Nova/Record DVR

[Chris357]

Hi folks

I use a Nova (pre Record) DVR and have found very little on here about them.

I'd be interested to hear the forum view and to hear of any problems anyone has experienced


Chris

 

[Blister]

Chris

is it a DVR XP

or the DVR 3000

 

[Chris357]

Hi Blister

it's the XP.

I think back when the were produced in NZ the XP was called just the DVR.

Chris

 

[Blister]

Hi

I had one of these lathes and unfortunately it went wrong , kept putting fault codes on the display

Record Power were as much use a a chocolate frying pan , all they did was forward my emails to Tecknatool and about 3 day later a reply came back

after about 2 weeks of back and forth I got nowhere , sent the head unit to Speed Genie to see if they could fix it , and was told it was not fixable

Record power wanted to sell me a new head unit , I thought it was covered for 5 years , but that guarantee does not include the electronics

so ended up lobbing it all in the recycling center

I hope you have better luck with your machine

You will find other comments on the net about this lathe if you have a Google

 

[bobham]

The original DVR had a low end speed of 250 rpm. The second "iteration" had a new main circuit board and had a low end speed of 100 rpm. The DVR XP retains the 100 rpm low end speed and adds 5 operator configuable pre-set speed points that give the ability to jump directly to a higher or lower speed without having to cycle through all the in between speeds at increments of 5 rpm. It also cycles faster through the speeds when increasing or decreasing the speed.

I have been using a DVR for about 6 or 7 years now. It is a marvelously smooth running machine since there are no belts or pulleys to introduce vibration. I did manage to short out and fry the main circuit board a little more than a year ago and had to replace pretty much all of the electronics at a cost of ~ $500. The replacement electronics give me the features of the XP version on my second generation DVR. I have been having an issue where it does not seem to have nearly as much power as it did before, being fairly easy to stall, but I have not figured out what is causing it and it still has enough power for most jobs. I just need to be a bit less aggressive in my cuts when roughing out a large, heavy blank.

Take care
Bob

 

[Chris357]

Hi All

Thanks for the replies.
Sounds as though my experience is much the same.
I bought mine about 8 years ago from a Sorby agent.
About 18 months ago it developed an intermittent fault with an error code. Technetium recommended cleaning the head with an airline. Was ok for a while and then would not run at all.

Record were by then the new dealer. I contacted them and they suggested taking the power head unto them. Took it up and spent a couple of hours with Alan their technical guy. We tried a number of things but could not bottom the fault. IMHO there were two faults. I left it with them and Alan for a week. Went back and he had fitted my rotor in a new head with a new controller....the latest type. Cost about £300.
All went well until Oct last year when it faulted again.
Took it back to Record who fitted a new controller FOC.

So I think the DVR is really good when working, but I am concerned that it will not be as long lived as the Myford that preceeded it.

So I guess my next question is "what lathe to buy next time it packs up"?

Chris

 

[Doug B]

Hi Chris.

I`ve had a Nova for 5 years (pre Record) & touch wood have never had a problem with it.

That said others on the net have reported problems which seem to be a result of an ingress of dust into the headstock electronics, being now aware of this i take great care with dust extraction around the head stock/work piece & as i`ve said, have yet to have had any problems.


An aside to this, I notice you are from Nottingham, a few of the members on here are also from Nottingham area & are members of the Erewash Valley woodturners Association, whose meetings are at Greasley near Kimberley. If you fancy meeting up with some like minded folk, it`s a great starting point.

Cheers.


Doug.

 

[Chris357]

Hi Doug

I used to be a member of EVWA but as it meets 2nd Wed of the month it conflicts with another commitment

Otherwise I'd be there, it is a good club.

Chris

 

[pete honeyman]

I've had my dvr xp fr four years, and i love it, but i have fitted three new speed sensors - a fiddly job but do-able. When they start to wear out they get very snsitive to dust and cold - once you have to start cleaning them with meths every session to make them work, it's time to rplace them. Less than £50 i think. The error code is RPS state error.

Sorby used to be great, but i ave used record's helpdesk and they have been very helpful too.

Pete

 

[duncanh]

I've had my DVR 3000 for a few years now. My experience is pretty much the same as Bob's.
A couple years ago when I was cleaning out the dust I forgot to switch the machine off and touched the speed sensor against the headstock casing and the thing shorted. I had to replace the whole control board but dealing directly with Record was useless so I was emailing Teknatool to help diagnose the problem. They were really helpful but the time difference was a problem as I'd take one multimeter reading, email them the result and then have to wait 24hrs before the next test. In the end I had to replace the whole control board (Record sent a replacement old one that didn't work and then had to send a new one that did). I fitted the new board myself but I had to modify it slightly as it's not designed for the old case.
I'm pleased to have the 5 preset speeds and faster cycle speeds but I'm also think that the power is less than the original lathe and can stall it more easily when coring.

Some annoying things - the fittings for the new bed extension aren't in the same location as the old one so you can't just bolt it on to the old bed. Not a problem if your lathe is on a wooden bench but mine's on the original Sorby stand and I had to get creative to connect it.
Also, Teknatool have been talking about producing a remote control for at least 5 years but nothing has appeared. It's not technically difficult as I built my own for about £20 but their apparent lack of commitment to current and potential owners annoy me. The existing controls do not have an obvious stop button and I think that's dangerous.
The banjo is not particularly solid and if you have it extended out from the lathe to work on a large piece it can flex quite a bit. IIRC Bob uses a modified Oneway banjo but I doubt it would be a cheap replacement.
I don't like the position of the locking bar for the tool rest stem on the banjo. I like to hold some tools at a low angle and the bar gets in the way. I haven't seen anyone else comment on this so it's obviously a personal thing, but I'd like to see it placed at the back of where it is now just to keep it out of the way.
There's also some flex when working with the outboard turning rest.

That's about it I think.

Duncan

 

[bobham]

Hi again:
I agree with Duncan about the need for a big red "stop" button that you can hit with a blind slap when things go wrong and actually get feedback that you hit it. I don't know how many times I have thought I pressed the membrane stop button and then reached around to the hand wheel to brake the turning, only to find that the lathe is still running.

With regard to the banjo, I have had so many questions about it that I put up a video last week about getting the Oneway banjo to work on the Nova lathe bed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNp5btnk ... ture=feedu

It is certainly not a cheap option and I only live 50 miles from where they are made. Adding international shipping to the purchase price would move it into the ridiculous range, I would think, since it must weigh between 30 and 40 lbs.

Take care
Bob