older isa bus galil with mach 3

[bubba]

Hi Guys,

Now that I see that the bugs are worked out when using Mach3 with a Galil card I want to make the switch.
I have never had any problems with Galil, it works great.

My question is. I was looking at the minimum specs for Mach3 at 1Ghz.
I am sure the computer I was using was not 1Ghz. Lots of ram though.
What happens on lower speed computers?
Can you even get a motherboard these days with an isa slot on it to upgrade processor?

If Mach3 will not run on slower computers, what is the best/affordable 4 axis galil card to purchase?

Thanks,
Joe

[NosmoKing]

I think the only legacy ISA slot Galil left is the good old DMC-1000, if this is the board you are thinking of, I believe there are previous posts about this and apparently the Mach plug in will not work with these Legacy boards.
Its too bad as they are capable of running a CNC machine.
I especially like the fact you can use standard IDC to term boards or make your own custom interface, rather than the expensive 100 pin I/O the PCI boards use.
Nosmo.
 

[smurph]

The plugin will work with the DMC-1700 series ISA cards.  But not the DMC-1000 series.  If someone were to donate a DMC-1000, I will try and make it work.

On the mach processor speed, the minimum is for parallel port operation.  Using an external controller such as the Galil, you can get away with less.  I have a 800Mhz unit running fine.

I really like the Galil Ethernet controllers.  Their DMC-21x3 Econo Series controllers are just the ticket.  If you are buying one, just remember that it takes a Galil axis to control a spindle motor.  So a 3 axis mill with a spindle will require a 4 axis Galil card.

Steve

[NosmoKing]

If someone were to donate a DMC-1000, I will try and make it work.

Steve

I have a number of DMC-1000 cards, but rather than offering one of mine, it should be in the interest of Galil maybe to come up with one, , if they are made aware of it.
Although a legacy card, it is still being sold by Galil.
If you are willing, I could approach them, or alternatively refer them to you, in order to maybe obtain one on a loan basis?
What say you?
Nosmo.

[smurph]

Someone offered me a card.  But I can't say when I'll look at it, as I don't have an ISA machine running that has Windows on it.  All of my older machines have had Linux on them for years.  To speed them up, you know... 

The biggest problem for the DMC-1000 is it's lack of a data record.  This means that all of the axis stats and inputs will have to be gathered via TP and such. 

Steve

[bubba]

Thanks Guys,

I will open the computer up and see exactly what card  is in it. I remember that it is a  least a 5 axis card.
I will keep you up to date if it works or not.

Thanks,
Joe

[battwell]

re fast motherboards with isa slots i bought this on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400073656229&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
just have to find a fan for it now.
i had purchased 4 brand new 1750 galil controllers for $100 each so i thought it was worth getting! arrived from china in just over a week.

annoyingly last night i  reassembled my first ever pc with 3 isa slots, an amd450 which seems to run mach .  whoopie! and it turned up this morning!

the amd450 pc  with 1750 installed and smarterminal registers the card .
mach with the plugin connects to it but then shows communication failiure after a few seconds. im hoping this is because i havnt yet connected motors etc as i havnt got the 100 pin lead and connect board. anyone got any spare they want to sell?
i updated the galil firmware to 2.2n (although 2 of the cards i have have firmware 2.2Q which i presume is newer unless its a special for a oem?)

cant wait to get this going so i can start to convert a very outdated controller on my big biesse router.

[kcrouch]

battwell,
I have several machines running using Galil 1750 cards. You should have no problem if you set them up correctly. Make sure to setup interrupt 10 using the board jumpers and configure the Galil Smartterm driver correctly for that interrupt mode. You should then have good communications with Mach.
Kenny

[battwell]

aha! read the instructions carefully is what i should do!  i didnt have a jumper on 1750 to select irq. !!!!!
had to set to irq11 as 10 had a conflict.
controller now registers straight away and mach3 stays connected

[battwell]

does anyone know where i can get the 100 pin plugs? seems theyre discontinued so its going to cost me $250 plus post to uk otherwise... doh!