Smart box / Dumb box was: Re: Signal gen Interface

Greg wrote:

>Are we now talking about a motion control card/box that takes care
>of everything so the computer can do other things. Would you be
>using something like the MC2840 PMD chips?

Greg,

It seems we have two lines of thought going here. A "smart" black
box, as you describe above; and a "dumb" black box which has more of
a 'plugin' relationship to the PC...

As to the PMD chips, or cybernetics, or galil, or oms, or... I have
been trying to point out that this path is well proven, but IMO,
unnecessarily expensive. And "single source" sensitive!

Of course, expense is relative. And now we go to the seemingly two
schools of thought (as expressed by list members) on THIS subject. "A
HUNDRED! bucks! No way!" or: "It's ONLY a few hunerd bucks to do it
THIS way?"

I do think that most of us do not want a 'card' in the pc. I think
only one person Wally? said he'd be ok with an expansion card...

Hope this helps.

Ballendo