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Bandit cnc communicating to windows xp via rs232

I have an old bandit cnc mill level II that I have been using with a dedicated computer running dos. It communicates well with the dos computer. The settings are MODE com2:110,e,7,2,p and I can just COPY filename.tap com2. No issues.

I am trying to hook it up to a windows xp computer and run it through the command prompt (virtual dos) with no luck. The mode command in xp has a lot more handshaking options (baud,parity,databits,stopbits,xon/ xoff,cts handshaking,dsr handshaking,dtr circuit,rts circuit) and I can't find a combination that works. I have tried lots of combinations, but I think it should be (baud=110,parity=e,databits=7,stopbits=2,xon/xoff=off,cts handshaking=on,dsr handshaking=off,dtr circuit=off,rts circuit=on) I have tried a few programs that run in xp and are suppose to communicate through rs232 but they give me the error "DCE (bandit) is unavailable".

Does anybody have an insight into this problem or a solution? Does anybody know of a good resource? Has anybody made this work?

I know the bandit is an old machine, but it has done the job we ask it to do for many years and we haven't had a need to upgrade.

Thank you for your help. Lane

Reply to
lmck2
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Lane, I'd give Lew Albright at Albright CNC a call. He's one of the old time Bandit guys. Has lots of spare parts in stock if needed.

You can reach him at: 406.587.7776 He's located in Montana

Best, Steve

Reply to
Garlicdude

Your cable determines how to set the handshaking. If your cable has only three conductor wires being used and the handshake pins are jumpered inside the plugs at each end (which is a popular "null modem" configuration) then all handshaking is turned off except xon/xoff, which you can try either having it on or off and see which works for you. Otherwise, "ring" out the cable to see what configuration your cable is and post back. Worth a try anyways. HTH

Reply to
Roger

I have got 7 lines hooked up (cd,rxd,rts,txd,cds,dtr, and ground). I was wondering if xp handles the "hardware handshaking" differently.

Thanks for the comment

Reply to
lmck2

I talked to len albright - he thinks its a software issue on the xp. I would have to agree since it still works perfectly on the dos machine. I'm still looking for an answer.

Thanks Lane

Reply to
lmck2

Lane,

Go to

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and dowload NcNetlite

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and stop wasting your time with anything else. Its free, and bypasses the Windows RS-232 problems.

ca

lmck2 wrote:

Reply to
clay

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RayM wrote: Would it be possible to get the actual pin connections of your cable? I am working with a High School Robotics team. A family donated a Bridgeport mill with a Bandit controller to the team, and I am working to get it connected to a CAM system. I have been able to download programs from the Bandit, but get an error when trying to upload to the Bandit.

Thank you for any help you can provide!

RayM

lmck2 wrote:

Reply to
RayM

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Would it be possible to get the actual pin connections of your cable?

Ray,

If you can download programs from the mill, that means your connection is fine. Sounds like your parameters are off for the upload process.

Reply to
tnik

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RayM wrote: Thank you for your reply. The cable I built for it is not a full null modem cable. I based it on the limited information I could glean from the bandit manual. (I would attach a drawing, but I don't see a method)

RayM

tnik wrote:

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> Would it be possible to get the actual pin connections of your

Reply to
RayM

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Thank you for your reply.

Give this guy a call. Len Albright was one of the early developers of the Bandit and has a ton of boards and other things Bandit. Friendly and knowledgeable:

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Best, Steve

Reply to
Garlicdude

responding to

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RayM wrote: Are there different settings for upload? I have spent a couple of hours trying different settings. I think that the cable I built, based on what I got out of the Bandit level II manual, is not quite right. One or more of the handshake lines may be wrong.

RayM

tnik wrote:

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> Would it be possible to get the actual pin connections of your

Reply to
RayM

I got the communications working between the Bandit & my computer after much trial & error, and a couple of conversations with Len Albright. Here are the issues I found & solutions: Talked with Len a couple of times, and ordered the Banidt communications manual. I Discovered I had the older POP board (02 version) that only runs at

110baud, async. The cable I built was for synchronous operation, so I modified it appropriately. Almost all modern PCs do not have hardware RS232 ports. IN Win XP & win 7 I found no USB to RS232 adapters that work at 110baud, even though you can set windows up to that rate, if you check with a protocol analyzer, you will see that when you get down to 110, it actually jumps up to the default of 9600baud. I know that the Keyspan USA-19HS works at 110baud on my MacBook Pro, so I worked with an open source developer to get his terminal software tweaked for 110baud operation. See
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for more info. I also found an open source DNC program, but the developer could not figure out how to get it to work at 110baud. See:
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I use BobCAD/CAM to generate the NC files with a post processor that I modified to use more of the Bandit's instruction set than the one for BobCAD.

So now I can send NC files to the Bandit without any problems!

I hope this helps other who may still be using this workhorse of a controller (even though it is long in the tooth).

RayM

Eagle Engineering FIRST Team 1138 Chaminade College Preparatory West Hills, CA /o)\ \(o/

Reply to
RayM

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