In a bit of a quandary here and looking for some input..... I purchased an older 4896 a few months ago without a controller / computer. Everything else appears to be present - electronics box with Mitsubishi AC servo motor drivers, 10hp ATC spindle, all other wiring, sensors, etc. A quote for a new computer loaded with WinCNC, daughter board, etc. (for the hardware & spindle the machine has) was right around $2,600. They acted like this would pretty much be plug and play. And for some reason they said I could not just go to WinCNC and buy a new computer / controller, it wouldn't work.

My main dilemma is this: ShopSabre ONLY offers two options for tech support on a second-hand machine - a one year plan, and a lifetime plan, coming in at $2K and $4K respectively. Need to talk to someone for 20 or 30min even for $100+ 1-hour block of time? Not even an option. Now, I expressed this concern to ShopSabre when getting a quote for the controller and they said they would not sell a $2,600 part and then leave me dead in the water, they'd get me going, BUT where is the line drawn? What if it works at first but then a week later stops? Do I then cough up another $2K?

All this raises a few questions:

1)Could I still contact WinCNC directly and pay their hourly rate for support if needed?

2)Do I abandon the OEM WinCNC altogether and go with Centroid Acorn + Clearpath Servos? (both of whom have direct tech support for an hourly rate)

3)Would keeping The OEM WinCNC controller increase the resale value on the machine should I sell it? (plus it would be new from 2018)

4)Are there other options I'm missing?

5)Do I stop being a tight-wad and cough up the money for ShopSabre support?

BTW...I'm ONLY interested in controller options that have support options that allow me to pick up the phone and get help 5-days a week if needed. So not interested in Mach, Linux, UCCNC, Open Source Controllers, etc. I'm not opposed to paying $2,600 for a controller, but I am mainly a hobbyist (at the moment) and cannot currently afford $4,600 or $6,600 to have support with it. I'm also not opposed to paying $90-$100hr for support as needed, but hopefully I won't need $2-4K worth of support.

THANKS!!