7i80 and 7i77

uli12us wrote: I have an additional question. Is it possible to connect a differential encoder to the single ended inputs of the 7i76/77 card. Or otherwise to connect the A.B_ and A_.B together on the A and B inputs of the card?

7i77 encoders are jumper-selectable as single-ended or differential.
The 7i76 has differential encoder inputs that can be configured for single-ended use.

andypugh wrote:

andypugh wrote: I have a 7i80, Let me see if I can make it work. This may take some time.

I have it working behind me.

Do you still have it working, or did you already put the 7i80 back in the closet because it was buggy?
For my new mill I need more I/O, faster step generation and faster encoder counting than the humble parallel port on an Intel D525MW can provide. I also had a D525MW board break and they are becoming hard to get. New, locally sourced hardware is much worse in the latency department than the D525MW.
So I am really considering one of the Mesa cards. If only they were not so close to impossible to obtain I would already have gotten one

I would like to avoid the PCI bus if possible. The PCIe solutions are quite expensive. That leaves the 7i43 and 7i80. The 7i80 had more I/O and I really like the Ethernet connection.

I am not afraid of performing the install RT-preempt kernel / compile LinuxCNC / etc. steps mentioned, but will this result in a system that just works when I need to make a part? I do like to tinker, but I also use a mill to, uhm, do some milling from time to time.
Also, I am not really in a hurry. Building a CNC mill from scratch takes a couple of months anyway before the axes move under computer control.

DaBit wrote: Do you still have it working, or did you already put the 7i80 back in the closet because it was buggy?

I didn't find it to be especially buggy, but neither do I have any real job for it, so it went back on the shelf.

I would like to avoid the PCI bus if possible. The PCIe solutions are quite expensive.

That's a pity, because I would have said that the obvious choice is probably either a 5i25 or 6i25 and a suitable daughter board.
The 7i80 is still somewhat experimental, and typically will tie up the ethernet port (not such a problem with an internal WiFi card, I suppose).
Duzi.cz do claim to have a 7i80HD in stock,
www.duzi.cz/shop_cnc/index.php?main_page...h=1_4&products_id=54
I am not sure how good the latency/jitter is with an ethernet connection.

Hmm, I was not aware of the 6i25. Price of that board is quite OK. But of course nobody in Europe stocks it. But I might be able to order directly from Mesa. I don't care much about the standard breakout boards; I do have my own with all the extra functions I want and it is rock solid.

But even then I still like the Ethernet link. Single, small cable from (panel-)PC to control cabinet, galvanically isolated communication. One might have to add a supported Ethernet card, but Intel Pro/1000 cards are affordable and good.
I also cannot imagine much variable latency in a point-to-point 100Mbit full duplex link where only UDP packets are exchanged, but that is only from a hardware point of view. There is a lot of software in between.

DaBit wrote: But I might be able to order directly from Mesa.

Mesa have entered the 20th century and now have a web shop:

store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=produc...e=6i25&product_id=58

andypugh wrote: store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=produc...e=6i25&product_id=58

Postage is a killer though, $52 with USPS and $356 (!!!) with UPS.