Converting Baby Lock Regent (to HQ Capri on frame?)
 

My partner and I want to convert our relatively new Regent to a stand-up machine (with a smallish frame like the Coronet uses). We haven't been to the Baby Lock dealer yet, but I've done a lot of research. It was very difficult to find any info on this online relating specifically to the Baby Lock Regent, but I have discovered that the Regent is virtually the same machine as the HQ Capri. Handi Quilter even sells a conversion kit for the Capri (which includes the Little Foot Frame - which again is the same as the Coronet frame), and has precise instructions for doing the conversion.

After comparing the manuals (which are nearly identical, down to the page numbers), I'm certain the HQ Conversion kit will work with the Regent "mechanically". However, the last step in the process is upgrading the software. Since the "brains" of the machine are in the display (which is replaced with the handle installation), I think it should work fine.

Does anyone see any problems with this scenario?
We are concerned a bit about support for such a frankenstein. We don't have an HQ dealer near us.

Has anyone done this or something similar? (Cross machiine brands for an upgrade.)

I can't answer your question, but maybe you will have better luck finding an answer on one of the facebook groups dedicated to your specific machine? I belong to such a group for my brand of longarm and it has been so very helpful in so many ways.

Thank you for the suggestion! I'm giving that a try - now to just wait for approval...

Well, I did join the Baby Lock Longarm Quilting Community FB group, and It is worthwhile, but I did not find answers to the question I asked here. Looks like we are the first people to want to convert the Regent to a stand-up moveable machine on a frame. I can't believe it is so difficult to find information about this. The Regent manual states near the beginning "Because the Regent is upgradeable to a stand-up frame quilting system, there are components found on the machine that are not used for stationary machine quilting (such as threaded holes for handlebars)." (emphasis mine). My question is "How?"...

We will be making the trek to the dealer in the near future, but none of the Baby Lock "experts" on the FB group seemed to know anything about it. I am not hopeful....

Have you contacted the manufacturer for assistance? Or HandiQuilter ? They would probably be the best source of information for what you are wanting to do. Good luck.

I have not. I've thought about contacting Baby Lock directly, but I've hesitated because we haven't spoken to the dealer where we got our machine yet. Our nearest dealer is not large, but the support guy is very nice. I think I'd like to give him a chance first. The fact that I can't find any info online about this other than from Handi Quilter sources is not encouraging, but I may be being too pessimistic. We're not in a hurry - I'm just used to finding info online and I've been stymied by this.

I converted my Babylock Tiara to a longarm with the Grace QZone Queen frame and it works wonderfully.
You have to buy the extended handles and carriage.
Not sure if your machine converts, it depends on the length.
Contact me if you'd like more info.

Watson