Whats that strange smell?...Oh its my motherboard.

[stargategfx]

God I hate Mondays.
One of the new guys accidentally kicked out the connection to my Y motor during a job.
Didn't find out about it until a few minutes later, by that time it was too late, the control box had smoke coming out of it from the motherboard where the Y cable used to be.
I fully expect that I will have to replace the board.
Just so I can sleep tonight, has anybody out there gone through a similar event?
How difficult / expensive is the board to replace?
The ironic thing is I took delivery of the PRT96 four months ago and I was fully intending on upgrading to the Alpha when we have our down-time in December, but seeing how stupidly busy we are right now I have to get the machine up and running again asap.
Any help, advice or condolences would be appreciated.

[elcruisr]

Well, you have my condolences. One of my guys drove the forklift through the overhead door last week. They know when I start inventing words I'm pissed....

This weekend was hurricane charlie...

Eric

[paco]

[stargategfx]

Geez Eric...
Compared to what you guys went through I don't have any reason to bitch.
Hope you got through it OK.

[elcruisr]

We got through it OK as it passed about 15 miles west of us, several of my customers won't have power back in their shops until ??? We just had lots of downed trees, limbs, signs and power outages. The poor folks southwest of us on the coast have it rough and are in my prayers. I survived Andrew on a sailboat and the news don't tell you the half of it.....

One customer lost his bay door and then the roof trusses lifted about 4 inches and pulled all the studs loose on one wall, but he still has his electricity!

Let's see, my score now stands at 4 hurricanes, one water spout, two tornadoes and a minor earth quake. I'm hoping I've filled my lifetime quota!

Eric

[elcruisr]

Whoops, I meant to say it was 15 miles EAST of us. Heck of a mistake of an old navigator.....

Eric

[stargategfx]

C'mon...somebody must know what this is going to cost me.???

[Brady Watson]

Boyd,
I luckily haven't smoked anything on my board yet...or ever hopefully.

Is there a chance that it has just blown a driver, or is the board notably burnt? If in fact you know you have smoked the board, call shopbot 1st thing in the morning. They are very good at turning your control box around because they know it is your livelyhood. I'm sure they can help you figure out what went wrong and what the best course of action is.

-Brady

[stargategfx]

Thanks Brady, yeah I've already emailed them, will start checking my email at 5:15am pst.
BTW, the tv show I work on is Stargate SG-1.
We blow-up A LOT of things.
I know scorch marks when I see them, and I do see them on the board.
Just out of curiosity, how do you blow a driver (no joke intended).
I have always thought of drivers as software protocol, do you mean a physical component ?

[simon]

Here on the south island of NZ we are undergoing blasts of snow lobbed at us from the South. And one tornado north of here that threw a house about 50 feet in the +y direction with a granny inside it.

Anyone know of any hurricane chat rooms?

[gerald_d]

With all the news on TV lately about hurricane Charley, we shouldn't forget that this southmost tip of Wildest Africa, called the "Cape of Storms" by seafarers has its share of devastating weather also.

I've attached a link to a photo illustrating the excessive damage caused to a home from a South Atlantic storm that passed through Cape Town during the last few mid-winter days. It really makes you cherish what you have, and reminds us not to take life for granted!!!

Warning: The attached picture is quite graphic and may not be suitable for sensitive viewers. Link. (http://www.geofffox.com/MT/images/Damage.jpg)

[stargategfx]

I think this has devolved into a weather chat group.
Here in southwestern British Columbia we have had a teriffic summer with the exception of some pretty bad forest fires and the occasional Y cable pull-out.
Other than that, this truly is paradise.
See you all in the 2010 olympics, just up the street from me.
www.squamish.ca (http://www.squamish.ca)

[simon]

Boyd
I bet you are laughing at the forthcoming opportunities of being the local CNC guy while they build the stadia for 2010
Remember your roots boy, when you are rich and famous.

[phil_o]

I had a blown driver and sent it back to Shopbot. They were able to repair the driver. Turn around time was less than a week. Mine was less than a year old so it was still under warranty. They told me a new board would be $600 but I didn't ask how much to repair a driver.
Call tech support you may be able to use one of the other connections for the blown driver. I have a benchtop unit and I wasn't using both X drivers. They told me how to reconfigure to use the extra connection.

[stevem]

Or, you can purchase my unused PRT control box for USD $750.00 as a spare. Still under warranty until Jan. 2005.

[stargategfx]

Thanks Steve, but we have already ordered a replacement from Shopbot, should be here by noon tomorrow.
I rent my machine to the company I work for, part of our agreement is that they are responsible for any loss or damage.