Falcon2 - Faulty TF Reader

First post.

Took delivery of Falcon2 22W Laser Engraver today.
The instructions are to update the Motherboard & Laser firmware using the supplied TF card.
The TF card comes with a card reader(USB)
This appears to be faulty and my Windows laptop cannot ‘see’ it.
The laptop has an in-built TF card reader, so I can read the files on the supplied TF card.
The problem is, to update the Laser module you need to upload the firmware via the TF card readers USB connection on the module…!! :triumph:

Anyone had this problem?
Presume the easy answer is simply buy a replacement reader!

Thanks

Hi Dave.

You are talking about the SD Card Reader on the side of the laser frame, just above the USB cable connector?

I’d “try” to contact Creality support about this, or where you bought it from.
I haven’t opened one of these, but if the card reader is easy to change, that might be the easiest indeed…depending on the price you find it at…

In the meantime, you can always update the laser firmware (2 different FW) and use it with a computer connected to it instead of using the SD card.
I have used OctoPrint (in a Raspberry Pi) to control the laser engraver and have moved to a Mintion camera since - it allows to send the g-code directly instead of relying on inserting/removing a small SD Card (I have fat fingers).
The Raspberry Pi route isn’t that expensive - you can get a Raspi 3b for ~$50 and the software is open source.

So, yes this is an issue, but at least you can still use the engraver while you find how ot fix this issue.

Good luck!

Hi & thanks for your reply.
I mentioned I was a newbie :grin:
The problems have now been resolved!
I’m still on a steep learning curve in the lasering world so baby steps at the moment.
Do you own a Creality laser?
Rgds Dave

Hello @Dave777 :wave: and Welcome to the Creality Forum…Creality

Just wondering how you fixed the card reader problem…?? :thinking:

Hi Dave777.

Yes, I do own a Falcon 2 22w.
I’m no expert either, so don’t worry about it. We all have to start somewhere :slight_smile:

Let us know how it goes with your card reader issue.

Hi & thanks for the welcome.
I managed to update the firmware on the laser module simply using a usb stick!

The real problem was, on turning the machine on the the laser immediately started firing!!!:flushed:
I finally found the reason for this was the 8 pinned plug connection to the laser module from the controller.
In my hast to assemble everything I had bent a couple of the pins! Once this was discovered & put right the machine has been performing as it should.
To be honest, it is awkward to make the connection easily, I had to disassemble a little to make a secure fit. A design problem!!

So just going through now, the process of getting to grips with the machines capability.
Rgds

1 Like

Hi Zolt, thanks for replying.

I guess you will read my post about solving the problem, also it may help others that read this thread.

Pardon my late response, I need to check for reply’s more frequently!

Good luck on your learning curve :grinning:

1 Like

Glad it all turned fine after all.
We all do this - new toy, we want to start playing with it right away and cut corners a bit short. Been there, done that… :face_with_diagonal_mouth:

Cheers!

I had the same trouble with the 8 pinned connector, tried to fix bent pins, however not sure is working now, because there is another issue to read TF card on my macOS, Ventura 13.4. A pop up message says" the connected card not readable on this computer" and requires formatting. In this case I cannot get a backup of TF card as it is written on the documentation. If I ignore mentioned backup procedure and format the card, and load the two different bin files to TF CARD from Crealitycloud, does it work?
Any help on this issue will be appreciated,
Rgds

If the computer can read the card after reformatting it and you drop the bin file s - I presume you talk about the FW upgrade - on the card, if you see the “normal” behavior where lights cycle while the firmware is being upgraded, you can say your SD card reader on the unit is functioning properly.
If your computer recognize the card (and allows you to drop the file there) but you can’t perform the FW upgrade, the card reader on the laser is faulty.

Might also try with a different SD card, just in case.

Hello, this happened to me. I found out it wasn’t the SD card, but the USD “carrier” was faulty. I replaced the carrier with another sd card carrier I had and it works fine. This after reforming the SD card and all the waste that went into that. UGH.

What do you mean by ‘Carrier’? You mean the card reader on the Falcon unit? Or the reader you plug in the computer?

I guess he means the SD to microSD-Adapter?