Is it worth it to upgrade from Power Pro 1 to 2

[dwberry57]

I have Power Pro Gen 1 that I bought the upgrade kit to when it first came out. Followed the video instructions and no problems installing. I have had no problems with it, but I am wondering if I should by the Gen 2 upgrade kit. Especially before any price increases.

[DLB]

I have so far chosen not to do this upgrade, but I sometimes consider it when it goes on sale. It was on sale earlier this month for $100 off its current list price of $469.95. What this gets you, in my view, depends a lot on how you use your Gen 1. The best features for me would be more speed presets including user-defined presets, and an improved "Confirm" protocol. So that seems like not much bang for the buck. I think the new interface between user and the speed charts is a significant improvement, but I don't use the speed charts that much. Shopsmith hasn't offered much explanation of why a Gen 1 guy would want/need overcurrent and overtemp protection, I agree that both are important but the control circuitry allegedly already provides both. Shopsmith has never released a software update to the field, so the ability to load one isn't currently important to me. Eliminating the motor's sensitivity to sawdust and dirt is great, but I don't think this feature works with Gen 1 except very late ones that have the Gen 2 motor. (And I currently suspect the early Gen 1 motor is better due to better heat conduction between motor and headstock, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong on this.)

Finally, when the current management took over I thought a Gen 3 was on the horizon and I would skip a Gen. A better and more mobile control panel with an Emergency Off was discussed, along with improved thermal management for the headstock. I don't think these improvements are on the horizon any more, but this is the improvement I am looking for.

- David