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

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>>Do I sense a little nerd solidarity forming here? :-) Would it help you to
>>know that I still have a TS1000 with ZX81 motherboard?
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>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
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It wasn't really a boast...just what I have most recently picked up for
$1 at a Goodwill. An earlier trip yielded a monochrome ThinkPad laptop,
486, eraserpad mouse, etc. Nice little machine that is destined to
become my CNC controller, once I erase the scourge that is Windows.

As to CBMs, I just sold off 2 of them on eBay. :-)

>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!)???
>

See above -- I routinely pick up stuff like this for just a few dollars,
all over the place. Of course the fact that I live nearish to Forth
Worth (home of Tandy Computers) helps matters, somewhat. Their old
equipment is EVERYWHERE around here. I also routinely find laptops with
a broken hinge, for example Pentium 133, 1 - 3G hard drives, color
screens, etc, for these prices. Recently I bought 5 COLOR pentium class
laptops, all perfect, for under $30 total. Old Tandy stuff is almost
becoming collectible, around here...TI, Compaq, and Dell laptops show
up on a routine basis, though.

So, is it possible to run a CNC mill off my TS1000, or do I need the
interface capability of my old TRS-80 PC-1 or M100 laptop? ;-)

OK, we're getting a bit off topic, now. Back to CNC stuff.
Seriously...I know DOS Gcode iterpreters are available everywhere. Is
there a Gcode interpreter for old machines that ran reasonably standard
operating systems like CP/M? Or common ones like the TRS-80 series and
Apple II units?

Heck, my Palm has the same processor as some of the earlier MAC
computers (68K by motorola)...wonder if they're capable of control
tasks, without major surgery?

Putting these old machines back into service might be a way to bring CNC
to the true hobbiest level...not having to stick your $2000 desktop in
the garage, and all. I never really thought of the ultra-low-end units,
like these, as being capable...but it makes perfect sense. The
processing power needed to control several stepper motors is negligible.

-- Chuck Knight