Hi I am looking at purchasing a Shopbot prtAlpha and wanted to know if anyone knows how these electronics interface with shopbots software or if they use another. Anything helps thanks Hunter!
Ah, an old BotRods controller! Close to 20 years old by now, perhaps. It should run up to SB3 v3.6.46, but since the SB 4g controller is basically a clone of it, it might be able to run a higher version (depends on the controller card revision). That said, if you're buying a PRT Alpha, I don't think it would work with the motors on it. If you did get it to work with the motors, it would only be an open-loop system at that point, and a downgrade from the PRT Alpha controller. If what you're buying is really a PRT standard, then the controller on it may likely be the 4G version, and is basically the same. No matter what it is, you'd be better off buying or building a new Centroid Acorn system for it. If those drivers are good, you could reuse them in a new build, but why, when you could go closed loop using current technology. Gecko has replaced those drivers with another version.
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