4G Upgrade/USB connection question

[tmerrill]

I plan on ordering the 4G upgrade this week for my 2002 PRT 48x96. My shop computer is an older Dell Inspiron 8000 laptop with USB 1.0. Here are my questions:

1. Is a USB 2.0 PCMCIA card required or recommended? If yes, can anyone give me a brand/model number that they recommend (or what to avoid).

2. If I stayed with the built-in USB 1.0 ports, what would I be missing? I currently use the serial port and haven't seen any communication issues with the speed of the serial port. I'm using a Milwaukee router, so the primary purpose for the upgrade is the increase in resolution, not cutting speed.

3. Any other recommendations or thoughts from those who have upgraded? I searched the forum for 4G upgrade and have re-read all the recent posts. Didn't see anything that concerned me.

4. The install instructions tell you to increase the voltage output of the original power supply for better performance. But it seems the drives can handle even higher voltage. Is their an advantage to purchasing a new voltage supply that will allow a higher voltage to the drives?

Thanks for your help,

Tim

[Towersonline]

I use an old Dell (older than yours) it runs fine on USB 1.0. No hiccups what so ever. This laptop is by far the best computer I have ever run on the bot. I have used 3 machines on the Bot and each had issues.

As for the power supply I did upgrade it to a 48 volt unit. Your existing one is most likely 24 volt. Even with out the power supply change you will be surprised with the greatly improved performance.

[tmerrill]

Thanks to all who responded. I received a couple of emails off-line, which were also helpful.

Placed the order this morning and looking forward to receiving it.

Tim

[ricks]

Tim,
Concerning #4. Check out this thread:
http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/messages/26/36474.html#POST77912
The new power supply was well worth it. Smoother more power and speed. I never worry about lost steps.

Rick Samish

[tmerrill]

Thanks Rick.

With what people told me and after talking with Ryan at ShopBot, I ordered the upgrade with the entire box, which includes a new power supply.

Tim

[jeffreymcgrew]

We had a lot of trouble with our 4G upgrade because of the USB 1.0. Lots of stalling, even sometimes when jogging at pre-4G speeds. Once we updated to a USB 2.0 computer the problems went away, never to return. So it was an issue for us.

[tmerrill]

Thanks Jeffrey. I decided to get a 2.0 card and installed it a couple of days ago. Works great with my flash memory card, just need to get the 4G upgrade to test with that.

Tim