Compu-Dobby II !!!

For a while I've been considering the idea of re-mounting the Compu-Dobby II that my vintage AVL came with.  The solenoid box was still fixed to the dobby box when I received the loom in February of 2014, but I removed it, stored it carefully with the other Compu-Dobby components, and re-attached the mechanical dobby mechanism and have been using that since.  I thought to buy a whole lot more of the wooden bars so that I could have dobby chains with very long repeats, but this did not work out, namely because AVL only sells the wooden dobby bars that are made differently from the old and cannot be used together in a chain.  Another option was to buy all new dobby bars and just do it that way, but to do so would have been prohibitively expensive - those bars are not cheap!! 


So I decided that at some point in the future I would re-attach the Compu-Dobby mechanism back on the loom, and this past Sunday I removed the mechanical dobby, stored it, and have put all the parts of the Compu-Dobby back on, and connected the cords.  I haven't tried running it yet, because I have to reload the software on another laptop.  A friend who is way more tech-savvy than I am is coming over this Saturday to try and help me get it running.  I'm worried that between the older-model electronics and the older connection cords, and the older software version, that it might just not work anymore.  But I had that same feeling about the mechanical dobby, mostly just from doubting my own ability to figure things out, which turned out to be groundless, and it worked well.  Perhaps I will be able to get the Compu-Dobby to work.  I'm pretty good at working with computers, but I'm MUCH better with analog technology than I am with digital; hence the need for help.


What's the worst scenario?  That the software will not work, or the cables will need replacing but are so old and possibly obsolete that I won't be able to get any, or that there will be other mysterious problems.  All I need to happen is that the solenoid box obeys the commands I want it to, and I'll be fine.  But there are unknowns right now that bother me.  That's kind of my pattern, to worry, but if the Compu-Dobby ends up not working, I certainly can't currently afford a new one, or a new AVL.  What I'll probably do then is to once again look into the idea of buying a whole lot of new wooden dobby bars and to reinstall the mechanical dobby.  So there is Plan B.  But I really would like this to work out and to become a viable system for harness choices for me; with the Compu-Dobby you can change the lift plan instantly, interject a few rows of tabby if I like, and such.  These are not easily done on the mechanical dobby since each iteration is connected to an actual metal peg in a hole.  Not insurmountable, but not expedient either.  So I'm crossing my fingers.