Hi everyone. I am the original poster on this thread and I have appreciated all the Bernina and repair discussion. My Activa went back to the shop and it IS the circuit board. They said the power board messed up the circuit board. They quoted me $200 for the repair - so not as high as I had feared. It's still in the shop, however. So I am sewing on my vintage machine - got to love a machine with NO electronic parts!