Originally Posted by
Datsurb
It is not hard do see that you are commitet to your dream of building a reasonable high quality PJ.
I personally beleive in the rule of 80/20.
It is quite easy. You will more or less get 80% result with 20% effort/money.
To reach 100% you are likely to invest 80% more time and money.
This goes for everything, and also building lasers. The really good stuff cost so much more, and for "non geeks" the result looks close to the real thing.
In your case, when programming is the key trigger, why not get some cheap components to get started. These can be sold, when the good stuff are found for the reasonable price.
Used stuff are cheaper, and selling used stuff, third hand, will not give a great loss.
Just a thought from me.