When you are having stitching issues, you should first check to see if you are having LONG stitches or SKIPPED stitches.  When the needle goes down into the fabric and does not catch the bottom thread, you end up with a hole in your fabric but no stitch.  This is called a SKIPPED stitch.  But when your machine moves and the needle does not go down when it should, you end up with a LONG stitch.

The good news about a LONG stitch versus a SKIPPED or poor quality stitch is that it can be pinned down to the 'stitch regulation' on the machine and not the Pro-Stitcher. If the length of the stitch (space between the holes) it is an issue with stitch regulation on the machine and not the Pro-Stitcher. Read on to better understand why this is the case and how to troubleshoot it.

Also: Why can't I just load Pro-Stitcher on my own tablet?

((This is my opinion based on my years of software and hardware support.))

Answer:  It is the cost to support the software and hardware on the tablet.

Handi Quilter is actually trying to keep the cost of the Pro-Stitcher down by limiting the tablets that they need to support.  Each tablet needs to be tested, special cables built, and possibly a special mounting bracket created.  And as much as I would like to enable the WIFI on the tablet controlling the longarm, it would increase the number of variables that they need to deal with.

Example: Handi Quilter allows the PSP software to be installed on any laptop to run in Simulator mode.  They support Windows 7 and above.  There are many issues with the 

There are times where a bad setting can be saved to the configuration files that make PSP unusable.  This usually has to do with the display.  For example, if you try to enable touch mode in PSP before you screen size has been set things get really big.  In this case you reset PSP and make sure your screen parameters are set properly before enabling the touch mode.  See the blog on fixing the monitor size which happens with some video drivers on some laptops. https://www.mkquilts.com/mr-mks-blog---techy-stuff/display-fix-monitor-size-incorrect.html

STEP 1:  Shut down PSP
If the PSP screen is so large that you can not close the window, try right clicking on the icon in the taskbar and closing it from there.  You can force kill any application by right-clicking on the taskbar and opening the Task Manager... find the process in the list and right-click to 'end process'.

STEP 2:  Locate the settings.hqdb file under C:\ProgramData\Pro-Stitcher\Data folder
Use the picture below as a reference.  You can only find the file if you have the 'Hidden items' checked in the File Manager's VIEW tab.

STEP 3:  Delete or Rename the file so the PSP does not load the stored settings. 
The file will be recreated when you start PSP.  If you rename it, you may be able to get support to look at it to determine the cause of the original problem.

​I have three options for you…

1. (As of 9/24/2018) Cheapest laptop with touch screen and SSD that I see on Best Buy:  https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i3-8gb-memory-128gb-solid-state-drive-hp-finish-in-natural-silver/6240849.p?skuId=6240849
2. Purchase an hour of my time for $35 and I will get online with you and interview you in order to select the best laptop for you.  What is important to you is different than what may be for me.   https://www.mkquilts.com/store/p88/IT_Remote_Support.html
3. Purchase the $100 full service Select – Configure – reship service as described: https://www.mkquilts.com/store/p28/New_PS_Sim_Computer_Configuration_Service.html

 
The blog post https://www.mkquilts.com/mr-mks-blog---techy-stuff/selecting-a-pc-for-running-simulator describes the minimums.  

My blog posts are almost exclusively technical related, but I thought I would share a little about my cross country - Las Vegas to Orlando - trip helping drive two large Penske trucks that were also towing cars behind.  It was good to get our daughter and her husband back to Florida where we will be able to visit more often.

Despite having taken the trip in the opposite direction just over two years before, I told myself that it would be an opportunity to get some work done when not driving and reflect on my life.  I was looking to come away a better person and get caught up on things.

Looking down at a computer or iphone for too long while in a bouncing truck cab can make you want to vomit.  It is also too noisy to do any sort of normal communication.  Once I gave up on the idea of real work, my driving partner and I had many deep and serious conversations over the three days.  After raising my voice to talk for three days, my voice sounds like 'Mr. Ed'... the talking horse.  (Is that dating me?)

I have written other blog posts on this website discussing how to select the right windows PC for your use.  Although focused on users of the Pro-Stitcher software, it applies in general.  A friend has once again asked to watch for 'a deal on a new laptop'. I gave my normal sermon on 'you must get an SSD.'  One trip to the Best Buy website flagged a unique opportunity to compare two very similar laptops offered at the same price.  The process actually took me over an hour and I wanted to document the process.

Laptops will generally respond 30%-40% faster with an SSD.  I consider it a must as you will get a lot for the extra money.  But most often, they will give you a smaller 128G SSD that may not have enough space.  The operating system and programs can use half (60G) of the space.  If you have little data or are willing to learn the OneDrive cloud storage (or iDrive, Dropbox, others) and pay for extra online storage, this is enough space.  The lowest cost laptop with a 256G SSD on Best Buy was over $700.  Our example 128G SSD system is only $480.  Admittedly the more expensive one has a 2-in-1 flexible screen hinge and has a touch screen.  But $220 is a lot of money.

​Review these screen grabs to understand the items I have discussed... 

My techie side got too detailed as I wrote the April newsletter, so I thought I would put this discussion concerning file size and bandwidth into my blog for people that care to read it...

TECHY TALK: To give some perspective...
Ignoring the discussion of a (b)it versus (B)yte and "1K = 1000 or 1024, when we talk about file size in KBytes.  (1000 Bytes)

• A picture on a website is usually less than 100 KB
• A five minute song in MP3 format is 13,000 KB
• The 4-minute low res TV Interview on our website in MP4 is 250,000 KB (or 250 Meg)
• MKs 35-minute Custom cropping video in MP4 format is 2,400,000 KB (or 2.4 Gig or 2,400 Meg)

In a perfect world where you actually get the advertised miles per gallon that was posted on the new car sticker: If you pay for 100 Mb high speed internet, you can download a whopping 12 Megs per second (720 Megs per minute).  Many people have 10 Mb or 50 Mb connections, or even satellite 1Mb.  

Streaming video services like Youtube and Yondo try to detect your screen size and network bandwidth to only send you the resolution that you can support without a lot of buffering.  So your experience will vary depending on your internet connection.

The nice thing about Pro-Stitcher is that you can always 'rollback' to an earlier version.  (I would keep copies of the installation files in a folder somewhere.)  But if you are having a problem, make sure you are running the latest version before calling support.

The short version of this problem is that people find that they can not use their keyboard on a laptop to enter a decimal number in Pro-Stitcher.  For instance, a size of 6.5 inches.  Or a nudge factor of .2.  What is happening is that the onscreen keypad only pops up when you have PS in Touch mode.  If the laptop does not have a dedicated 10-key configuration keyboard, there is no decimal key.  The period key on the normal section of the keyboard does not work as a decimal between numbers.

Considering the investment you make into your longarm quilting machine (or any high-end electronic device), it is strongly recommended that you plug it into an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).  This device has a battery to keep the device/machine running FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

Surge Protectors will have electronics to protect electronics against minor fluctuations, but will do nothing to help if the power drops or shuts off.  Your quilting machine will CRASH even though your Pro-Stitcher tablet has an internal battery.  A UPS will switch over to the battery and keep things running FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.  If a power outage lasts more than 30 seconds, you should be immediately shutting down your machine.

While you are running on battery, your UPS will likely beep.  You may even need to reset (cycle the power) the UPS to get it to return to normal power depending on if a surge was involved.  Keep the UPS accessible.

If you experience a long term power outage, it is recommended that you unplug​ your machine and wait until power is restored and stable.  This will avoid potential damage from surges that occur when power first comes back on.

Without getting into the technical details of Volts, Amps, Watts, and Joules...
Purchase a UPS that has a "600VA" or higher rating.  The higher the number, the longer the machine and/or devices connected to it will stay running.  Buy larger systems if you plan on supporting more than one machine.  Some of the larger units may have more than one battery.  The manufacturer is not important in most cases.  The APC brand is generally considered the standard.  If you have free shipping through Amazon, you can buy online.  However the cost and regulations with shipping batteries can add cost, so it is likely an item you want to buy from a local store.

Test your UPS by simply unplugging the UPS from the wall while your equipment is running.  If you want to get fancy, many UPS devices come with a UPS cable that can be attached to a PC for testing and monitoring.  (I find this more hassle than it is worth.)

Expect to need to replace the batteries every two to three years.  Eventually the UPS will give a warning that the battery is bad.  Find a local battery store and swap out the internal battery instead of buying a whole new unit.  If you don't have a store nearby, it will likely be cheaper to buy a full new unit than pay shipping on the battery by itself.