HOW TO ENTER THE SETUP MODE

Q: I am following the adjustment instructions, but the machine does not do what is described. For example, at the 12 o'clock position of the dial the machine just beeps when I hit the black switch.

A: You are not in the adjustment mode when this happens. You should turn the power off, hold the red switch down, then turn on the power. Continue holding the red switch until the beep(s) completed. An immediate sign that you are in the setup mode is that the needle DOES NOT make a cycle when the switch is released.


HOW TO START PRECISION QUILTING

Q: I have noticed when I have it set to the left side of the dial, for 10 spi, at times when I double click the black button, it beeps and the stitching is quite smooth. At other times when I double click the black button, it does not beep, and the stitching is more "choppy" or jerky. Sometimes I can't seem to get it to "beep" even when I want the stitching to be smooth.

A: To start the PQ mode on your machine, you need to double click the black button. The first hit turns on the green RUN light. If the needle was down, it will be pulled up before the green light comes on. The second hit should come within half second after the green light was turned on. Practice the rythm of the double clicking by watching the green light. After getting the right timing learned, you will be able to do it without watching the light.

NOTE THAT BEGINNING WITH REV 1.0 OF THE I/S-TURBO, THE PRECISION MODE IS STARTED DIFFERENTLY: YOU SHOULD HOLD DOWN THE START SWITCH UNTIL YOU HEAR A BEEP. THE GREEN "RUN" LIGHT WILL START FLASHING SLOWLY, INDICATING THAT THE MACHINE IS RUNNING IN PRECISION MODE.


SINGLE STITCH GOES DOUBLE

Q: I had a couple of double stitches when I push the red button.

A: If the single stitch does double stitches there can be two ways to fix it:

1. If the quilt you are working on is lighter than the one on which the machine was set up, the needle will be too fast for that material. You can tell this by the needle moving fast during single stitch and the take-up lever overruning (stopping beyond its specified "UP" position).

In this case the needle positioner speed needs to be decreased. Please refer to the NEEDLE POSITIONER SPEED section of the adjustment instructions and do adjustments with the LASER light off (DOWN light on on Nolting machines). Watch the take-up lever stopping lower and lower as you do the adjustments, and stop the adjustments when the take-up lever stops at or a bit before its "UP" position.

2. If case #1 does not apply, the needle down position needs to be moved BACKWARD. Please refer to the UP/DOWN POSITION ADJUSTMENT section of the adjustment instructions and do two-three adjustments of the down position with the LASER light off (DOWN light on on Nolting machines).


NEEDLE STAYS IN FABRIC AFTER SINGLE STITCH

Q: When using the one stitch button, it stops 'down' too close to the quiltb(the thread lever is slightly above the 'corner'), What is the adjustment...

A: The single stitch is overrunning. This also affects how the needle is pulled up by the "auto pull-up" feature and how the needle is positioned after stopping the sewing both in regulated and constant speed mode. You need to move the needle up position (Page 7.) backwards. The proper take-up lever position on Gammill machines is at the top edge of the head. On APQS machines you need to set the "up" position where the needle is at its highest position. Please note that changing the take-up lever up position affects the needle down position also, so you need to check it too. The proper needle down position is when the needle is about 1/4" BEFORE its lowest position. Note that on Gammill machines at this needle position the take up lever is aligned with the top edge of the head, on its way down.


IMPROPER STITCHING IN BASTING MODE

Q: When in basting sometimes the machine makes a second, shorter stitch. Other times the needle stops down, scratching the fabric. What should I adjust?

A: The needle return position is too high, causing the "auto pull-up" to make a cycle to return to the top again. You need to move the needle return position (Page 10.) backwards. The proper needle return position is when the take-up lever stops about 1/4" below the "needle up" position.


Q: Using the B1 or B2 setting the needle is sluggish to come out of the fabric, causing needle flexing, even breakage. How can I correct this?

A: The needle return position is too low, the needle stops short of the proper "up" position, and the "auto pull-up" is activated.You need to move the needle return position (Page 10.) forward. The proper needle return position is when the take-up lever stops about 1/4" below the "needle up" position.


NOTE: If the above problems show up in Precision Mode, you should adjust the precision needle return position (Pages 11,12) the same way.


RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SETTINGS

Q: What are the relationships between the settings? How do they affect eachbother?

A: There are definite correlations between settings:

- The needle positioning speed (Page 2.) determines the overall speed of thebcontrol. It affects ALL the other settings. The purpose of this is to provide an easy adjustment if the quilt thickness changes considerably. E.g. if you have the machine set up for a very light quilt sandwich, the take-up lever positions will change (get lower), if you switch to a much thicker, denser quilt. Instead of tweaking the needle positions, the needle positioner speed needs to be increased, until the take-up lever position gets back to the desired level. When switching back to lighter quilt, the needle positioning speed needs to be decreased until the take-up lever comes back down to the proper level.

The proper needle positioning speed setting for a given quilt will make the second (pull-up) phase of the needle up positioning just noticeable.

- The regulated stitch speed affects the needle return position (Page 10) only. Higher speed will cause the needle return position to go higher, PLUS makes the position less consistent. The regulated stitch speed affects the stitch length regulation: faster stitch will result in better regulation. On the other hand, too fast speed will warm up the motor sooner. The optimum is when the speed is just high enough to provide good stitch regulation below the 2"/sec arm moving speed limit, but not too high to warm up the motor. To optimize the setting, start with a low speed, then increase it by one or two steps at a time, go back to quilting mode and try if the regulation is OK. If longer stitches occur on straight lines or smooth curves while moving the arm faster, but always under the 2"/sec limit, go back to setup mode and increase the speed by another step. To test the regulation, always move the arm in straight lines or smooth curves.

- The behavior of the regulator around points is affected by the coasting setting (Page 5). If long stitches occur coming out of points, the coasting needs increasing. If the stitches pile up going into points, the coasting needs decreasing. Note that there is no coasting in Precision Mode, you need to use the slow down/ gradually accelerate arm moving method when in PQ mode.

The regulated stitch speed slightly affects the coasting. Higher speed will cause more coasting, so after changing the regulated stitch you need to check whether the coasting is at the right level.


ADJUSTMENT SEQUENCE

Q: Is there a recommended adjustment sequence? It seems like changing onebsetting changes another, so I have to go back and forth tweaking them.

A: With a proper sequence the adjustment can be quite simple. First of all, do the initial adjustment on an average thickness quilt, with thread in the machine.

Remember to move the machine after each adjustment, so the needle does not hit the same spot.

The recommended adjustment order is based on the relationships between the settings:

- Adjust the needle positioning speed first (Page 2).

- Adjust the needle up/down positions (Pages 7to 9).

- Adjust the precision needle return position (Pages 11,12).

- Adjust the maximum constant speed (Page 13).

These adjustments are final on the given quilt.


- Tentatively set the needle return position (Page 10).

- Set the regulated stitch speed relatively low and start optimizing it by checking the stitch regulation on straight lines or smooth curves, staying below the 2"/sec arm moving speed limit (Pages 5,6).

- Make the final adjustment on the needle return position (Page 10).

- Adjust the coasting by checking the stitch pile-up/long stitch occurrence around points (Pages 5,6).

The above adjustment should be OK for quilt sandwiches and thread tension that are not too different from the average quit, on which the adjustment was made. If a much thicker or thinner quilt is on the machine, the different mechanical drag can be compensated by adjusting ONLY the needle positioning speed while watching the take-up lever positions.


NEEDLE POSITION DRIFT

Q: I noticed that the take-up lever returns to a higher position after quilting for a while. How often should I tweak it?

A: If the regulated stitch speed is not optimized, but too high, the motor will heat up considerably. While the higher heat will not damage the motor, it will weaken its magnetic field, which will result in needle position overruns. Instead of changing the needle positions, reduce the needle positioning speed, when this happens. Remember that the motor heating can be reduced by using the Precision Mode for all, but high speed patterns with a lot of points. If you want to use the high speed regulated mode often, please optimize the regulated speed setting.