So I've been meaning to post, and make lots of progress, but clearly neither of those things have happened.
1. The CNC mill is still not operational, because it operates off of this archaic thing called a "parallel port." I attempted to run a usb-parallel converter after installing linuxCNC on my Rose laptop. This was entirely unsuccessful. It's looking like I may have to build a new computer with a parallel port card, or try to order one from Sherline. Either way, costly. I could also just buy a bandsaw and do it more by hand. But where's the fun in that?
2. The controller I ordered at the beginning of this project needed to be reconfigured to adjust the voltage input (and maybe set to use voltage in instead of resistance). Regardless after going through the ridiculous act of buying a DB9-DB9 converter from China (I guess they just didn't put the pins in the right order when they made the board), and emailing support to get the configuration software for the (now obsolete) controller, it wouldn't connect. After asking for the correct baudrate, and trying compatibility mode, I still got a nondescript failure to connect error. Tech support, while responsive, didn't actually help, and suggested that the RS232 chip might be bad and I should just buy another controller.
I might be able to figure something out. Or I could just buy another controller. From someone else, clearly.
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