one thing that puzzles me...

Is the board change a total change out of the computer? or is it the
replacement of a cmos chip on the board. It would seem to be more
economical to change software versions with a chip replacement (you just
have to be careful not to zap the chip or damage the pins). Ofcourse
doing it this way would also permit someone to write their own software
and install it, test it and sell and distribute it.

Also what serial numbers are the newest rev of the DVR being delivered with?

Lyn J. Mangiameli wrote:

I've tried to stay out of this, because I don't yet have the latest
versions of the boards and so am reluctant to talk about what I
haven't experienced. That said, there is a lot of room here for
confusion and let me try to do what I can to clarify things with what
I do know.

First off, there have never been any clearly demarked "versions" of
the DVR, except for some differences in international configuration
(mostly voltage and spindle size). Multiple subtle and some not so
subtle changes have occured over time,but have never been graced with
public version designations.

The very first DVR's shipped to the US, probably under serial number
1000, has some physical differences in that they used a black plastic
end cover to the headstock and were constructed to be single voltage
lathes.One of the earliest changes was to replace that plastic cover
with a red sheet metal cover. Shortly after, the boards were changed
to offer jumpers that could be removed, that along with some minimal
wiring and plug changes would allow adapting the lathe to either 115
or 230 volts.

These early lathes all had boards and firmware configurations that set
the default speed at 1500, the speed advance by 10 and the minimum
speed at 250.On my lathe, there is no dynamic breaking, though I have
heard of some lathes of this era having that feature. I use a lathe
with this configuration, and have reported on it extensively in a
review for More Woodturning and which early drafts can be found in the
archives of this group.

These early configurations also had several accessories associated
with them, such as an extraction nut, a six inch aluminum
faceplate.They did not come with a handwheel. In response to customer
feedback, Teknatool soon dropped the extraction nut, replacing it with
an improved version of what has previously been an optional handwheel.
This is a great handwheel, that can be used on its own, or have an
even larger wooden grip added to it. Teknatool,pretty much at the same
time replaced the six inch aluminum facepate with a smaller
approximately 3 inch steel faceplate. IMO these were both good
choices, and the handwheel in particular greatly enhances the
usability of the lathe.

Multiple sometimes very minor changes in software/firmware programming
have occured. The default speed was reduced from 1500 to 600 to 500.
I think this is a good direction for safety reasons, as it reduces the
chance of thoughtlessly starting up the lathe with a large blank
mounted and having it at way to high a speed. In reality, though, I
have never had a problem with my default being 1500.

The speed and steps of speed advance when you are holding down the
speed change button have been increased in both size (I believe they
went from 10 up to 20) and rate of change. I can't comment on this
with certainty though, as again, I don't presently have the latest
boards. The increase in rate of speed change, is likely nice, but not
really a big deal for once you get used to the lathe, you will get
pretty good at dialing in exactly the speed you want from the
beginning. Still, it is likely an improvement for such things as
speeding up the lathe quickly for friction polishing, etc.

The reduction in minimum speed will for many be the most desirable
change with the newer boards. For people making small bowls, boxes,
spindle work, etc. the 250 speed was of little problem. However, for
those of us who like to work with large blanks, like to do deep
hollowing with cutting tools like the Profome, and most of all, like
to do low speed sanding and application of finishes, the 250 minimum
speed has significantly detracted from the usability of the lathe. If
these things are important to you, you will almost surely much prefer
the 100 rpm minimum speed that is incorporated into the later boards.
However, for finish application, you will still find that 100 rpm is
way too fast. Most of us reluctantly live with this drawback to gain
the other many advantages which come with the DVR.

There are a lot of other changes that have been taking place with
board changes that few will even been aware of, at least by name.
There have been changes in speed control, current limiting, and the
like, some of which were overall improvements, others which traded one
set of problems for another.

At this particular moment, most lathes in stock will likely have
boards with software revision 4.13c. The latest software revision in
the pipeline is 4.13d. I will be obtaining within the next couple of
months the latest version of the boards and software. After a little
time with it I will then post an extended user report and update to my
original review on the DVR.

All this talk of software revisions and board changes should not, IMO,
become too much of a focus in one's purchase decision. Teknatool has
every intention of allowing existing DVR owners to be able to upgrade
their DVR with new boards or headstocks, for moderate cost. Of course
unless there is little sense in getting new boards until a significant
change in usability can be achieved. I suspect that Teknatool has not
been advertising the software revisions at this point because they are
waiting until they can present current owners with a substantial step
up in usability. For a few, the drop in minimum speed to 100 will
represent that increase in usability, but for most, and perhaps when
compared to potential changes still in the R&D pipeline, the big jump
in usability has not yet been released.

So, I will be able to speak with a bit more authority on this in a
couple of months, but for now, I'd say any of the configurations that
have a red sheet metal headstock cover plate will be quite functional,
and all versions will allow for easy upgrading in the future.

Lyn

Oh, as an aside, in that More Woodturning article are photos of the
boards exposed and half out of the headstock casting. Changing the
boards does require some time and effort, but is easily accomplished
wth a minimum of commonly available tools.

william kossack wrote:

As I continue to research what lathe to buy I've made some disoveries
about the DVR

There are 3 different versions of the DVR
the first was made a couple years ago
the second was made up until recently
the insides of the frist 2 can apparently be interchanged but not
with the most recent version. Or is it that the guts can't be
interchanged or that the computer cant be interchanged? I'm not sure.

the man difference that I have been able to find is the default
starting speed on the first is 1500 rpm, on the 2nd and 3rd is 600
rpm but the 3rd can run at 100 rpm (100 rpm is really slow for a
lathe). There are some cosmetic differences in the headstock. The
computer is also supposed to be faster on the 3rd version meaning
that it reacts faster and settings can be changed maybe a bit faster.

Another difference is that I think only the 2nd and 3rd versions can
be converted to run at 240 volts. At that power the lathe has more
torque at lower speeds. Again I'm not sure about this so if anyone
know differently please fill in.

The real question is what other differences exist in the newer
version of this lathe. For example, are they making it better or
more cheeply. I have not heard too many complaints about the quality
or the capabilities of any version of the lathe. But are they fixing
mistakes or problems in the earlier versions. Or are they trying to
increase their profit margin on the product. Except for american
car compainies and microsoft!-) companies don't make changes in
products just to change them because there is cost associated with
these changes and hassles in supporting different versions in the
long run....unless support is dropped such as in the microsoft
business model

I am still looking.