I have a CNC on order with Mach4 USB controller.
After many searches, currently the only MPGs that officially support Mach4 are by VistaCNC (and they don't support all the MPG functionality as in Mach3).

See the HB04 manufacturer's website: http://www.cdxhctech.com/html/eProduct/137.html

Since I don't have the Mach4 controller or the HB04 MPG, can anyone list the functions that currently work with mkullman's plugin?
Is it possible to configure macros for buttons like in the manufacturer's plugin?
Does the driver support the the more advanced model WHB04B?

mkullman, can you post the sources of your plugin and driver so we could all help expand it?

@Zaidron  See the attached PDF for button functions that work with this plugin. they are not perfect, but work well enough.
Macros are a different subject altogether, the "Macro" buttons are mapped to Mach "signals" which you can than write a lua script to handle.
how to do this is handled in other sections of the forum

Unfortunately, as much as I would like to, posting my source would violate the NDA I signed with Artsoft. Sorry, no can.

@McClean I didn't forget about you & am still working on your issue.

mkullman,  I have read this thread and I can see that you have put quite a bit of work into creating drivers for this hardware to work with Mach 4.  I was wondering if you have ever received this error while trying to install the USB Driver. 

this device cannot start. (code 10)

During the installation procedure described in the readme.txt fiile this error occurs at the end of Step 13.  When I attempt to test the driver using xhc mpg test.exe the program works but indicates that the device is not present or the driver is not loaded.

I have tried this on two different PC's using Windows 10 and both have been updated with the 2015 version and the latest Visual C++ runtime libraries. 

One more question about an odd behavior.  When I first plug in the HB04 as I am monitoring the devise driver setup screen I see two new HID's pop up.  Both have the PID_EB70 code.  I've tried to upadte the driver of both which didn't work as well as one or the other.

Thank you in advance for any insight you can provide which might help me resolve my hardware/software issue.

Regards,

John

Toolaa,
The two devices popping up is normal, I'm not sure why but I see it on every machine I've installed the MPG on, I've just added it to the list of odd practices from the developers of the MPG.

Did you try both the x86 & the x64 versions of the driver?
Are you plugged into the same USB port that you installed it on?
are you using a USB 2.0 port, I never tested it with a USB 3.0 port(I think it should work there)?

Assuming the MPG isn't malfunctioning or some windows 10 "security" update isn't interfering with the driver, I cannot think of anything else that it could be.
I'll dust off my project files here and see if anything has changed with Windows that might be causing this issue. beyond that I'm at a loss.Under the hood, the driver itself is pretty straight forward. It is just an INI file that tells windows to use microsoft's own WINUSB driver and attaches a name to it. There isn't much that can go wrong.

Oh... which HB04 exactly are you using?

Hi mkullman,

you told us its not possible to release the driver sources because of an NDA. Would it be possible to release only the parts with the usb/hid code and how to access the mpg (sending coordinates and reading encoder/button events)?

Regards,
Steffen

These idiots not releasing their API is STOOPID.  How are you supposed to create a community based core that creates necessary plugins for their product.   No wonder it is so hard to find any boards that support MACH4.  This fear of Chinese hacking has gone too far.  I tried to get access to it to write a driver for a new card and was basically told to pound sand.

they do release the API, you just have to ask nicely and sign an NDA, just like many software companies out there that wish to protect their intellectual property.  They have to eat to...

As requested here is a link to the source of a test application I used to figure out the USB communications to the HB04, it contains no references to the API. half of it is plagiarized from somewhere but I don't remember where from.
sorry about the messy code (went through a lot of beer writing this and the plugin). have fun, hopefully it answers your questions.

Hi,

No wonder it is so hard to find any boards that support MACH4.

Rubbish there are some great Mach4 products on the market, it seems that you don't want to pay for them.

Craig

Rubbish.  I've already paid for $350 for a controller that is on its way back because of sub-standard drivers for MACH4 (WiXHC).  
Of the remaining < $500 controllers, they each have their cons as to why I don't want to use them.  I settled on the POKEYs57CNC, but the ribbon cable ports are atrocious.  I have a 32-bit 3D controller that runs Smoothieware firmware and they have a version designed for CNC that would do nicely.  I wanted to write a driver for the MACH4, but was subsequently denied.  I'm a software and firmware developer with over 30 years of experience and I'm quite certain I can make a plugin for that (or any other) board.  

And from what I can find, I can count the number of controllers < $500 on one hand (UC100/300, PDMX, POKEY, ESS, WiXHC).  If there are others, they are certainly hard to find.  Not exactly what I would call a diverse, well supported program.

this is a discussion for another thread