Calibrating problems

We’re high school students trying to set up our class’ new maslow machine and we’re really struggling. We’ve been trying to calibrate it for a while and every time we finally get somewhere the machine stops working. We’ve tried setting it up a few different ways by watching youtube videos but every time we change the setup of the chains and try to key in the commands to extend the chains the machine doesn’t register that we’ve pressed a button and it won’t move.

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear you are having problems calibrating.

When you start Ground Control do you see text under the arrows on the right that says “Connected” and gives information on the Controller board such as version number?

  • If not they you need to configure the port to which the Malsow is connected.

Do the motors respond when you are on ‘Step 4: Set Sprockets Vertical’ and press the ‘5 CCW’ or other buttons?

  • If not then check the connections between the motors and the controller board.

If so then perhaps you should test the motors ‘Actions’ → ‘Test Motors/Encoders’. What are the results?

  • If you get a ‘Fail’ then something might be broken. Could be poor connections as in above point.

If you get this far then have a look at the following guide for more info:

It would be helpful to get more information such as:

  • What operating system are you using to run Ground Control (Windows, Mac, Linux)?
  • What version of GroundControl are you using?
  • Are you using the Ring based sled?

In general try to be as descriptive as possible and explain what you did going through the calibration process (e.g. buttons pressed, options selected, text inputs entered), which stage you got to, and what went wrong.

One thing I noticed is that the calibration sometimes fails if you use the ‘back’ buttons. If you need to go back then I suggest starting the whole calibration process again.

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We’re running ground control on Mac and it’s the latest version of ground control.
Yes, we’re using the ring based sled.
We get to the stage where it says we have to adjust the chains to a known length, but the example given for the setup is using L-brackets and it’s not the same setup as to what we have so we don’t know if it will still work.

You must have selected quadrilateral configuration and not triangular configuration during calibration.

If you have a ring, then you need to select triangular.

I am assuming you are on " Step 11B: Adjust Chain Lengths - CHAIN OFF BOTTOM ONLY" of the guide.

If you got this far then the motor must have moved already. If they fail to move for this step then check connections and run the motor test.

The picture is generic and it does not matter that it shows the L bracket and not the Ring. Would be nice if this was updated though.

Read the instructions linked above, making sure that the chain wraps around the sprocket the correct way. When it is done feeding you will grab the long end of the chain and attach it to the sled. Make sure the chain does not skip or tangle during the whole operation. It takes a while.

If you get through the whole process find the ‘groundcontrol.ini’ file which will be in the current users home directory. Then upload it here using the 7th button from left (with the up arrow) in the comment edit window. We can then check it to make sure the calculated values are in range.

Let us know how you get on.

Please make sure you are using Firmware & Ground control version 1.2.5 which was released 2 days ago. Firmware 1.2.4 had a bug that caused incorrect arc cuts. Firmware and Ground control version numbers should match.