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marty mcdonald
01-19-2009, 5:43 PM
Hi all,

I have a 4-year-old VersaLaser 200 that hasn't been powered on for several months. When I connect to the computer, the green light by the USB on the laser unit flashes, and the "homing screen" appears on the computer, so the laser is being recognized by the computer.
But the VL-200's motor doesn't start.
I'm running Vista and Corel and have the new drivers for Vista.
Should I install the original driver, then update them to the Vista driver, or just install the Vista driver?
Any other thoughts on why the motor won't kick in?
Thanks!

Mike Mackenzie
01-19-2009, 7:02 PM
Marty,

Just install the Vista driver when you power on the system does it HOME? If not then try a different USB port. Is this the same computer that you used before?

Did you install the software with the USB cable plugged in? If so un-install the software un plug the USB cable re start the computer install the software plug in the USB cable it should install the USB software then re start the computer again and see if it connects.

marty mcdonald
01-19-2009, 7:08 PM
I'll try that. Thank you!

marty mcdonald
01-20-2009, 4:17 PM
Hmmm... well, no luck with the procedure recommended above. Thanks just the same.

If it's not a software issue, what possible things on the VersaLaser itself would prevent it from powering on?

Thanks for all suggestions!

Mike Mackenzie
01-20-2009, 4:23 PM
Does it reset at all? Do you have any fans? check your fuses and your AC try to plug it into another outlet. If all that fails remove the back cover and unplug the laser tube and then try it.

marty mcdonald
01-24-2009, 10:35 AM
Thanks Mike,

I've uninstalled and re-installed the software and drivers.
I get the VersaLaser software to come up, and when I click on the green power button in the software, the homing screen comes up and it actually shows the job printing on my laptop. But there is absolutely no sound, movement, anything, coming from the VersaLaser.

The fuses look ceramic and show no signs of damage, but how can I tell if they are still good. I would think they're still good.

I'm using the same laptop that I've successfully used before.

You suggested unplugging the laser tube. I've removed the sides and back of the unit and unplugged and re-plugged the white plastic wire holder (with holes for 12 wires) on what appears to be the laser tube. Is that what you mean by laser tube?

Thanks again. I really want to get back up and running!

Marty

Ed Maloney
01-24-2009, 2:13 PM
This may sound like a dopey question but what is the temperature in the room with the laser?

Dave Johnson29
01-24-2009, 3:33 PM
I've uninstalled and re-installed the software and drivers.


Hi Marty,

Just a few thoughts, but check in
Start
Control Panel
Printers

Make sure there is only one ULS Printer driver shown there. You may be hooking to the older version.

If there is more than one, first make sure there are no print jobs queued. If there is delete all the print jobs as you cannot delete a driver if it has stuff queued. Vista will not tell you, it just ignores the Delete.

Then delete all the ULS drivers and do the install one more time in the sequence Mike outlined above. The cable plugged in or out at the appropriate times is **very** important for the USB controller to load the drivers correctly.

Once you have done that go to Printers again and right click the ULS printer and then Properties. Click the Port tab and make sure you have only one USB port assigned for it.

Now the tricky bit. Not tricky to do but tricky of the computer. My Laptop actually numbers the USB in that Port tab. It drove me nuts until out of frustration I tried a different port number in that Properties/Port tab. Even though I only have 3 physical USB it showed #4. I selected that and bingo it all worked.

marty mcdonald
01-24-2009, 6:43 PM
Ed, the temp of the room is 60 degrees, I'd say. However, it has been colder than that for some periods of time. Maybe 50 being the coldest.

Dave, thanks for the suggestions. I'll try that tomorrow -- with fingers crossed.

I appreciate that you'd take the time to help!

Mike Mackenzie
01-26-2009, 12:19 PM
Marty,

Yes the silver part is the laser tube completely UN-plug it and then power on the system. This will remove a load on the power supply. Do the fans on the laser tube come on?

Try this and see if the system powers on and runs a job with the laser tube UN plugged then there is a problem with the tube. If it still does not power on even with the laser tube UN plugged then I would guess you have a power supply problem. You can use a meter to check the fuses, also did you try different USB ports?

marty mcdonald
02-09-2009, 5:53 PM
Hello again.

Well, fuses have been harder to find than I expected. I'll drive 40 minutes to Grainger tomorrow. In the meantime, is there a temporary way to check to see if it is the fuses that are causing my VL200 not to start? As in tin foiling the bad fuse just once to see if the machine starts? Or is that a terrible idea ;)

After uninstalling, then installing the software, then connecting the USB cord, the computer beeps and installs the driver, and in Device Manager, the list appears with the VersaLaser USB there, then the list "rolls up" and unrolls and it's gone. For the couple of seconds that it's there, I click on its properties and see the message in the attached file.

I'm told that I might have a bad CPU board. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks again for your input. I appreciate it

Mike Mackenzie
02-09-2009, 7:01 PM
Marty,

I suspect the power supply, First do not do the tin foil thing something blew the fuse to begin with and again I suspect the 48V supply. If you are getting the homing message on your computer then the cpu is doing what it should and I would rule that out. If you go to grainger and get some fuses get some extras. If you put the fuse in and all is good then you will just have some spares. If you put in the fuse and it blows as well then you will need to replace the 48V power supply. If you have a volt meter you can check both your fuses and the 48V power supply. It just sounds like this is the problem.

I suspect that something did not get loaded properly with the software error message above, When you first tried to power on the system it was seeing the CPU or you would not have had the symptoms that were in the first original post.