LaserPoint USB port

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

Hey guys, 

 

A female member of my family that I will not name accidently broke the USB port on my cutter. I read a thread about another member that got a replacement but I am wondering if anyone has soldered theirs. I am sure this has happened to other people because the port is not very well supported. Thought I would ask 

[MZ SKEETER 4,714]

someone on here did the same thing last month

 

http://forum.uscutter.com/index.php?/topic/39635-broken-usb-port/

[slice&dice 2,460]

Hey guys, 

 

A female member of my family that I will not name accidently broke the USB port on my cutter. I read a thread about another member that got a replacement but I am wondering if anyone has soldered theirs. I am sure this has happened to other people because the port is not very well supported. Thought I would ask 

 

I bought 2 of these Type-B Right Angle 4-pin Female USB Connector Jacks on eBay, and the pair cost me $3 (including shipping from China)

 

However, I am not well-versed in the use of a soldering iron to de-solder (without destroying the circuit board) and as a result, I messed-up the board, and needed to buy an entire replacement from USCUTTER for $50.

 

Oh well,,,

[mb20music 760]

According to the website, USCutter is out of stock on the replacement usb/circuit board. I have one that I pulled from a PCUT that I can sell you if you are interested.

[billybow 2]

I am willing to de-solder and re-solder your board if you are not comfortable with doing it, I have over 20 years in the electronics industry..

 

Just pm me...

 

Billy

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

Well I understand now. I see that the other thread on this forum bought a replacement part and soldered it himself. I am thinking about giving it a try, I just bought a soldering gun because I do a lot of phone and ipod repairs and have always been limited to component replacement only since I don't solder. Hate to test my skill on my cutter though , ha ha. I'll pm billybow and mb20music and see if those options would be easier.

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

Got the replacement USB port in the mail today (thanks mb20music) but I can't get the computer to recognize the cutter. I installed the drivers, and it's assigned to com 8 but nothing happens when I press cut in signblazer. I don't have a serial port on the computer I am using for my vinyl, FRUSTRATED! 

[MZ SKEETER 4,714]

are you following all of the instructions here?

 

http://start.uscutter.com/

[lueman 19]

Hi I re-soldered my USB port, Make sure you don't have any solder spill, it can create a short that can pop the USB on your PC. I have about 30+ years as a technician so it wan't really a big deal for me. About finding the Comm port here is a small routine I ran across to show all com-ports in device manager:

 

 

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.

At a command prompt, type the following command , and then press ENTER:

set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1

'Type the following command a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

start devmgmt.msc

click view --> show hidden devices

Troubleshoot the devices and drivers in Device Manager.

 

list the com ports and you'll see all active & hidden (inactive) ports  

 

 

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

ok, yes Mz Skeeter I went through all the steps a few times for the setup. I have triple checked the settings and even tried different com port numbers and different usb ports. 

 

Lueman, I did not solder this. I bought a replacement from a forum member. thanks for the tip, this is what I got from it.

Under ports (COM &LPT) there is = USB Serial Port (COM8)

 

The wieird thing is that if the cutter is on and connected it shows up under cutter setup in Sign Blazer as = Blazer.COM8: - USB Serial Port

 

It just won't cut! In sign blazer it shows the cut progress as if the cutter was working and does not show any communication errors. 

[mb20music 760]

What other ports does it show in the menu?

[lueman 19]

I've been using the standard serial pot, when I reconnected the USB I didn't get a notice sound from windows (indicating a usb port is active) I'm very sure I connected the port correctly, but I may have blown the USB 5V line when I originally damaged the plug.. If it's bad then it should cause other problem, but still I haven't had any problem with the standard serial port. I don't know if the Lp24 requires a hard reset. I would ask a tech but I'm still waiting for a reply from my original trouble ticket!

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

here are screen shot of the sing blazer ports. I am no longer at the my office and since there is no USB devices plugged in to my laptop no ports show up in device manager.

 

 

I did the same thing! when the USB port broke I switched to the serial port which worked great. Now the problem is I do not have a serial port on my laptop that I am now using for vinyl. Like you were saying my computer does not beep when the cutter is plugged into it but it does recognize it in Sign Blazer and device manager. I did try it on an old desktop I took to my office today to test it. When I plug it in to the desktop, the USB does make the connection sound but the same issue with no cutting. I did get it to work through the serial cable though.

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

P.S. I requested assistance through UScutter and was told they no longer support Signblazer and I need to purchase Sure Cuts Alot. I wish I had a different program to test and see if Signblazer was the issue or not.

[mb20music 760]

I really doubt the issue is with the Sign Blazer software. One thing you could do is get a serial port adapter card for your laptop. They are around $20 on eBay.

[MZ SKEETER 4,714]

You can get a serial card or a keyspan adapter to use with your laptop. You just connect your serial cable to the end of the keyspan adapter, then to your cutter.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Keyspan-High-Speed-USB-Serial-Adapter-USA-19HS-/120420154018?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c0999baa2

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

Yeah I don't think that it is Sign Blazer either, I was just mentioning how when I said the name SignBlazer when asking for support I became a red headed step child. I will most likely pick up an adapter because my desktop is a dinosaur of a computer.

[Dakotagrafx 7,298]

Yeah I don't think that it is Sign Blazer either, I was just mentioning how when I said the name SignBlazer when asking for support I became a red headed step child. I will most likely pick up an adapter because my desktop is a dinosaur of a computer.

2 things - they don't make money off of signblazer and so few of the techs take the time to learn how to use the software - 

[jaybyrd 3,770]

I've used sign blazer in the past and like it for design but if you can get scalpro for the cutting function alone it is worth it and as a bonus it is supported by techs. Cheaper than a year of sign cut and better cut quality IMO.

Jay

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

Lueman,

 

I was considering having someone look at my cutter to try and track down the issue but it would probably end up costing me a pretty penny. I think some of the parts for the LP are still available, off the top of your head do you have any idea what might be shorted out on our cutters?

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

Update, now my cutter won't cut using the serial port either. I don't know what happened but I hooked it up to the old desktop with the serial cable and can't get it to do anything. I opened up the cutter and found some corrosion on the main board, oh crap! There are two spots that look like they are damaged but I don't know much about PCBs. Any ideas on this guys, is it repairable or do I need to replace the board?

[Dakotagrafx 7,298]

heck all over that board looks like it got wet  . . . . new MB also http://www.uscutter.com/index/page/product/product_id/2426/category_id/70/product_name/Creation+Motherboards+for+PCUT+%26+Laserpoint

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

I cleaned it a little and it's definitely dirty. I see what your saying, kind of a water pattern there, I really don't know how it could have ever gotten wet while I have had it. Even my kids would have to work pretty hard to get water on this board with the way the cutter is enclosed lol. I would love to buy the board if that will fix it, but with starting this new business I am really tapped out. Haven't been able to sell anything yet because of non stop issues!

[lueman 19]

It's not water it's oxidation a mixture of electricity and humidity and possibly some power surges. C40 is close to being burnt if it's not gone already, but those are a different issue from the USB port (the cable to the right and above the power (red,black,yellow,black)) the yellow should be the 5V but I don't have a schematic to be sure

[lueman 19]

The link above is just for the board you'll have to use your old UV-PROM (Big chip in center of 2nd picture).