Hi.
I’m just creating my first Mpcnc and lack a controller.
As I see the jackpot 2 is at a low price I was thinking of getting one.
I read that there are issues with it but is it functional for Mpcnc? And if so, do I need to buy drivers for it or are they included? Plus the ESP32?
Cheers
Chris
Is there a specific reason you want to go with the Jackpot 2 or is it just because it’s a little cheaper? If so, that’ll help answer the question.
The answers all clearly lie in the descriptions that you’ve hopefully already read through fully:
On the Jackpot 2 The outputs don’t work for PWM signals so you wouldn’t be able to add a laser module down the track and the board has some hand-modified parts which may render it less reliable overall.
Also in the description is that the Jackpot 2 has integrated drivers (so no external drivers needed) while the original Jackpot controller comes with 5x driver boards which is enough to run the MPCNC.
As this is your first foray into all of this, I would recommend the original Jackpot controller. It would be a shame to save $20 on a controller only to limit what you can do with your MPCNC later down the track, especially given how cheap the laser modules are getting and how popular they are becoming as a modification.
Also, don’t worry about the ‘2’ being newer and better, it’s really just the same thing but different and is also now a deprecated design, as far as I’m aware, that won’t be developed further or have any more of them manufactured. I think the sequential numbering scheme falls apart with things like this, where earlier revisions may be better in specific cases etc.
Great!
Thanks for the fast and thorough answer.
Then I’ll go with the original.
/Chris
Nice, good choice. That’ll also give you the most commonality with other users so plenty of people who can help if you run into issues.
You can mark my comment as the solution if you want which should show others that your question is answered 