Eliminating Soft Start on an MC60, MC2000 and MC2100 Treadmill Motor Power Supply for Mill or Lathe

[@roylumsden6824]

Great videos. I’m about to build my drill press project using a MC-2100 board. My idea of a work around is to use a 4-hour light timer switch ($12.99 at Lowes) as a master switch. The first time you use the drill, rotate the dial and forget it. If you’re still working after four hours, take a break and have a beer! 😊

[@dazecars]

It's a good idea to have a timer to properly space your breaks 😁

[@aguycalledlucas]

Daze you’re the treadmill motor king

[@dazecars]

give the people what they want 😂😂😂

[@Timm-TGB]

Thanks, Daze! I just clipped R19 on my MC60 for a drill press conversion and now it works like I'd like it to! Set speed, leave it there. Power off, power on--right back where I left it. Took maybe one minute, mos of which was finding my tiny diagonal cutters.

[@dazecars]

Glad I could help

[@stevenjozefik659]

The capacitor discharge can be hastened by decreasing the value of the bleed resistor if it has one , or installing one between the positive connection of the cap , and a ground trace on the board .

[@dazecars]

Thanks for the tip

[@frankglass]

I just might need to try that idea. I already have a timer that is energized by 110 AC which should eliminate that 12v dc power source. Thanks for the video

[@dazecars]

good luck

[@samwillard5688]

Thanks for this! do you know anything about the Johnson Fitness JDYF20L? Thanks ahead of time

[@dazecars]

no I do not have any information on that board.

[@runescapegf6666]

Do you know if it is also r-19 for the Mc-20 controller board? Ripped it out of an old lifestyle treadmill that interchangeably used the Mc-60 and mc-20 in its build

[@dazecars]

I do not know. I would say its not likely but there is a slim chance it would work

[@johnbutler5650]

Where does the soft start function live on the board? Is it programmed into one of the chips?

[@dazecars]

I honestly don't know

[@analoghardwaretops3976]

This is a low cost controller..so no microcontroller is used for soft start. The soft start , at minimum is just a resistor and cap. ...the "RC" circuit is placed in series with the wiper terminal of the speed potentiometer. It is usually a "half T" type RC filter with one lead of cap. at "0" ref.....the R×C product is ramp up time (accel.)of the soft start. In this case the ramp down time (decel.) is also the same... although both can be made independent of each other. This is basically a "voltage/speed" based soft start. running in open loop control.

[@dazecars]

good info, thanks for posting

[@Jasonmorris-i1y]

MC-60 rev k need R14 blue resistor

[@Jasonmorris-i1y]

Please can some one help need R14

[@dazecars]

I looked at several I have but can’t tell exactly what color the bands are. I will disconnect one and measure the resistance.

[@Jasonmorris-i1y]

Could you please help I think it's 470 ohm 2watt

[@Jasonmorris-i1y]

Please help I thank it's a 470 ohm 2watt but not sure or where to buy​@@dazecars

[@dazecars]

If those are the specs a quick amazon search will have the results. I easily found this one amzn.to/47JhA2V

[@shelby50411]

updated...treadmill was in flood..prior to flood worked fine...after flood when power on display shows fine but when hit start the motor immediately runs at full speed then shuts off a few seconds later...and this repeats whenever start button is pushed...im thinking its bad mc2100 due to water damage...since the mc2100 was probably in water or got wet.....does this sound logical?

[@dazecars]

yes that is a bad MC2100

[@chadhanson3431]

What pins are you using to power your pwm frequency generator off the mc2100 board? For some reason I thought you had used external power for it but realized in this video you have it to the board itself. Thanks for these great videos.

[@dazecars]

Glad you like the videos... I cover wiring about 13:30 on this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJrOlomPra6Hi7M

[@thehairs2018]

Instead of turning off the power to the board, whai if you put a switch on the output to the motor?

[@dazecars]

Thanks for the input! That is exactly what people have when they add a forward reverse switch, because said switch must be center off. Once the system is up and running you could totally use the ditection switch to avoid soft start all together , BUT you would still need to deal with soft start the first time you powered up the machine with master power, and you would also probably need to add indicator lights to show you the system is still on even when the direction switch is in the off position. Without indicator lights it would be very easy to leave the system on. This solution while clever is IMHO more of a bandaid than soft start eliminator.

[@ChristopherDavidson-nz1xf]

Daze! Do you have a video regarding adding a soft start in a scr circuit? I've got my setup in a learning environment where I don't have faith everyone will turn down the pot before turning on power. Does this make sense?

[@dazecars]

I do not have a way to add a soft start. Im sure it can be done but that is above my abilities. Easiest way to add soft start would be to use an MC60, MC2000 or MC2100 as a way to drive the motor.

[@alaninness8113]

I built a (50mm X 50mm) Picmicro PWM signal controller that has the two momentary PB's , one for start, one for stop. I can stop and start my spindle and retain the same speed setting every time. !

[@dazecars]

Nice

[@peter-lz1zk]

i would like to use the mc2100 board that came this treadmill for a wood lathe . can i control the speed with a potentiometer using some of the wires that come down from the dashboard , like maybe Black , Red , Blue for instance . thanks Peter

[@dazecars]

No you can not. Unlike older MC60 controllers an MC2100 uses a pulsing signal from the control panel to control speed. This video (about half way through) shows the signal generator you need to make it work and how to hook it up. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJrOlomPra6Hi7M

[@josephhagler5145]

I have used the pulse width generator on the mc2100 and I find the slight delay not too bad on my craftsman 6 inch lathe.

[@dazecars]

The delay in regards to what? Are you using a relay to eliminate soft start or just the on off button on the signal generator? I ask because I am not sure what delay you are talking about and or how it is related to soft start.

[@josephhagler5145]

@@dazecars the several seconds after pushing the start button when the motor turns.

[@dazecars]

​@@josephhagler5145 the delay is not an issue it's the soft start that is the problem (not being able to go to the last speed without turning it all the way down first) . Are you using a different signal generator with built in delay to bypass soft start?

[@josephhagler5145]

@@dazecars I use the one you showed in your video.When I turn it on with the yellow button it goes to the last speed I had set.

[@dazecars]

​@@josephhagler5145 the delay never bothered me either. I just didn't like having to use the on off on the signal generator.

[@Glens1965]

Wall Wart. That's a new one for me.

[@dazecars]

I’m surprised you had not heard the before. Learn something new everyday

[@richardingram3517]

Can soft start be defeated on the MC80 controller?

[@dazecars]

you can use the same switch technique as the MC60

[@wfry395]

I’m thinking another option to get around soft start would be to add a 20 amp switch between the motor and the controller. This would provide a way to stop/start the motor without killing power to the control board. To improve on this idea it would probably make more sense to use a 20 amp relay with a light duty switch.

[@dazecars]

Thanks for the input! That is exactly what people have when they add a forward reverse switch, because said switch must be center off. Once the system is up and running you could totally use the ditection switch to avoid soft start all together , BUT you would still need to deal with soft start the first time you powered up the machine with master power, and you would also probably need to add indicator lights to show you the system is still on even when the direction switch is in the off position. Without indicator lights it would be very easy to leave the system on. This solution while clever is IMHO more of a bandaid than soft start eliminator.

[@gregpoirot5675]

I have the exact same adaption I find the safety protocol of the board great, incase of power outage, it forces you to restart the board oththan that simpl switch fwd centeroff rev. great for drill press or lathe with a separate tach. Powered by a wallwart off the ac leg of the incoming pwr. Love it just remember to use a reverse switch with center-off, can wire yourself or buy pre-wired

[@dazecars]

thanks for sharing your reel world experience

[@chrislee7817]

Hi there, the board I have is different to all these, I have to cope with a 5 second countdown and then it starts on the slowest speed. I can then ramp it up in increments on a momentary switch. Any ideas what I can do?

[@dazecars]

Sounds to me like you are using the treadmill control panel to drive the motor control board, which means I don't have a fix for that. The more treadmill parts you use the more you must deal with treadmill features.

[@tommypugh1208]

Can you replace the treadmill control panel with a on/off switch and a potentiometer an it work?

[@dazecars]

depends on the type of board

[@champspec]

The surge at the beginning is going to happen because all if these cheap MCB’s turn on the same way. If you notice the power LED, it will flash once for a split second, then off for a half second, then back on solid. This is the way they are designed for one reason or another…. One way to prevent this would be to use a potentiometer that has a switch on the end of the throw. They also make 4 pole latching push button remote start bottons that have a momentary pin that closes on each press. You may have to add a relay or two in conjunction with this to make it operate as desired for the application… The downside to these boards is that they are unreliable when you make a simple wiring mistake Or put too much load through it just once. There are also different mc2100 MCB’s that are for 50amps and others that are for 30 amps. The newer boards that have the white main harness connector(instead of red) are garbage compared to the older PWM boards. I’m sure you noticed by now the PWM boards have a much smoother ramp in rate than the mc80 amd mc50 boards.

[@dazecars]

The more I have messed with this stuff the more I feel using the treadmill power supply is like putting lipstick on a pig. A purpose built power supply even if still DIY is better than a treadmill power supply, but people still insist on doing it so I try to give them options.