Virtual Printer SerialTimeoutException and Communication timeout

What is the problem?

I'm trying to use a Virtual Printer to take Timelapse videos... and I keep getting SerialTimeoutException and Communication timeout errors when printing. I'm not sure how a virtual printer has Serial Communication errors, so I have no clue whats wrong.

When using a VIRTUAL Printer, I sometimes get this error:
Unexpected error while writing to serial port: SerialTimeoutException: '' @ comm.py:_do_send_without_checksum:4816

or Communication timeout while printing, trying to trigger response from printer. Configure long running commands or increase communication timeout if that happens regularly on specific commands or long moves.

and the print just never continues

What did you already try to solve it?

searching the forum

Have you tried running in safe mode?

yes

Did running in safe mode solve the problem?

no

Systeminfo Bundle

octoprint-systeminfo-20211101140400.zip (29.0 KB)

Additional information about your setup

Version 1.7.1

No idea if it is related, but don't use the Flashforge plugin. The virtual printer is like a normal printer, not one that needs workarounds to enable communication and it might be upsetting it.

Also note that the virtual printer is not always the most stable. There will definitely be some gcode commands that break it, it is designed for testing the communication layer primarily.

Thanks for the tip! unfortunately I tried disabling the Flashforge plugin and I'm still getting the serial error. Does anyone have any advice on creating gcode that just kills time? it doesn't seem like the virtual printer recognizes the G4 command (to pause for a given amount of seconds) right now I'm just heating up and cooling the nozzle like 100 times, and I guess the virtual printer doesn't like that.

I know there is already a request to add a manual timelapse trigger... but seems like no one is taking that up.... so I'm trying to figure out a work around.

Why do you need to create a timelapse with OctoPrint? I have made this point before in various discussions, that if you are going to manually start and stop your timelapse why not use actual timelapse software?

because I can still monitor the temps with octoprint. I agree, there are other options for timelapse, but I still would like to have the temp monitor. I guess I could get a pi 2 zero, and have one monitoring, and one doing timelapse... but would rather just use my pi3

now i realize if I use a virtual printer, I can't monitor the temps...... so I guess my only option is to run different timelapse software on the side, or use 2 pi's

just realized I have an old raspberry pi 2 model b.... So I'm going to use that for the timelapse, and then see if I can write some script to ssh from the octopi, into the pi2, to start and stop the timelapse when the hot end drops to a specified degree...

I'm an idiot :slight_smile: .... all i have to do is write a script to save images from webcam/?action=snapshot, then compile them into a movie. No second Pi needed

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.