Uh-oh. Another Centroid Acorn update (4.16). Gah, bollocks!! ## FIXED ##

Centroid updates - some history:
I forget what version number I first installed (4.10, in March 2018??) but periodically Centroid have released updates that address bugs and annoyances. I struggled to configure the Renishaw probe and electronic tool setter (ETS) when I first installed them and found that subsequent "updates" required a fair degree of buggerage before I could reinstate the previous functionality. This was becoming rather tedious, requiring me to print out and manually compare the myriad parameter settings. Although the documentation is reasonably comprehensive, there are various parameters hidden away that seem to interact in ways that aren't at all obvious.

I've been running a stable version 4.14 for a couple of months now (March 2019?), so am loath to screw things up. However, the upgrade process has become more robust and (dare I say) successful over the most recent upgrades. This version seems to have a lot of thought put into it and doesn't require any obvious risk to the existing, stable installation. You create a "report" (backup file), rename the folder and use the various settings / config files from your existing setup to configure the CNC12 update (via the utility menu) and the Beaglebone Green settings (via the Wizard tool). On the face of it, it's fairly simple and idiot proof. However, as I seem to recall some (relatively minor) issues with the last update, there may need to be some minor fiddling required. I documented them on this blog, so if I find any loss of functionality, I'll refer back to those notes - that's the main reason I keep this blog.

Let's have a go at this:

Update to v4.16:
The update process is explained here on the Centroid Acorn forum.

Keith's done a video on Pootube. Looks pretty straightforward on the face of it:

Ah well, I can report that the installation went pretty smoothly. It's a vast improvement on the previous experiences. However, with the new version, I have completely lost ALL probing and tool setting functions. On the last update (to 4.14 from 4.10), pretty much everything worked out of the box. Bummer.

Opening the "report" text file for each version, side by side in a text editor, it's pretty easy to compare the parameters. I can't see any obvious differences, which may be because the "backup" procedure in the update process actually loads the parameter values from the last install. But if they have been fiddling around under their hoods (fnnnaaar!!), those original parameter values may now be incorrect, ie applied in a different way.

Well that was a waste of the best part of 2 hours.

Posted the issue on the Acorn forum and will have to see if anyone else has had the same issue. Or if the Stupid Fat Bloke has been at large again.

Time will tell......

The fix:
Well, I got lucky. Marty suggested I disable one of the probe inputs (eg either the probe or the TTS) to see if this told us anything about the underlying issue. I half-randomly chose to change Input 4 from "Probe Tripped"to "Unused" and as if by magic all the functionality returned. That clearly involved a great deal of luck, given that I could have chosen either of the other 2 probe-related inputs and / or selected NC vs NO switch polarity. But fortune favours the brave!

I tested Zref, tool length ofsfets and the Renishaw probe functions. I haven't done full validation testing by any means but it's got me reasonably convinced that we have a goer.