[mprotec]

[mprotec]

sorry walker, this is tough,

1. look at the last two pics first...see the connected keyboard...
2. then look at the earlier photos depicting the connector with the relevant wired connection from the keyboard...
yes, you have to cut the original connector of the keyboard then look at the wires...hopefully you have the same colour like mine.

3. Then just insert into the orange connector onto the board.

This should get the keyboard ready..

[mprotec]

Once you got that ready and a copy of msdos bootable floppy...

Dont insert any floppy first... we want to see if we can go into bios to determine the motherboard is still alive..

When you power up press either the esc key or delete key...Couldnt remember but you could try them out..

DONT KEEP PRESSING THE KEY JUST tap it continuously or else the bios will tell you your keyboard is spoilt....lol

[mprotec]

walker,
My hands are getting tired for holding so long.....lol

So hows thing going now??

[cwalker1960]

Hey Mike,
I haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet, my paying job keeps getting in the way..
I'm going to take a look at it today and see if my connection inside the console looks like yours.
And thanks again for all the help..
Soon as I get it checked out , I'll get back to you..
Oh,, any particular keyboard or should a ps2 style work ? I have one old keyboard with the AT style plug on it if need be..

[cwalker1960]

here is what the inside of my console looks like..
Attachment 291722Attachment 291724

[cwalker1960]

my machine is running max32dsp ,yours is ultimax 3,, as you can see the boards in the console differ greatly from yours,, looking at the photo you posted with the keyboard connected the 4 terminals appears to be labeled with KB* connections . I haven't seen any connections on any of my boards that have a KB on them ,that would have given me a hint that they were keyboard connections ,,
wonder if possible to connect a keyboard to one of the serial connectors on the motherboard?

[mprotec]

Howdy,

No worry, they may make us confuse but still the same old basics....everything goes up always comes down( except your age)...

Look for TB9 in the front panel card...mmmm.. I think its the second pic...

I am home now ... the machines are in my factory...

I do have a unit of hurco hawk 5m running on max32... I will take some pictures and give it to you...

Anyway I have connection file in pdf from hurco but How do I load it here for you???

two connections... one from cpu and the other from FPC...I think its front panel card..

[mprotec]

second part.. of the document...I don't know how to load pdf files here...so I print the screen and attach here..


Attachment 291732

Hope this helps you...tomorrow i will snap the hawk max32 keyboard connection and post here!

Relax... enjoy yourself you will find everything falls into place...


Btw, what is 1960? Is that your birth year???


mike

[cwalker1960]

I had found that same diagram on the hurco website some time ago,, I don't have the tb9 connection on the front console board , but i do have the J6 connector on the motherboard,, making up the cable today to give it whirl ,, i'll let you know the outcome
yeah 1960 is the birth year
thanks
Clint

[mprotec]

yo,

1960! no wonder you are so grumpy....just like me!...LOL

Since you are only a few years older than me I will do it slower....hehe..

1. regarding the max32 and ultimax 3,,,,, ultimax is the conversation software from hurco...What does your machine run on???
could you image your diskettes and show me the contents ... then I will know what software you are going to install....

2. Max32 or blah blah blah is just the hardware of the computer system this software worked from....
What ever it is.... makes no difference just same old dos system pc.
Mind you it is one of the most stable platform to run on...

I have a sodick 450mc milling machine running on win95....I can tell you its ****ty....more than what you can imagine...
hard disk shorter life span... motherboard problems...bios.. problems....even the vga chip on board died....somehow...

Dos system are easier to work on...and they are stable...No trips or power down can kill it so easily...

Just all the basics...bios, hard disk, ram, keyboard...but you need to learn some simple dos commands...

Attachment 291792Attachment 291794Attachment 291796Attachment 291798

remember show me your diskettes files...


slowly,
mike

[mprotec]

Clint Walker,

After studying your pics with my friend... your 2nd pics at the right there is a connector with two sets of wires.... one to the lock and the other set should be your keyboard plug in...
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...4&d=1441551880

mike

[cwalker1960]

Hey Mike
Usually not too grumpy but I must admit this thing has pushed my patience.. Pretty handy on the machines you've shared photos of actually have the keyboard connections labeled with KB and keyboard markings, I wish I was so lucky. I started on bench wiring it all back together yesterday and got busy helping someone else with some other junk so not quite there yet .
looking through everything yesterday I noticed a plug marked batt on my backplane so maybe the darlington is off board somewhere , as you say I'll sweat that when i get there.
I'll include photos of my floppies that came with the machine but I don't have them here with me right now to tell you all the contents of them. I'll get that for you next post.the disks are max32dsp ver 1.54 disk 1,2 and 3, and configuration disk , and a hurco max utilities disk that I got from another helpful forum user. fairly familiar with DOS ,, remember I am ancient..
Attachment 291810

[mprotec]

hi clint,

Really? your name is really clint walker??? Well, if its true your dad sure loves cowboy movies....lol,,,

Remember the picture of my hurco hawk, actually I just got tru the whole process of what you are supposed to do...

Well, thank God, I just had it running again a couple of minutes ago....

Ok let me give you some points to watch out for...that is regarding the hard disk...


To be honest I have done this maybe more than 10 times but somehow I always make a simple mistake(maybe at our age its permissible) and started to doubt about the whole process.

It is actually quiet simple just have to do it step by step in proper sequence...

Ok to the points...

1. guard those original diskettes with your life...Make sure you get a clean pc and make a copy of all fours... minus the dos 6.22 and the utilities disk from our member.

2. If they can't be read and prompted to do scan disk or check disk or whatever by windows...dont...I repeat DONT do it.

3. Several important files to look out for in those disk will be your execprog001 and 002. Then the hurco.ldr , the leadsrw.file , lead.lan(language file).
And most important your config folder... which contain your machine parameters or system files.

If all these are intact... then the rest is easy...

The rest will be about this stupid little thing called hard disk... which has to be configured the proper way...

and it can be done quiet easily once you have grasp it...(like lurking in the dark for your torch)

Somehow or rather its basic do until you get it... just simple setting and formatting and copying of files.....

Don't put the problem too close to your eyes....it will look so BIG and block all the solutions!


Mike

[mprotec]

oya, I forgot to ask you about the picture of your 'front panel cable connect assy' card...

Look to the right there is a orange connector with two sets of wire out... One is to the lock...

WHERE DOES THE SECOND SETS OF WIRE LEADS TO?????

Please send another clearer and focused picture of that connector... it may be your answer..


mike

[cwalker1960]

Yeah it's really clint walker ,, was called cheyenne most of my childhood,, I think it was my mom that had it for the "big guy" ,,
I've got a step by step guide to reloading the hard drive and an old 486 computer i used so I could set the hard drive params in the bios.
All my floppies read fine and although I didn't make a set of backup floppies I did copy all the files to a folder on my computer so I could make a new set of floppies if ever need be. the step by step came from Bloke ( I think) and he goes into great detail about setting up , formatting and loading the new hard drive. combining the exec 001 and 002 and loading the bootstrap bin so I feel like I got that part right .. I'll have to look as to where the other wires on that plug goes to ,, didn't get to do much on it again today , helped a good friend work on his wife's car,, can't ***** though , he helps me a lot..
Attachment 291830

[cwalker1960]

okay on that tb53 terminal ,, 1 and 2 go to the keyswitch and the other 6 go to the card behind it labeled crt controller pcb2

[mprotec]

Howdy,

Yeap you're right its not there...
How the going?

I was thinking about making a video and load it sum where regarding the hard disk setting..any ideas?

Working on another hurco now...seems also the same hard disk thingy...sigh!

this one is seriously wounded...the spindle drive is kaput...After getting the controller to live, I gotta spend sometime to put in a new spindle drive and motor.

who says old folks have nothing on their mind....


mike

[cwalker1960]

I was going through my books that I got with the machine ,( I have all the wiring schemes for it),, and the cable that runs from the motherboard connection CPU J6 to the Front panel control board TB9 is listed as optional .. apparently an option that I do not have ,, so I will have to attach the keyboard directly to the motherboard J6 connector on my machine..
hurco keyboard interface for max32
http://www.hurco.com/us/support/FAQ/...rd-harness.pdf
Well,,I've been back at work (paying job seriously gets in the way of working on my own junk) so I haven't had much time to get really involved with it..As I said earlier, I have already removed everything from the machine so I'm setting it all up on a table and reconnecting everything I see necessary to fire the computer up. Most everything just plugged back together but I'm going to have to make up a cable to put power back to the console.
At any rate , I was mostly going through the manual trying to figure the pinouts on the servo drives and encoders, etc. to see just how difficult it would be for a conversion to linux cnc ,, (you know , just in case I can't get the hurco computer back up) and I really don't think it'll be that bad. I am confident that I can get the x,y and z servos working fairly quick as I do have some experience in building cnc stuff ( built my own plasma table from scratch, converted my old bridgeport clone to cnc and converted an Emco pc50 with step/dir servos for a friend) and some experience using linuxcnc. I can imagine there will be some time, reading and learning invested in getting the toolchanger back to going properly .(the toolchanger is my biggest fear)
Do you really feel like the hurco control is worth investing all this effort into if it's going to be problematic anyhow??
seriously , if I'm having this much trouble just to get the hard drive reloaded and the computer back up ,, it could be disastrous if I actually had a board failure if I were depending on this for my livelihood. And from all I've been reading, the CRT monitors and CRT controllers are proprietary(as in not replaceable with readily available components) as is all the other boards and controllers. These parts are not going to be available or repairable forever so I'm still in favor of just doing the swap and get it over with , then I will be in control when something fails .. and it will be fairly inexpensive , modern components readily available,, as it stands right now even if I do get the hurco controls back up and running something else could go out ,, personality board failure ?? a person would be at the mercy of the used parts market or slam finished . I guess my point is , right now I have a real job and am working towards getting all my machines in place and running properly ,, and getting even deeper into the market before even considering quitting work. Right now I make a few custom parts and do repairs on hard to find replacement parts for old cars and motorcycles. In fact i intend to do this part time until it becomes more of a burden than an asset to go to work (my real job). When that day comes (if ever) I want to know my machines inside and out . i want to be able to get back to work (and making money) as soon as possible without any glitches . And having a machine down, trying to find an obscure, no longer available, used "maybe it still works" part is unacceptable.. Even though I am just doing this part time right now and make little to no money at it (everything i do make goes into buying more machines or repairing the old stuff I have or buying more tooling) i have to think of the position I would be in if this were my full time job and this very important piece of machinery was down, as it is now.. i don't know what to do to it ,,even though I know a lot more about it now than I did many months ago when i bought it , I am still reliant on the good people such as yourself and others on this and various other forums for information to help me out.. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the help you and others have been but still , if this were my main source of income , I would be starving by now.. To me,, even though it takes me longer to make it happen and a lot of work into it that I am not getting paid for, i feel more secure in a machine that I rebuilt, knowing every aspect of it , knowing exactly what it can and can't do, knowing exactly what is wrong when something goes wrong , than i would feel with a brand new machine that i couldn't work on myself..
The iron is good,the ballscrews and bearings can be replaced when needed,, servo motors and drives can be swapped out with more modern components as needed or as I can afford,, Right now , I see the computer and motion controller as my weak spot and I feel more than confident that I can handle the task of replacing the large majority of it.. and when I do get it back to running on linuxcnc, even if it does take me months or longer to work out the toolchanger , i can still use the machine doing manual tool changes till I get that worked out..
With that , I really appreciate you hanging in there with me because i do still want to see this hurco computer run if for no other reason than to be able to say "I"ve done that". besides it's been cutting my *ss long enough , it's time to get some satisfaction..
(edited to add this for other hurco inquiring minds )
and also to complete the task so others will know in the future.. It seems as when you find a post like this ,, either the 2 mostly involved start a private conversation or the inquirer figures the rest out on his own and they never finish it up to let other readers know the outcome. i think we have detailed the circumstances I was faced with and it could be that my machine is just different from most or i am just totally missing something.
The notes in this link are very detailed and are exactly the way I proceeded when I formatted and loaded all the software on my hard drive.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...Byszi9LLU/edit
Another user (I think from this forum) was kind enough to give me a link to the hurco utilities file which I was having no luck at locating until then. I am including a link to that file and I hope he doesn't mind. If I hear different I will remove it.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzQ...k2SFI0Z1U/view
I have all the disks for hurco max32 ver 1.54 but I don't know if it's any kind of copyright infringement against posting them so I won't, but if anyone has this version with perhaps a missing or corrupted disk, I think it would be okay to share so just contact me. If I am wrong in my thought on this, someone let me know and I will remove the offer.
There is also a link at the top of this post from the hurco website on the pinouts to construct a keyboard connection to the max32 system that does not have the keyboard port on the console.
For readers , I bought this machine (bmc 30 , 1990 model) from an auction. The machine was fairly clean and actually looked pretty decent considering the age. The electrical cabinets looked clean and tidy (nothing missing or disconnected or wiring "butchered up". The cover was removed from the spindle motor as was the fan, and some wires had been shifted around on the spindle motor. Visual inspection showed a lot of aluminum swarf in the spindle motor. No guarantees mind you , but I was hopeful that the spindle motor was the cause of them deciding to sell the machine and all else still functioned. Got it home , cut power to the spindle drive (so not to cause any more damage), got power to it, fired it up and <<WELL>> nothing but a blinking cursor at the bottom left of the left screen. time to read,,,,, a lot,,,..
plenty of manuals, a set of floppies and various other literature was included in the back panel compartment.. Stuck the first floppy in the drive and powered it back up,, it indicated it was loading executive_001. when it called for the second floppy I got a "disk subsystem failed to initialize".. More reading .. Discovered that the hard disk had been completely erased,, WIPED.. no partitions , no format , no nothing, presumably to protect precious parts files...So after months of reading and doing and trying various things that others had recommended with still no success this is where we are today.. Ive even read one post from a very well respected hurco "tech / dealer" (not sure, but I know he knows a lot about them) mention that if complete hard drive failure occurs on this particular machine it might "be a wrap".. I'm thinking the cause being is the bios on this machine may not be accessible and if the drive isn't set up to match what the bios is expecting the computer won't recognize it. One thing leading me to this conclusion is I have seen it posted more than once is the old hard drive (even if bad) need to be placed in an old PC and write down the settings for the C/H/S , when building the new hard drive set the PC bios hard drive config to those settings.. What I have noticed after attempting to create a new hard drive for this machine is, even though there is no physical way for you to change the geometry of a hard drive, once you set the bios on the PC to a certain setting and fdisk the hard drive and format it , it will take on the settings imposed on it by the PC. At any rate I am certain that I have followed the instructions of creating a new hard drive (many times now, with several different hard drives) to the letter and the best I can tell is my machine is still not recognizing the hard drive ..Please, no one take my words as gospel here because this is simply my interpretation of what I have read over the months. And by all means if I am missing the "big picture" and you have something to share or add to this please do.
One thing that I didn't do and wish I had before removing the controller from my machine is try a DOS disk in the floppy drive. Hopefully I will get it set back up and have the chance to try it.

[mprotec]

clint,

After two minutes i had to squint my eyes to read the rest.. but being as old as you... I patiently read everything...lol..

You see, one thing I noticed is you never got the first step confirmed before going into the second... meaning : you have to be certain you can boot into bios before anything else...

that is to ensure the motherboard is intact...then only we go into drives.. wether floppy or hard disk...this is basic pc .

You are right about those many boards that hurco come with... and we have no way of controlling any of it...and more problems from these boards..
but that is life... the conversational programming is definitely a plus with hurco..but the ass pain is also overwhelming at times.

Thats why I finally retrofitted one unit with a chinese cnc controller with all the new servos and spindle motor and drives..still in progress though..

Why I do it is because its cheap...anything spoiled I just stripped it and replace and send the spoilt unit to china for repair...cheap cheap and cheap.

My first retro lathe machine was 10 years ago with this cheap controller and its still running...

Looking at the market for old cnc machines with ONLY broken down controllers in the States is real damn cheap...

So cheap plus cheap and then sell for low decent price is a steal but still brings the bread to the table...
Some jobshops really keep their cnc iron in very good condition but the electronics all get to them first....so...

Time to party... just learn to retro and make handsome bucks like me (for an old man like me those ten, twenty thousands a month is good money..heehee)

anyway, hurco is my first love... if i can get one going I will always try... and usually I will keep them until no spare boards...then retro and sell.

About linux emc...Its more difficult than getting that hurco done a thousand times...Dont even think unless you have mastered repairing a hurco first!

Woah!...caught your bug...i m getting toooooo long winded!....


patience,
mike