You can set the pull on the diagnostics page. If you would like I can make you a few macros to change the ranges. I use M41 low m42 , M43 and so on. Your analog should be based on the Motor speed... this is done so your PWM will not have to look at the ratio you are in. This works well and makes it very simple.

I am not seeing pulley ratios on the diagnostics page .
Would have expected to see a number of otions for pulley ratios .

Let me do this for you ... put the Mcodes in the macro's directory (need to be taken out of the zip file)

M41 in MDI will put you in range 0 M42 will do range 1

Let me do this for you ... put the Mcodes in the macro's directory (need to be taken out of the zip file)

M41 in MDI will put you in range 0 M42 will do range 1

Thank you for that Brian but you may as well have been speaking chinese there. What do I actually do with those files?
I cant open them .
Can you translate that into something that a dummy like me can  take on board .

Coming back to my OP,  Mach 4 really does need a Manual. 
Surely you will sell more if you make Mach 4 user friendly.   Maybe you need to have someone write a "Mach 4 for dummies" book.  I am sure it would sell.

Having said that I have made progress today, partially as a result of your invaluable advice above  (many thanks)  but in a great part through trial and error and  finding my earlier cockups . Please do not take this as criticism . It is intended as constructive advice as well as appeal for help..

In the mach4 directory you will see a Profiles folder. In the profiles folder you will see the profile you are loading and in that you will see the Mcodes directory . Place the files in the Mcode directory. You can open the files with notpad if you like. You can see what I did if you like

We have video's and doc's, the issue is it is never what anyone wants to have! Now we are starting to get people telling me that we have to many docs! You simply can't win .

The sad fact is that CNC is not that simple if you want to have a custom machine. We really work to make the machines how the people want them. The people that build machines bundle the software with it so the users don't need to learn any of that. The other people want to play around with the software and bend the machine to do their bidding. I am from the 2nd camp I love making the machines do my bidding!

Hope that helps! Also the guys are doing support everyday and I am going to be on this section of the form helping . I get a kick out of helping now that I am not needed for as heavy a development.
Brian

Thanks for that Brian.
 I am also in camp 2 having added a "Heath Robinson" style 3 axis conversion to a venerable Deckel mill  and I found there is tremendous satisfaction in doing something like that.  This was during the UK lockdown early last year.

Late last year I bought a small school type lathe to do similar.  X and Z did not give me any major headaches but Mach 3 spindle control  did  and hence the reason  I tried mach4 and came for advice .   
Not having vast experience on M3  lathe software (a few months at best),  I am finding Mach 4 very different and without some form of manual it is a steep hill for me to climb.

I am slowly getting there step by step , muddling through in a way,
I have started these projects relatively late  in my lifetime , never having had much time earlier .   So my learning rate is not what it would have been forty years ago.
I do have difficulty with the jargon that goes with computer software which does not help.

But step by step I will get there . 

thanks again

John

John, if all you really want to do is manually change Pulleys like Mach 3 called them, just go to the diagnostics page and type in the number. Thing is they're not called pulleys like Mach3, but Ranges. Simply type your number in, press enter, set to go. You, of course, need to set them UP, in Config/Control/Spindle.

I have a step pulley BP clone with 8 speeds, 4 of them reverse rotation. My setup in attached jpgs.

If what you want to do is get fancy, Brian is on it!!

Tom

John,
The real issue is that we can solve the problems like 20 ways and depending on what your looking to do one will be better than the other. You take this one chunk at a time and we will get your machine doing things that seemed like magic days before . peoples attitude will limit them more than anything else and your seems very good so you will have a good time learning and building.

Thanks
Brian

That is fair comment Brian
I will  spend some time this week following the advice I have been given and see where that gets me.


With regard to the "ranges" which  thosj speaks about  i can see them on the top of my screen.  But can barely read some of the labels , so for example I could not make out the word range .
Along with other issues I have mentioned in my configuration manual thread  makes me wonder if maybe I have problems with my download and what if any options I may have  .
I am running windows 10  on a 64 bit machine

It all has to do with sizers and the screen resolution. You can resize the width so you can read it better. We  Check the width of everything before every release. But sadly we can’t control how you setup the pc. I think we can set a minimum width ... wonder what that will do whatever you do don’t get frustrated, we are here to help before that happens!