The leading manufacturer of Table Tennis Robots, Newgy, have modified their models during the last few years. Firstly to accommodate the larger plastic (40+) balls, and secondly to update to a better servo to increase reliability. Controllers may not be interchangeable, so this guide will help you identify your model, to ensure you get the right replacement parts if required.
The controller for the original analogue controllers (for the Newgy 1040, 2040) have not changed for many years, but the new digital controllers have gone through several changes. Although the models have gone through Newgy 1050 -> 1050+ 1055 and 2050 -> 2050+ -> 2055, it’s hard to tell from looking at just the robots, as they look virtually the same.
The picture below illustrates how you can tell the difference from the digital controllers:
The original controller, as pictured on the left, has not changed since the 1050/2050 robots were first released, although there have been several iterations of the internal PCB and Chip, in order to fix minor issues and improve reliability. If your controller becomes faulty, you must get the same replacement controller as they newer controller may not function properly with your robot.
The new controller that came out around 2017/2018, is designed for robots with a new and more reliable (Hitec) servo (a servo is a stepper motor that moves the head from side to side), and is not designed to be used for the older robots. Although the performance of both the old and new robots is the same, controllers are not interchangeable. You can tell the difference from the colour of the 9-pin d-type connector, which is black for the original controller but white for the new controller, as highlighted in red in the picture above.
Newgy made another upgrade to the controller for their new 1055/2055 models of robots. The old 9-pin d-type connector was replaced with a modern USB connector. This was a sensible upgrade, as many new PCs or laptops no longer have a old serial type connector and an serial to USB converter was required. According to Newgy, the latest 1055/2055 controller CAN be used on the newer 1050/2050 models, as it uses the same Hitec servo. Since the latest controller also has some upgraded features, as well as the more usable USB port, this is the better choice of controllers.
