Newall Topaz DRO

[Bigyellowiron]

I tried searching and could not find any info. I have a older Newall topaz dro on my mill. The display got to where it had to warm up to work then it would start flashing. Now it comes on but will not read, and the buttons will not work. I sent it off to Newall and they tell me the key pad is bad. Problem is they cannot get parts. Only option is to upgrade to the newer display and adapter cables. That is 1k+ . Does anyone know of any displays that will work with the scales that arte with the Newall. I don't want to pay a fortune, since this is just a hobby. I found a 3 axis system from DROKITS and it seems like a good price at 500. Can anyone offer any input to assist me???? Thanks.

[John Hasler]

Keypads are generally pretty simple. Given a schematic it should not be hard to replace that keypad with a similar but not identical one. If you decide to give up on that DRO I'd be interested in buying it from you.

In fact, I'd be interested is buying just about any non-working DRO from anyone, as long as the scale is included.

[choprboy]

You will have to do a bit research to discover what your Newall wiring is. Most scales are just going to be quadrature output, though whether it is 3.3V/5V and single-ended or differential signalling varies alot between manufacturers. Fortunately, many newer DROs have provisions for receiving a multiple of signalling types.

As for where to buy... there are lots of options. When I replaced a DRO head destroyed by a nearby lightning strike, I got a new one from sra-shops.com for only a couple hundred bucks, reused my existing scales.

[GlennW]

When I replaced a DRO head destroyed by a nearby lightning strike,

I run mine off of a regular battery backup/surge protector as I would a computer for that reason.

Just a thought.