Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] About to start building a CNC wood router

In a message dated 5/10/2003 2:40:20 AM Central Standard Time,
madyn@... writes:

> Do I sense a little nerd solidarity forming here? :-) Would it help you to
> know that I still have a TS1000 with ZX81 motherboard?

This little "boast" at first inspired a sudden need to ADD to the jocularity,
as I have THREE CMB PET's running "CNC stuff" in my office, lab, and shop! (I
have discarded a good dozen 8032's in recent years! The old PET's were much,
much more reliable!) I hasten to admit, however, as soon as the "PC" came
to be, I immediately figured out ways to make the "parallel printer-port" on
those "do the same thing" (and that has some advantages, though later PCs'
clock-frequencies are SO fast on some of the later ones that it takes some
changes in the "delay-loop subroutine" so that the "machine-code patch" is
not 100% interchangeable among all PC's.

Now, in all seriousness: One of the most useful "PC's" to run a small
home-brew CNC lathe or mill happens to be the long-discontinued Tandy 1500HD
"laptop" ('91-'92?), with wall-wart connected, as ALL the ni-cad packs for
those have long ago passed away. (Price a NEW replacement, and YOU will pass
away!) That is a no-nonsense monochrome MSDOS mouseless little computer with
sufficient clock-speed for ANY home-brew CNC purposes; it is compact, NO
"wasted real-estate" with mouse-pad nor separate keyboard and monitor, as has
a "desktop". Trouble is, THEY JUS' AIN'T NO MORE of 'em! I got the last
four I could find on e-bay, and three of those are NG (but maybe "for
parts"?)

So... Any wizards out there know a practical mouseless monochrome laptop
running MSDOS/GWBASIC which we can find for less than $50 (well, not incl.
postage!)???

Discuss? Jan Rowland



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