mtylerfl
02-18-2014, 08:42 PM
Well, I finally did it...took out the QC Spindle and upgraded my second A-Machine to the CarveTight yesterday afternoon.
Sort of almost a "sad" day since that QC had served me so very well since August of 2007 (bought both my machines from Sears under their tradename of CompuCarve). The QC had started showing signs of wear (very slight runout) and I did have a spare QC adapter for the spindle purchased many, many years ago. But, I've also had a CarveTight for that machine sitting in its original box for over 3 years, so I decided to go ahead with the upgrade. I think I may be in the minority of users who actually liked the QC!...it's OK...you can call me crazy if you want.
:)
As long as I had the machine apart, I also did the A907 upgrade with the newer 14-pin FFC cable, head termination circuit board and Z-motor pak (had all that sittin' in a box for years, as well). On a roll, I went ahead and swapped out the original factory LCD readout with one of Jeff Birt's Backlit LCD's (which I had done on my first CW machine already). I also replaced my Board Sensor, as I discovered during cleaning, the clear window looked a little "fogged up" over one of the "eyes" (I can actually repair that quit easily by replacing the window with another home-made one, but I put it in a baggie for fixing it someday-in-the-future).
The only thing I didn't do was replace the original sandpaper traction belts...they still look pretty new, not worn or torn or rolled under and they perform perfectly. Besides, I did NOT have any extra rubber belts on hand anyway or I probably would have put those on 'just because'.
Anyhow, it was kind of fun to play upgrade repairman! I only forgot to plug in just one connection...got a Close Cover error after everything was re-assembled, which reminded me to plug in the head harness! Duh!
EDIT: It just occurred to me to add the link to Jeff Birt's Backlit LCD upgrade in case anyone else was interested. Here it is:
http://www.soigeneris.com/backlit_lcd_kit-details.aspx
Sort of almost a "sad" day since that QC had served me so very well since August of 2007 (bought both my machines from Sears under their tradename of CompuCarve). The QC had started showing signs of wear (very slight runout) and I did have a spare QC adapter for the spindle purchased many, many years ago. But, I've also had a CarveTight for that machine sitting in its original box for over 3 years, so I decided to go ahead with the upgrade. I think I may be in the minority of users who actually liked the QC!...it's OK...you can call me crazy if you want.
:)
As long as I had the machine apart, I also did the A907 upgrade with the newer 14-pin FFC cable, head termination circuit board and Z-motor pak (had all that sittin' in a box for years, as well). On a roll, I went ahead and swapped out the original factory LCD readout with one of Jeff Birt's Backlit LCD's (which I had done on my first CW machine already). I also replaced my Board Sensor, as I discovered during cleaning, the clear window looked a little "fogged up" over one of the "eyes" (I can actually repair that quit easily by replacing the window with another home-made one, but I put it in a baggie for fixing it someday-in-the-future).
The only thing I didn't do was replace the original sandpaper traction belts...they still look pretty new, not worn or torn or rolled under and they perform perfectly. Besides, I did NOT have any extra rubber belts on hand anyway or I probably would have put those on 'just because'.
Anyhow, it was kind of fun to play upgrade repairman! I only forgot to plug in just one connection...got a Close Cover error after everything was re-assembled, which reminded me to plug in the head harness! Duh!
EDIT: It just occurred to me to add the link to Jeff Birt's Backlit LCD upgrade in case anyone else was interested. Here it is:
http://www.soigeneris.com/backlit_lcd_kit-details.aspx