (that i haven't posted about yet but am here now so that it might help others)

 

Issue:

on zb launch ball tables the ball would sometimes autolaunch

I was getting non stop <ENTER> key presses while this was happening

 

I have the kl25z board but presently the only thing on it is the plunger

I have the pins from the plunger set to 3.3V (J9-04), GND (J9-14) and wipe set to PTB0 (J10-02)

I have DOF configured to use port 3 on both my LEDWiz and Pinscape board (J1-06)

 

Sometimes while playing a push to launch table I would either start with autolaunch or during the game it would start to autolaunch

At the same time i was experiencing this problem i was getting the disconnect issue (i'd hear the usb disconnect, reconnect sound)

 

I think my autolaunch problem was simply that my plunger would not always come to rest in the same place

 

@mjr

I do have a question about the reconnect though

I feel like when the KL25Z would lose USB connectivity and reconnect that zb launch no longer worked and I had to use the keyboard to launch

Is this a known issue?

I've gotten around it for now by using a powered usb hub and I haven't had the disconnect since

Edited by savinte, 19 November 2018 - 03:23 PM.

[mjr]

I do have a question about the reconnect though

I feel like when the KL25Z would lose USB connectivity and reconnect that zb launch no longer worked and I had to use the keyboard to launch

Is this a known issue?

 

When you say "use the keyboard to launch", is that key also going through the KL25Z?  Or do you mean the actual keyboard?  If you mean the actual keyboard, then does "lost USB connectivity" mean that the KL25Z is completely disconnected now?  If so, that's obviously not going to work with the plunger, so I'd say "yes, this is a known problem" - it's a known problem that the plunger won't work if the KL25Z isn't connected.   If the KL25Z is connected such that its keyboard input is working, though, it would be completely unexpected that the plunger wouldn't also be working - you really can't have one "connection" without the other.

[savinte]

 

I do have a question about the reconnect though

I feel like when the KL25Z would lose USB connectivity and reconnect that zb launch no longer worked and I had to use the keyboard to launch

Is this a known issue?

 

When you say "use the keyboard to launch", is that key also going through the KL25Z?  Or do you mean the actual keyboard?  If you mean the actual keyboard, then does "lost USB connectivity" mean that the KL25Z is completely disconnected now?  If so, that's obviously not going to work with the plunger, so I'd say "yes, this is a known problem" - it's a known problem that the plunger won't work if the KL25Z isn't connected.   If the KL25Z is connected such that its keyboard input is working, though, it would be completely unexpected that the plunger wouldn't also be working - you really can't have one "connection" without the other.

 

 

Sorry, it was late and I had been at it for hours.

 

When the kl25z disconnects, it immediately reconnects

The lights are blue and green. However, the zb launch ball no longer functions.

 

I am able to launch the ball with the enter key on a connected keyboard not through the KL25Z

[mjr]

Sorry, it was late and I had been at it for hours.

 

When the kl25z disconnects, it immediately reconnects

The lights are blue and green. However, the zb launch ball no longer functions.

 

Strange; if you've got the blue/green display, it's connected properly, so that wouldn't be a USB connection problem.  Does the plunger itself work in that state?  I.e., not in ZB Launch mode, but for regular plunger tables?

[savinte]

 

Strange; if you've got the blue/green display, it's connected properly, so that wouldn't be a USB connection problem.  Does the plunger itself work in that state?  I.e., not in ZB Launch mode, but for regular plunger tables?

 

 

oh good question. I never noticed this because it always works when i quit the table and start a new one... So i did some more testing. 

 

1. Make sure kl25z is disconnected by not having power on my usb hub.

2. Load a table

3. turn on kl25z

4. push to launch and normal plunger doesn't work

 

So it would seem that after it reconnects its not providing controls to VP?

I haven't hooked up any other buttons like flippers to the kl25z, they are still on my old zeb board. I have a pinscape main and power board assembled, just haven't taken the time to figure out how to connect everything

[mjr]

 

 

Strange; if you've got the blue/green display, it's connected properly, so that wouldn't be a USB connection problem.  Does the plunger itself work in that state?  I.e., not in ZB Launch mode, but for regular plunger tables?

 

 

oh good question. I never noticed this because it always works when i quit the table and start a new one... So i did some more testing. 

 

1. Make sure kl25z is disconnected by not having power on my usb hub.

2. Load a table

3. turn on kl25z

4. push to launch and normal plunger doesn't work

 

So it would seem that after it reconnects its not providing controls to VP?

 

Well, kind of.  It *is* providing input.  VP is just ignoring that input.  VP scans for joysticks at startup.  If you connect a joystick after VP starts up, VP will never know that joystick is there and will ignore its input.  So with that exact sequence - start VP, connect joystick - VP will never see that joystick.  So that would explain the problem.

Edited by mjr, 20 November 2018 - 06:54 PM.

[savinte]

 

 

 

Strange; if you've got the blue/green display, it's connected properly, so that wouldn't be a USB connection problem.  Does the plunger itself work in that state?  I.e., not in ZB Launch mode, but for regular plunger tables?

 

 

oh good question. I never noticed this because it always works when i quit the table and start a new one... So i did some more testing. 

 

1. Make sure kl25z is disconnected by not having power on my usb hub.

2. Load a table

3. turn on kl25z

4. push to launch and normal plunger doesn't work

 

So it would seem that after it reconnects its not providing controls to VP?

 

Well, kind of.  It *is* providing input.  VP is just ignoring that input.  VP scans for joysticks at startup.  If you connect a joystick after VP starts up, VP will never know that joystick is there and will ignore its input.  So with that exact sequence - start VP, connect joystick - VP will never see that joystick.  So that would explain the problem.

 

 

Ok, when i tested this earlier i swear it wasn't working. 

 

So i thought to myself, well it can't be that hard to just listen for the windows event for plugging in a usb device. I compiled the latest vpx and was testing with an xbox 360 controller, but it was reconnecting find and providing inputs even if i disconnected mid-game

So I thought to myself, well maybe its the build of vp 10.5 i have on my cabinet... but it worked there too. 

So i thought to myself, well maybe the board doesn't behave like a controller, but i unplugged the kl25z, plugged it back in and it was reading the plunger pull back just fine

 

The one common thing though is that the zb launch ball doesn't work after i plug the kl25z back in..
I don't remember the table i tested earlier where the plunger didn't work.

 

EDIT:

more testing...

I hooked up an extra button i had laying around to Button 1 on the kl25z and set button 1 to launch ball in the VP settings

Playing on AFM i would launch a ball with the plunger and then disconnect the kl25z. 

I'd immediately reconnect it and let the ball drain

I then would try to use the plunger to launch the ball but it wouldn't ... however my button using the same board was able to launch it everytime (about 10 tests)

 

I was looking at main cpp on the pinscape controller source and notice wizOn. Just a uneducated guess, but maybe that state isn't getting turned back on for my zb launch port in the led wiz? I'm not sure how to test the ledwiz to see if a port is open or not for output

 

also... I was trying to download the source from os.mbed.com for the library but i keep getting an error page when i select Export to desktop IDE > Choose Toolchain 
is this hosted anywhere else i could pull it down?
nevermind I found a tiny zip link

 

Thanks again, I put together the pinscape boards but haven't gotten around to installing them yet. I might do another cabinet build to keep it clean

Let me know if there is anything i can do to help debug. 

Edited by savinte, 21 November 2018 - 03:05 AM.

[savinte]

More testing...

 

When I test dc voltage on kl25z zb launch ball pin PTD4 (port 3 in directoutputconfig81)  to the ledwiz (port 3 in directoutputconfig) i get 2.72VDC

After hitting the reset button on the kl25z or unplugging it and plugging it back in i get some low negative voltage ... BUT

BUT

if i then go use the pinscape config tool and go to outputs and ramp up pin 3 to 255 i get the 2.72VDC again and the push to launch works

it even works if i'm at like 50 on the slider and 1VDC

 

 

 

on a totally separate thought:

there is a weird thing with my version of mm the plunger still launches the ball when i pull it and let go. It doesn't happen in other push to launch tables. I am wondering if maybe it shakes the table enough to hit a trigger near the plunger? I haven't really dove into the editor 
it doesn't happen if i go slow, but if i pull and release it triggers

[mjr]

I was looking at main cpp on the pinscape controller source and notice wizOn. Just a uneducated guess, but maybe that state isn't getting turned back on for my zb launch port in the led wiz? I'm not sure how to test the ledwiz to see if a port is open or not for output

 

That's a good point - ZB Launch is indeed controlled by a DOF output port, so a device reset would clear any prior ZB Launch activation setting.  If you look at the DOF config tool defaults, many tables are set up to send the ZB Launch signal every time a ball is fed to the plunger lane, so those would restore the setting on each new ball, but others just do it once at table load time.

[Ciceronic]

Hello,

 

I've just tried the TV ON function, but I don't get it correct.

I have two TV's, both are turned on automatic but at wrong source (and since I cut the 220V they have forgotten everything at next start).
Until now I soldered two simple buttons (one for each TV). Each button has to be pressed once to get correct source.

 

Now I want to automate this, and bought two 5V relay arduino boards. Like this:  

https://www.newfrog....BSABEgI9IfD_BwE

 

They have three inputs: VCC, GND, IN
I expect the KL25Z to wait 10 seconds after power-on, then send a short pulse that trigger the relay on for 1 second or something,
and then turn it off again.
I can get the relay to stay on, or never turn on, but I can't get the pulse to work.

 

Any ideas, someone got this to work? How?

Regards,

[mjr]

Hello,

 

I've just tried the TV ON function, but I don't get it correct.

I have two TV's, both are turned on automatic but at wrong source (and since I cut the 220V they have forgotten everything at next start).
Until now I soldered two simple buttons (one for each TV). Each button has to be pressed once to get correct source.

 

Now I want to automate this, and bought two 5V relay arduino boards. Like this:  

https://www.newfrog....BSABEgI9IfD_BwE

 

They have three inputs: VCC, GND, IN
I expect the KL25Z to wait 10 seconds after power-on, then send a short pulse that trigger the relay on for 1 second or something,
and then turn it off again.
I can get the relay to stay on, or never turn on, but I can't get the pulse to work.

 

Did you build the power-sensing circuit from the build guide?  See "Power sensing circuit" here:

 

http://mjrnet.org/pi...de.php?sid=tvon

 

That's essential to the TV ON function, so if you don't have that circuitry, it won't work.

 

If you don't want to build that circuit, one thing you could look at is using the PinscapeCmd tool (it's included in the Config Tool package) to pulse the relay from a Windows startup script.  

[Ciceronic]

Thanks, great info. I didn't find and read this stuff before.
PinscapeCmd tool seems to be the most simple solution.
I'll give it a try.

[Ciceronic]

Hello again,

Now I have installed a small 12V gear motor to my homebuilt Pinscape board.
Everything works as is, but I’d like to reduce the speed because the very high RPM doesn’t feel natural.

Is it possible to set a default PWM value for the gear motor somewhere? Like 30% or similar.
The Pinscape Config tool has a slider for testing PWM outputs, so I have tried and know it is possible.

I don’t need different setting for each table, just a one time permanent adjustment.
Can’t find where to do it…