Difference in speed: LinAXEPad vs Logicator PICAXE 6.0.7.5

[nerdegutta]

Hi.

I've noticed something strange. My setup is as follows:

Ubuntu 14.04 32-bit
LinAXEpad
RevEds USB - Serial converter

This works kind of OK. But I have to runLinAXEpad as root, or I won't get access to the serial port. I tried almost everything. I'm OK with that.

On this Ubuntu PC, I've installed VitualBox, and I'm running Win7 as a virtual maschine. On this Win 7, I run Logicator PICAXE 6.0.7.5, and I use AXE027 downloadcable. I have to run VirtualBox as root, to get access to the port. I'm OK with that.

Now here are the strange thing.

When I download the program from this thread: http://www.picaxeforum.co.uk/showthread.php?26896-Multiplexing-with-SN74LS47N from the LinAXEpad, the counter counts slowly up to 99, and starts over.

But when I download the program from within the virtual WIN7 machine and Logicator, the program runs in another speed. Much faster.

What is causeing this, and has anybody else experienced the same?

What I really wanted to do is to run Logicator straight from Ubuntu. That, I have not managed to do yet.

- nerdegutta

 

[hippy]

When I download the program ... from the LinAXEpad, the counter counts slowly up to 99, and starts over.

But when I download the program from within the virtual WIN7 machine and Logicator, the program runs in another speed. Much faster.

Once a program is running in a PICAXE its speed of operation should not be affected by whatever downloaded it.

The two possibilities are that the programs downloaded are not exactly the same or execution is being interrupted. Try unplugging the download jack plug from the PICAXE which is running slower to see if that speeds its execution up, and plug it back in to see if it slows down again.

 

[nerdegutta]

The program is the same. I only have one copy of it and the foders are shared between the Ubuntu and the virtual Win7.

I don't know what happened, but now it seems to work fine, but...

When I connect and disconnect the serial cable, the PICAXE resets.

When I connect and disconnect the AXE027 cable, the PICAXE keeps running as if nothing had happened.

Well, the speed issue is gone, and I have no clue whatsoever of what it might have been.

Thanks for the quick reply!

- nerdegutta

 

[geoff07]

You shouldn't have to run as root. Ubuntu/VB/XP/PE works fine for me as a normal user. Check 'Users and Groups' and make sure you have access to the necessary resources.

 

[nerdegutta]

You shouldn't have to run as root. Ubuntu/VB/XP/PE works fine for me as a normal user. Check 'Users and Groups' and make sure you have access to the necessary resources.

When I click Open or File->Open in LinAXEpad, the program terminates. That's happening wether I'm a user or sudo. Frustrating. Attached is dmesg | tail > error.txtView attachment error.txt
Got some general protection error in libpixman...

Oh, well... I'll deal with it later.

However, the virtual win7 works fine.

- nerdegutta

 

[geoff07]

I have no idea why it might be necessary, but the messages call for the installation of 'libnss-myhostname' which you can install using symantic or apt-get install. This may be nothing to do with this problem, but seems to be called for anyway. I would install it and see if it makes a difference.

Having said that, I don't have libnss-myhostname installed, but linaxepad just installed and ran fine for me on native 14.04, including the opening of files. Perhaps I have something else installed that deals with the same issue that libnss-myhostname addresses. The problem is to do with resolving addresses, which is conceivably related to opening files.

 

[nerdegutta]

Hi.

This morning I did a fresh installation of Ubuntu 14.04 32-bit, and did a sudo apt-get install libnss-myhostname. After that I downloaded/extracted LinAXEpad. Then I navigated to the extraction folder, and double clicked on the LinAXEpad icon. The program loaded and when I clicked Open, it terminated. Here's what dmesg says.

[ 5.656387] 2:3:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x84
[ 5.659380] 2:3:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x84
[ 5.676556] 2:3:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x84
[ 5.679499] 2:3:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x84
[ 8.489984] 2:3:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x84
[ 8.493556] 2:3:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x84
[ 8.521552] 2:3:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x84
[ 8.524876] 2:3:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x84
[ 23.643378] do_general_protection: 153 callbacks suppressed
[ 23.643382] traps: LinAXEpad[2561] general protection ip:b66d6926 sp:bfe9f9dc error:0 in libpixman-1.so.0.30.2[b6648000+a4000]

This is done after a reboot. I do not know what is happening. My motherboard is a Gigabyte F2A78M-D3H with 16GB RAM. My HDD is a Kingston 120GB SSD.

- nerdegutta

 

[geoff07]

Hmmm. I don't know what your problem is. If you goggle your error message you will get a lot of issues, the only thing that they seem to have in common is some kind of USB device problem. Your original dmesg file did mention a USB issue. If you have USB devices I suggest trying without them and see what happens. Otherwise you might do better on an Ubuntu forum. It isn't simply an Axepad problem, as that works for me and others.

 

[nerdegutta]

I agree. I do not thint that is an LinAXEpad issue.

I've search a bit, and I think is is and GUI issue. When using KDE 12.04, I had no problem. I'll think I try to install another GUI on that computer.

- nerdegutta

 

[geoff07]

It works fine on my Gnome/Unity setup under 14.04, so whatever it is it is deeper than just the choice of GUI.

 

[nerdegutta]

It could perhaps be an memory issue. Oh well, I'll live with it - for now.

- nerdegutta