# Question for Nova DVR owners



## DonAlexander (Apr 12, 2012)

I've been turning on my Nova DVR XP for about a month now and I really like it. I bought it used in like new shape. It is 5 years old and I've got one operational "quirk" that I'd like to know more about.

I probably have 40 or more hours on the machine turning, pens, bowls, a pepper mill, and lots of just plane old practice turning beads and coves. Almost everything is just what I expected. The one thing that requires me to use the word "almost" is the 'Low Voltage Errors' I get when turning a rough bowl blank. 

Typically these errors occur when I get a catch or just cut a lot of air followed by a "thunk" that's not near enough to stop the piece from turning. I'm typically turning at 500 rpm to keep vibrations down until I get the stock in round. When I can jump up to 750 rpm without the machine doing a belly dance, the 'low voltage errors' are much fewer. It seems the faster I turn the fewer the errors. I think I understand the logic here but depending on the blank, a lot of times I'm not comfortable going faster.

I don't think I have ever gotten this error turning square spindles into round. So its just a bowl related thing.

The owner's manual doesn't even mention this error, so I called the company and asked if it was normal. Well, their answer was pretty vague but leaned pretty hard toward this wasn't normal. I'm not convinced this isn't what the DVR is supposed to do but it seems odd it only happens with bowls. 

And to be clear, when I get the low voltage error, the machine shuts down. I hit stop, the machine resets and I hit on and it starts back up. It seems like a nice safety feature that's a bit too safe. It gets to be a nuisance until the bowl is round enough to get up to speed.

Any other DVR owners familiar with this quirk?

Don


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## NCPaladin (Aug 7, 2010)

I don't have the DVR but it seems there were several post a few years back with the same problem (and other brands of lathes, not just Nova).
Do you have a separate surge protector that it plugs into? IIRC that was the culprit with many. Messed with the electronics somehow. Seems people just started plugging in direct. Unplugging them at the end of the day.
I know my Nova 1624 resets to off if power is interrupted and I do like that as a safety feature. It won't start up again on its own when power is restored.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

It has something to do with the electronics and how it is supposed to stop if you get a catch or some other thing that stops the wood such as the tool rest hitting it etc. I don't know if the level can be reset on that lathe. 
My powermatic has that to a lesser extent. I've never stalled it when turning but if I turn it on with the spindle lock engaged or the out or round wood hits my tool rest it will stop. This requires turning the lathe off and back on to get it reset. 
When I put an aftermarket VFD on one of my lathes the control that causes the lathe to stop after some impediment blocks it or slows it down could be adjusted to different levels. Again, I don't know if the DVR has that capability. 
I hope other DVR owners respond so you can see how hard or easy theirs stops.


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## jgilfor (Jan 25, 2013)

I have a 2024 DVR running on a dedicated 240 v breaker. Never had a "low voltage" error. Actually, I've never had the machine shut down for any reason. Very so often, I'll forget to withdraw the head stock lock, and then hit the start button. The machine complains a bit and stops trying to turn the headstock spindle, but never needs to be reset. I simply hit stop, withdraw the spindle lock, and hit start again.

Must be a problem specific to the lathe model you have.


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## DonAlexander (Apr 12, 2012)

I don't have the unit plugged into a surge protector. I has a circuit almost to itself. There's a metal lathe and Nova DVR XP and only one of those is ever on at a time and there are 3 fluorescent lights on that circuit.

John Lucas is on to something (and Paladin to a lesser extent), I think. I'm pretty sure its a safety feature to stop the lathe under certain conditions. I'm also pretty sure it can be set to a different value but I'm not positive. I'll look into that. It's odd that the company rep didn't say anything about it, if it can be changed. I do know there's a way to re-establish factory settings and I'll try that first.

I appreciate the help...I'm pretty sure I'll have a few more basic lathe turning questions...when I know enough to phrase them intelligently.

Don


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## jgilfor (Jan 25, 2013)

Why don't you give Teknotool a call. They have a US repair and distribution facility in St. Petersburg FL. I called them once, when I received a lathe bed extension that was improperly made. I just couldn't figure,out how to make it work and finally called them. The person I spoke with spent half an hour on the phone with me before we figured out that the factory forgot to tap some threads. No,wonder I couldn't get it attached. I thought I was going nuts.


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## DonAlexander (Apr 12, 2012)

jgilfor said:


> Why don't you give Teknotool a call. They have a US repair and distribution facility in St. Petersburg FL. I called them once, when I received a lathe bed extension that was improperly made. I just couldn't figure,out how to make it work and finally called them. The person I spoke with spent half an hour on the phone with me before we figured out that the factory forgot to tap some threads. No,wonder I couldn't get it attached. I thought I was going nuts.


I must have edited that piece out of my question but I have talked to the folks in Florida. Perhaps I wasn't very good at explaining the problem but the response I got was neither very helpful nor particularly informative. I have found others have experienced the same problem and the Teknatool repair center gave no clue that they'd every heard of it before. I'll call again after I try some different settings if that doesn't fix the problem.

Other than this somewhat irritating quirk, I really like the lathe. But there's so much to learn to use it effectively.

Don


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## Hilltopper46 (Dec 29, 2013)

Have you checked line voltage? Both with the lathe off and with it running. It's difficult to check it under load unless you have two people.

Point being, there are a number of places between the transformer and the lathe where low voltage can happen. The greater the current flow, the more likely it is to show up.


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

If the jumpers on the electronics control board are set for 240 volts, but you have it plugged into 120 volts, thew lathe will work, but performance will be reduced and there are several error messages that you might get. If you do not have it on a dedicated 240 volt circuit then it would be a very good idea to add the 240 volt wiring. You mentioned that you have fluorescent light on the same circuit. Lighting of any kind should be on its own circuit. Fluorescent lights are especially bad because they produce a lot of EMI (electromagnetic interference) that can play havoc with other electronic devices on the same circuit.


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## Wes Murphy (Mar 7, 2013)

I had the same problem with my DVR. Finally blew a "something" and it quit working all together. I discussed with the main tech there and he was going to send me the replacement part. My lathe was purchased in 2007. I ask the tech how many updates the electronics had been through, he said at least eight. The point here is that I upgraded all the electronics in my lathe. Now the lathe does not stop with a catch, hang or anything like that. The top speed is now 5000 rpm and I can't imagine turn anything at that speed. The bad part was the upgrade cost 500.00 dollars, but I basically have a new lathe.


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## DonAlexander (Apr 12, 2012)

Wes Murphy said:


> I had the same problem with my DVR. Finally blew a "something" and it quit working all together. I discussed with the main tech there and he was going to send me the replacement part. My lathe was purchased in 2007. I ask the tech how many updates the electronics had been through, he said at least eight. The point here is that I upgraded all the electronics in my lathe. Now the lathe does not stop with a catch, hang or anything like that. The top speed is now 5000 rpm and I can't imagine turn anything at that speed. The bad part was the upgrade cost 500.00 dollars, but I basically have a new lathe.


Interesting. I found my Lathe on Craigslist for half of what Woodcraft charges regularly. The man's shop was impressive in scope and it was immaculate, suggesting to me a well cared for tool. When I asked why he was selling he said, "My woodworking is taking a different direction." I thought that was a bit obscure. Maybe he knew there was a problem, didn't want to put $500 into the lathe, figured a One Way or Robust was a better direction.

My 'deal' is a lot less sweet if I have to spend $500 to fix it. I'm still not convinced it isn't something I'm doing since is NEVER happens when I'm spindle turning. Perhaps a setting in the logic system, perhaps a technique, perhaps the lights on the same circuit. I'm planning to do some testing today. I've got an isolated circuit I can run it on. I can switch a setting...maybe several settings. And maybe I can try some different ways of roughing half a log (that's been trimmed on the bandsaw) into a bowl. 

Don


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## Wes Murphy (Mar 7, 2013)

I was never able to resolve the low voltage problem, but maybe you'll have a better outcome.


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