Mesa cards for BP412 Servo's

Hello Everyone,I'm excited to share that I'm embarking on a new adventure (BP412) in the upcoming months. To give you some context, I've previously worked with a CNC ISEL and an Emco 120, both paired with a 7C80 controller. These setups have worked well for me, but I've noticed that Linux runs quite slowly on a Raspberry Pi compared to a second-hand PC.Recently, I've been focused on working with a Bridgeport Interact 4 Series 2, using a 7I80DB-25 controller alongside a 7i76 and three servos. This setup has been running smoothly with a second-hand PC equipped with a dedicated Ethernet card.Now, with the new machine, I'm inclined to go analog as I believe it will offer better performance. My initial plan was to use a 7I80DB-25 paired with a 7i77, but I've encountered a challenge – the 7i77 is currently unavailable through eusurplus.I have a few questions and would appreciate any advice you can offer:
Considering the unavailability of the 7i77, would the Mesa 7I97 Ethernet-interfaced Analog servo plus I/O is a viable alternative, despite having only 16 outputs and 16 inputs.

1. Is there a chance that the 7i77 might become available again in the future?
2. What are the key differences between the Mesa 7i80HDT, HD-16, and HD25, and how do they compare when paired with a 7i33TA or 7I48? Are there significant variations in performance, especially concerning the number of supported axes?
3. As a last option, the 7i83. However, I'm curious if there are any noticeable performance differences between this card and the 7i33TA, 7i48, and the currently unavailable 7i77.

Additionally, I'm interested in understanding if there are any distinctions between the DB25 and the 50-pin header connectors.Thank you for your insights and guidance.Best regards, Andries Tuinhof

If you can find a 7I97 it should work as well as a FPGA card+ 7I77 if its has
sufficient digital I/O.

We are building 7I77s and they should be available in about 8 weeks.

Normally you would choose an FPGA card that matches the daughtercard
(so 50 pin FPGA cards for 50 pin daughtercards and 25 pin FPGA cards for 25 pin daughtercards)

A 7I83 is basically identical to the analog section of a 7I77 (with the advantage of isolation from the controller)

If you need an immediate solution, a 7I95T+7I83 will work for analog servo control

I'm doing a brisgeport interact 412 right now! One thing of note is that the encoders are not usable... they are an old analog style, and they are built into the servo motors. I believe I'm past that problem, modifying the encoder caps and mounting new encoders. I'm using a7i97t and 7i76 for more io.