Looking for 7I76EU firmware supporting standard 7I85 and 7I74

Hello,

I am using a Mesa 7I76EU board and would like to know if a firmware configuration exists that supports simultaneous operation with a standard 7I85 board and a 7I74 board.

My planned hardware configuration is:

* Mesa 7I76EU
* Mesa 7I85 (standard 7I85, not 7I85S)
* Mesa 7I74
* Two Mesa 7I84U boards connected through the 7I74

I have successfully tested the following firmware:

7i76eu_7i76x1_7i85x1d.bin

The firmware was loaded successfully, and LinuxCNC correctly detected all six MuxedQCount channels provided by the 7I85.

After loading this firmware, LinuxCNC reports:

* 6 MuxedQCount channels
* 1 MuxedQCountSel channel

The 7I85 board will be used to connect four RS-422 linear scales (X, Y, Z, and W).

The 7I74 board will be used as a Smart Serial Hub for two 7I84U I/O expansion boards.

While reviewing the Mesa firmware archive for the 7I76EU, I could not find a ready-made firmware configuration for:

7I76EU + 7I85 + 7I74

However, I found the following VHDL source file:

PIN_7I76x1_7i85sx1_7i74x1D_51.vhd

which suggests that a configuration for a 7I85S + 7I74 combination exists.

I would appreciate advice on the following:

* Is there an existing firmware configuration for the standard 7I85 and 7I74 combination?
* If not, is it possible to obtain such a configuration from Mesa or build it from the available source files?
* Are there any FPGA resource limitations on the 7I76EU that would prevent simultaneous use of both the 7I85 and the 7I74?

Any information or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
 

I can make 7I76EU  + 7I85 + 7I74 firmware but not sure why you would need the 7I74
as there are 6 available Sserial ports with just the 7I76EU (1) and 7I85 (5).

7i76eu_7i76x1_7i85x1d.bin is the firmware for a 7I76EU and a 7I85.

 

Hello PCW,

Thank you for your advice.

You were absolutely right — I did not need the 7I74.

I connected the 7I85 to the 7I76EU P1 port and then connected two 7I84U boards directly to the Smart Serial ports on the 7I85.

Everything is now working correctly:

* 7I85 is detected and provides the expected MuxedQCount resources.
* Both 7I84U boards are detected through Smart Serial.
* Inputs and outputs on both 7I84U boards have been tested successfully.
* LinuxCNC sees both boards after enabling the corresponding Smart Serial channels.

The final configuration is:

* Mesa 7I76EU
* Mesa 7I85
* Mesa 7I84U #1
* Mesa 7I84U #2

using the firmware:

7i76eu_7i76x1_7i85x1d.bin

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction and helping me simplify the system.

Best regards,
Roman