The illusive Boxford 260vmc

[ecat]

See what you think about this http://www.arduino.cc/ or possibly this http://www.skpang.co.uk/catalog/prod...roducts_id=474 (http://www.schmalzhaus.com/UBW32/) plus http://www.cpustick.com/index.htm for any basic fans ( :confused: ).

The Arduino is the hobbyists choice at the moment for small projects, I think it rather costly for what it is.

The Bitwacker gives a lot more bang for buck, but adds some complexity to the software development.

They cost more than a simple chip + support electronics but both have free development tools and neither require dedicated programming hardware. In addition they come pre-assembled and ready to use... Always a benefit :)

Both are total over-kill for a rev counter + LED display, where they win is ease of use. Should you want to add functionality at a later date, they have capacity to spare - the bitwacker could probably drive your whole cnc setup and still have time to make the tea :)