Keypad help

[FWMiller]

I've seen posts on keypad issues in the past. Unfortunately the term keypad is used so often searching the forum doesn't get me anything useful. So the "enter" key on my keypad stopped working suddenly and of course it happens when I have to get a project done by Thursday. All of the other keys seem to be functional. I just can't select my project once I get into the project menu. On power up I can move through the menus by selecting by number and hitting stop to back out of a menu. Are there any ideas or suggestions on how to get the button working again so I can get through this one carve? Thanks.

[swaggerstick]

This is probably a dumb answer but anything is worth trying. Could it be like a lot of other electronic things. Shut it off, remove the card, UNPLUG IT FROM THE POWER SOURCE, leave unplugged for 5 minutes and start over. You have probably tried all the above but I just thought if you hadn't, that it is worth a try. Good Luck.

[Digitalwoodshop]

Most times it is a ripped wire.

AL

[FWMiller]

I tried turning off power multiple times, unplugging ets. It seems it may be more than just the button not working. This morning I was poking around on the keypad and found that if I select the measure board option from the keypad using the numbers then it will respond to the enter key to start the board measurement. When it starts up to the main menu it won't respond to the up/down arrows but I can select using a number. It comes up with option 1) as the default and it will respond to the "enter" key to select the project menu but once I am at the list of projects it will no longer respond to any of the keys. I took the keyboard side panel off and there is nothing that looks wrong. I still need to look underneath where the cables go to the computer. I tried reformatting and flashing the memory card but that did not change anything.

[bergerud]

Push on the ribbon connector behind the keypad and maybe you will get lucky.

[SteveNelson46]

Try reformatting the memory card and upload the project again. It may or may not work but, its worth a try.

EDIT: I guess I should have read your 2nd message before posting.

[FWMiller]

OK. I unplugged the power and took the bottom of to inspect the cables underneath. Unplugged stuff and plugged it back in and noticed nothing that looked damaged. Put stuff back and tried again a few more times but still no response. I gave up leaving the machine and walked away. About 30 seconds later I was about to leave the garage and heard a noise from the machine as the z-truck homed and the board started moving. I walked back to the machine and it was at the prompt asking me if I wanted to keep under rollers. I went through the rest of the steps and now it is carving.

I guess I shouldn't ask why, just accept that the machine is gracious enough to work for me today. If no more issues I'll count myself in the lucky category today. Time to buy a lotto ticket.

[CNC Carver]

On large or detailed projects I find it takes time for project to load/compile on the machine.

[FWMiller]

On large or detailed projects I find it takes time for project to load/compile on the machine.
I had not noticed this before so did not think of it. My longest carve in the past was about 9 hours and I did not notice any delay. This one is about 3 hours.

[FWMiller]

I guess I'm not lucky today although I now have some more insight into what the problem is. About 20min into the carve the machine stopped and I got a message "power fluctuation, press Enter to continue". After pressing Enter it makes 2 or 3 passes and I get the error again. Seems like the power supply is getting flaky, probably the same issue that all the A machines have. Now need to try to find a way to save this carve before it goes completely kaput.

[CNC Carver]

I have noticed mine taking longer on recent projects. Just a wild guess at time to compile. FYI power supply can be fixed by local TV shop. Mine was done in about 5 minutes. Showed them the details Al provides about loose capicator. see here. http://forum.carvewright.com/showthread.php?25036-Power-fluctuation-error&highlight=Power+Supply+coil

[FWMiller]

Yes, was looking at this. Probably can solder it myself. Trying to get it to work for another 30 minutes of carve time so this project can be saved. But pressing enter every 5 seconds will take me a while....

[FWMiller]

Well, no luck saving the carve. Now I've got the power supply out. Looking at the L2 coil and the solder joint looks solid from the bottom of the board. I can't see the wires on the could side because of the amount of glue covering them. It actually looks like mine got most of the glue that the others ones did not. Any other things that could cause the power fluctuation I should check before I pay for the expedited shipping on a new power supply?

[bergerud]

I think the L2 broken lead problem was to do with not enough glue and a vibrating QC. Your problem must be elsewhere.

[Digitalwoodshop]

Here is a trick... A TEMP Troubleshooting TIP....

The L2 Coil is just a few feet of wire wound around a ferite core. AC or Alternating Current NOISE makes Expanding and Collapsing Magnetic Fields on the wire. The Wire or L2 has the DC or Direct Current power going through it... AC Noise is BAD for Computers...

The L2 is designed on the board to help eliminate the AC Noise on the DC Power making it cleaner... When the DC Power flows through the L2 WITH the AC Noise, also makes all the LOOPS of the Coil... But the Expanding and Collapsing Magnetic Fields get MIXED UP and CONFUSED.... Some Magnetic Fields ELIMINATE OTHERS.... in the mix up.... Making CLEANER POWER..... Like a Roller Coaster for power....

SO... Normally the L2 SNAPS just below the board surface and the solder joint on the bottom of the board WILL LOOK FINE like you posted... IF you hit the bottom solder pad with a Solder Iron and Flux the little solder bent over piece might just DROP OFF....

A TEMP TIP.... You can lightly solder a small JUMPER over the contacts of the L2 since it is just a few feet of wire... Try the machine, and if it powers up, you have found the problem.... I DO NOT recommend leaving the Jumper... I recommend fixing it properly... The Jumper is just a Troubleshooting TIP...

AND... Reading the Keypad Post I had a thought.... At one time LHR added a program change to let a TOOL TALKER "SPEAK" as the LCD Displayed new stuff... "IF" you were looking at some of the menu settings and turned ON the Talker.... Sometimes it will "WAIT" for a reply from the Tool Talker that is NOT Hooked up and would DELAY Key Stroke Activity.... Just another WAG... Wild AL Guess...



AL

[FWMiller]

Well, I decided to order a new power supply after working through some troubleshooting steps with LHR support. I was able to order one of the new CX4 power supplies thanks to the help of both Chris' in customer support. Paid for overnight shipping in an effort to get this plaque done on time. I might try the workaround if the package gets delayed for some reason. While I was at it I also splurged on the upgraded rubber traction belts. The guys at LHR were a great help.

[FWMiller]

My new power supply showed up promptly yesterday morning. The new CX4 power supply has a slightly bigger footprint than the original and comes with a new wiring harness. It came with a plastic bar, a couple long screws and spacers that allow you to mount it using two of the original mounting holes. It went in easily and I was back to carving very quickly. Even managed to get my plaque done on time. I'm still having the very long delay (30-40 sec) when first selecting the project, however after that everything runs at normal response times. It would make sense if it was slow in loading the design from the card but the weird thing is that the load time for much longer projects in the past has been so fast I hardly noticed anything.

[fwharris]

Great job on the carve!

I've seen some slow project loads also. Mine are usually when I am doing repetitive carves of the same project. The first run loads real fast and the rest have about a 5-10 second delay.

[SteveNelson46]

My new power supply showed up promptly yesterday morning. The new CX4 power supply has a slightly bigger footprint than the original and comes with a new wiring harness. It came with a plastic bar, a couple long screws and spacers that allow you to mount it using two of the original mounting holes. It went in easily and I was back to carving very quickly. Even managed to get my plaque done on time. I'm still having the very long delay (30-40 sec) when first selecting the project, however after that everything runs at normal response times. It would make sense if it was slow in loading the design from the card but the weird thing is that the load time for much longer projects in the past has been so fast I hardly noticed anything.

Nice sign and a great tribute.

[zan29]

UPS systems are the best for power fluctuation. Got one for 69$.

[unitedcases]

My new power supply showed up promptly yesterday morning. The new CX4 power supply has a slightly bigger footprint than the original and comes with a new wiring harness. It came with a plastic bar, a couple long screws and spacers that allow you to mount it using two of the original mounting holes. It went in easily and I was back to carving very quickly. Even managed to get my plaque done on time. I'm still having the very long delay (30-40 sec) when first selecting the project, however after that everything runs at normal response times. It would make sense if it was slow in loading the design from the card but the weird thing is that the load time for much longer projects in the past has been so fast I hardly noticed anything.

Is that centerline carving? I think that's normal when using that feature. At least on mine it is.

[FWMiller]

That is centerline carving. I've never done anything before with nearly this much centerline text so that would explain why I've never seen the delay before. Thanks.