3D Printing Forum

Today I booted the HIctop MPK v1 Controller for the First time, an thought I had received a bad controller.
Most of the LEDS were blinking in a strange sequence the Display looked fine, though I was not able to change any of the limits.
Fans were on full the extruders on full, was thinking about returning the controller. It was ordered with standard 3DP12 firmware installed.
Making a few measurements, this firmware must be a test program. This was nerve wreaking it took a month to arrive from china when ordered.

knowing I can revert to the original firmware before returning controller, decided to flash Marlin 2.0.x an every thing is working correctly.
Still need to purchase another Controller to have a spare for both 3D Printers. Plus a MKS Base V1.6 Controller Board for my Pipe CNC.

I finally found a good board replacement....

I ordered a BIQU SKR v1.3 32 bit board with TMC2130 drivers. I would strongly suggest considering this board, if your going to be buying one. It was $48 all together.

@Chaco
You have not been around for a while.

Welcome Back.

My MPK V1 stopped driving the extruder stepper yesterday. Motor was ok (tested using Z channel). Tried changing the A4982 stepper chip for E0 but no change.
I searched everywhere for a replacement MPK V1 but could not find one. Thanks to @Chaco I bought a BIQU SKR v1.3 from Amazon for £24 but had to spend another £30 to buy the BIQU plug in drivers.

The pcb arrives tomorrow but I have to wait for the slowboat from China for the drivers. I hope it's worth it.

Meanwhile, I'll have a go at flashing the old board to use E1 instead of E0. Octoprint complains that E1 isn't fitted 'according to the firmware' on the MPK V1.

@chaco That BIQU (BIGTREETECH) MKR V1.3 controller and BIQU TMC2209 drivers has thrown up lots of problems for me. Firstly, the TMC2209 drivers Vref came set at something like 0.32 volts (Computer USB being used to check). The BIGTREETECH docs said it should be 1.2V but the pot would only get me up to 0.72v (odd since it's only a potential divider circuit between +5v and GND (so +5v must be too low). The TMC specification says Vref should be between 0.5v (min) and 2.5v Max. I still haven't solved this.

Sadly, the MKR board isn't compatible with the HICTOP mounting bracket - that can be solved later. meanwhile I mounted some 3mm MDF and drilled appropriate holes for now.

Next problem is the HICTOP display - having connected EXP1 and EXP2 cables I get nothing on the display. This may be because the MKR is shipped with diagnostic firmware - that's going to be my next challenge.

Finally, the board serial comms keeps dropping out. Though I'm pleased to say that, when working, I can now control my extruder. Perhaps this too is a problem caused by the diagnostic firmware.

At least I didn't spot any magic smoke.

So now I guess I need to learn about building Marlin.

I'll be happy when I get it going since all I've read about the TMC2209 drivers suggests my printer will be better than the stock HICTOP 3DP-17 I bought and if they burn out I can just swap them.

If anyone can make this journey easier for me I'd be glad to hear what you have to say (I have a background in hardware and programming).

Thanks for reading.