Shopsmith Forums

wa2crk wrote:Dusty
Would you accept a remote on/off if it also contained a "confirm" button?
Bill V

I really don't know if that would change my mind or not. I don't think so.

If I could see a good reason for needing/wanting to turn my saw on/off remotely - maybe. I just don't.

This is not something I would rant and rave over but the thought does not thrill me.

The remote would be nice for several operations. One thing I miss is having the control when scroll sawing. Other saws I have had always had switch local on the saw, the shopsmith one I have uses the headstock so it is more of a step away. I hate it when I brake a blade and have to go so far for the switch. I normally rig a second switch near by which is within easy reach but it would be nicer to just hit a button.

The another use would be when using the bandsaw. Once in a while a small hunk of wood finds it way into the opening near the blade and I find myself attempting to hold the workpiece on the table while reaching for the off switch... Again after clearing the hunk away trying to still keep the piece in place while doing a restart. This also works with a remote switch.

When these fall apart is when you have a powerpro, if you hit the switch for the off you will then have to wait for boot up and reprogramming the powerpro before you can get back to work. A remote would solve this problem.

BTW as a safety the remote has a two second hold the button on thing. A momentary touch will not turn things on.

I see no need for a remote when drilling as you need to be where the action is to do the operation.

I too would worry about table saw issues but again this is a place where a remote start/stop comes in handy, especially when cutting larger pieces of ply or the like. Again I often will rig a switch were I don't have to crawl under or around a larger piece to turn on the machine.

It would seem some sort of remote off function that you set at the powerpro would take care of most of my concerns. Perhaps other work around exist but don't come to mind at the moment.

If the price were say $100 I would be tempted. I mean I could always remove the battery to make the remote inactive...

Ed

reible wrote:When these fall apart is when you have a powerpro, if you hit the switch for the off you will then have to wait for boot up and reprogramming the powerpro before you can get back to work. A remote would solve this problem.
Ed

Not sure I understand the problem here. You have a choice of pressing the Off button or flipping the main power switch to the off position ( the old way of turning the SS off). The system does not have to reboot if you just press the Red off button. Am I missing something here.

I continue processing this issue and find that although I had trouble adjusting to the new Power Pro start up procedures. I find them the safest system yet. Yesterday I built a scrap wood storage box. I made all saw cuts prior to doing the dado cuts. I came to the realization it has been a couple of years since I stopped using both momentary and on/off floor switches in my shop. I discovered that as I age I need to use all concentration available to keep all digits in place (yeah my fingers). The only tools I use a remote on are my dust collector, air filter system and air conditioner. One of Dust Collector remotes is attached to the Power Pro with Velcro.
The other remotes float around the shop as I move from one process to another. Those turkey's are always lost. I for one have no interest in adding a remote or giving up the Power Pro start up method. I pray for safety for those who do so. Jim

fredsheldon wrote:Not sure I understand the problem here. You have a choice of pressing the Off button or flipping the main power switch to the off position ( the old way of turning the SS off). The system does not have to reboot if you just press the Red off button. Am I missing something here.

I see your confusion. The off switch I was referring to is the one I add so I have a "local" switch. The switch is between the wall outlet and the headstock. If you have the old headstock then turning it on/off with this remote switch works fine. If you were to do this on the new powerpro then this is like hitting the main switch off or like unplugging the powerpro. When you power up with the local switch it does not start the powerpro it simply lets the computer reboot after which you would need to reselect your settings and turn it on, possibly having to hit confirm to restart.

This pretty much makes the "local" switch an emergence off switch with no restart.

Hope this is clear now.

Ed

dusty wrote:I will be really surprised if Shopsmith touches this at all.

The thought of giving the PowerPro remote turn on capability just scares me to death.

Nope. I don't want one on my table saw, drill press or lathe.

Think remote turn off, and speed adjust.

dickg1 wrote:With some experience with the PP I guess my question with the desire to have a remote . . . "is it the technical challenge or is there some REAL practical application." If it there is a useful application would, or could, someone define what it is?
There may very well be a compelling application justifying a remote, however I just can't picture why I would want to be far enough from my headstock so that a remote would be of practical use.
Dick

Turn on/off when using circle cutter with band-saw/jointer, emergency turn-off, turn-off without letting go of the wood, speed adjustment when using lathe.

Seems top me that a wrist mounted remote requires using both upper appendages to function - one to hold the device, the second to push the button.




What are we to use to 'hold the wood'?

JPG
According to the Nova website the wrist remote has a magnetic back so that it can be stuck to a ferrous metal object. So those that have made a roll around on/off switch for a conventional SS can stick the remote on the pole and do the same thing.
Bill V

Well, this will probably useless info to most, but i will put it here for those who might be interested. I was mistakenly sent the retrofit kit rather than the wireless remote, but it gave me a chance to examine both parts. Some of this stuff will be obvious to some folks, but I figured being thorough wouldn't hurt. Besides, it might help people with repairs or mods down the line.

Observations from the NOVA gear (ie: **NOT THE SHOPSMITH**):
The regular ribbon cable (2x5 pins) is the power/signal cable to the LCD screen. They are using a BC1602B2 screen, which means that it has +5V on pin 1, GND on pin 2, and then the rest of the pins are contrast, select, enable, and data. In the case of the wireless receiver, i am sure they are just tapping it for the 5V/Gnd connections since they are convenient.

The flat ribbon cable (1x10 pins) comes from the keypad membrane. Its a pretty typical membrane type setup. Each button has its own pin. From my measurements, it appears that the off button is isolated from the other buttons. I haven't checked the circuit while under power, so it remains to be seen if the "common" leads marked below are high or low. The buttons appear to be normally open, momentary contact style.
Based on this observation, and the configuration of the board via visual inspection, it would seem that the buttons are all passthrough on the 1x10 interface. However, the radio transceiver has the ability to trigger the button's signal line as needed.

The radio transceiver is built around an AlfaPlus ARF2496K single chip transceiver. Inspection of the board confirms this function since you can clearly see the traces on the PCB for the antenna.

There is an ATMLH042 chip, which I have yet to find a datasheet on.

more to come...