RE: PIC DRO Revisited

It may already be obvious, but if you don't have the space for an old PC,
you may want to do what I did and use an old laptop. I don't have pictures
up yet, but I used a laptop with Steve Lindsay's DRO shareware. I tried
about 6 different laptops (I got them at a gov't auction) before I found one
that worked well. The Compaq 4/33C had the best printer port and worked
even better than pentium 120's or faster 486's (I still get a few errors,
but only if several axes are moving at the same time). You could probably
get one for less than $100 on Ebay. Plus, I can easily disconnect it and use
it on the workbench for other things, like connecting to a multimeter.

Here's my question...I also got an old HP scanner in the same lot and I took
it apart for the first surface mirrors (for my laser alignment setup).
There was a small stepper motor inside (about 1.1/2" square). Could it be
used for anything in the shop, other than a paper weight?

Thanks,
Tom

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Message: 4
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 13:46:23 -0000
From: "james owens" <wotisname@...>
Subject: Re: PIC DRO Revisited

It may be easier to use an old PC for the electronics, but this thread
started because of a shortage of space and the consideration that a PC is
more than a little over-kill. If a PIC that is reprogrammable is used the
software is not a issue as it can be rewritten. While the bugs and the
developemenrt work is being done the PIC need not be put in the final
position and can be left in the program develope board which is indeed
plugged into a PC via the parallel port.0
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