Frequenty Ask Questions

General

Question: How does ADR technical support system work?

ADR will answer all of your questions concerning BTRs. ADR can be directly contacted for technical support. Our technical support phone line is manned during normal work hours in California.

Question: How do I buy ADR products?

Call ADR 949-252 1055, or buy from one our representatives. Payment is by credit card.

 

BTR FAQ

Question: Can the AMI drip-feed?

Yes, the AMI can use its 128K memory as a "first in- first out" buffer. In this mode the AMI allows any size program to be sent to the CNC

Question: How long can the host cable be?

4,000 ft in RS422 mode. In RS232 mode the distance is determined by the type of wire and baud rate. The RS232 EIA standard specifies only 50 ft of cable at 20,000 baud, but allows doubling of the length for each halving of the baud rate. 100 ft at 9600 and 200 ft at 4800, and 400 ft at 2400 is well within specification.

Question: What machines do you have support for?

We have interfaces for more than two hundred control types. On our main web page the supported CNC are listed when you click "Select your CNC"

Question: Can I continue to use my tape reader?

Yes, our installation adapts to the machines standard reader input so normally you can easily re-attach the reader or switch back to the reader via an A/B Switch. It is also possible to use the tape reader as an input device to the PC via the AMI, so you can read your tapes into your computer for later download to the CNC.

Question: Does the AMI handle loading of executive tapes?

Yes, the AMI emulates all the tape reader functions including loading of the controls executive program. You must convert the executive to a computer file, and have communication software capable of sending BINARY data via the COM port. This as a service ADR provides.



Tape Reader emulation trouble shooting

The 84 page AMI hardware Technical Reference provided with each AMI has an extensive section on troubleshooting.

Symptom: Nothing is happening!

Question: Does the AMI Green LED light up?

Maybe power is not being provided to the AMI, or there could be broken wire or loose connection to the power jack

Symptom: Green LED is ON but No communication!

Question Are you using a cable you just built?

Try using ADR's supplied host cable rather than your cable. You may have to move a computer close to the machine while troubleshooting.

Question: Are you sure you built the host cable correctly?

Check the pinout against the cable chart.

Question: Is your software set to use the right data communication parameters?

Set your PC for 9600,7E2 or 9600,8N2 depending on whether you are using ISO or binary data. Default baud rate is 9600.

Question: Are you sure you are plugged into the right connector on the PC?

Serial ports on a PC are eight 9 pin male or 25 pin male connectors. A female connector may be printer connector - or worse a document scanner - could have power on pins that could damage the AMI.

Question: Do you have the modem lines connected in a NULL MODEM configuration?

The AMI does not need or use modem lines - XON/XOFF protocol must be used - the PC may not output until the modem lines are driven right even though you have selected XON/XOFF protocol in your software.

Question: When you press the RESET button on the AMI do you see a copyright notice come out of the AMI?

If you do then communication from the AMI is ok, the problem must be one-way to the AMI. Check the transmit wire from the PC to the AMI. If the copyright notice does not appear then communication both ways is not working - check connections again.

Question: Is there a jumper on RS232 position?

(AMI has four jumper positions) You may have made a test with RS422 and forgot to switch back to RS232.

Question: Are you sure that there is not a conflict with another software program using the same COM port?

A mouse driver or serial printer driver could be using the port - disable these drivers/programs.

Symptom: Can get into AMI setup, communication is ok, but CNC does not do anything!

Question: Is the AMI connected to the CNC correctly?

Check that the cable/adapter is attached to AMI J5 and the cable goes to the right connector on the CNC.

Question: Is the AMI set to the parameters specified by ADR's application note for the machine?

Each parameter is critical to proper operation - verify each one.

Question: Is there a valid program in the AMI prior to you starting the CNC running?

Start with a short simple program - be sure it has a "%", "M30", and leader/trailer codes if they are necessary.