LGJARN52

Oreo1912....Yes, I talked to Shields, they were the first ones I called. They can do a badic cleaning, but they won't be able to order parts if needed becuase they aren't affliated with Janone. So if one needed parts (I think the 6650 will) it would have to go to Shields and then to another Janome repair shop, and that is paying two bills and not just one. Guess I'm going to have to make that drive to either Cedar Rapids, or Marshalltown.

Rff1010

45 minutes THIS way or 45 min THAT way. My THAT way guy retired and sold his business. Haven't worked with the new owners. The guy THIS way is a crochety old man n, but he knows his stuff on the DSM. They say he can work on the longarm but...? Haven't taken it for service yet.

I also have the business card of someone who says he makes house calls. Which might be the person I call when needed for the longarm. I mean, if I don't know someone, I might as well try from the comfort of my house.

cashs_mom

I'm very fortunate. I have 2 repair shops just a few miles away. In our traffic, it takes me 20 - 30 minutes to get to each one. There's a Bernina shop fairly close in the other direction. It's a bit farther so I only take my new-ish 475 there. Which reminds me. Its time to do that.

b.zang

The shop where I bought my Janome machines (I have the 6650 as well and the 8400) provides servicing by a Janome trained technician so I take my machines there. It's about 3 hours one way so I always call the shop and we make arrangements for a day when the technician will be available so I can drop off early in the morning and pick up at the end of the same day. I combine it with a day of shopping. Sometimes I'll drive in and stay overnight so I don't need to leave so early in the morning. I try to do this yearly but somehow I only seem to remember in January - New Year's resolutions and all - so I'm making the trek on snowy, icy roads. I need to revise my schedule!

Peckish

Hang on. Is the 1600P *only* skipping when you're quilting? Does it sew normally when you're just sewing or piecing? Because if that's the case, there's probably nothing wrong with it, you may just need to use a larger needle.

When you're pushing/pulling/manipulating a quilt in the harp, a smaller needle can flex and therefore miss picking up the bobbin thread. If you go up to a larger ( i.e. thicker & stronger) needle, it doesn't flex as much and stops skipping. I found I had to use at least a 16 in my Brother 1500 (identical to the Janome 1600P) to fix the skipped stitches.

FYI. Standard size needles for longarms are 16 and 18.

Three Dog Night

I'm very lucky to have 2 shops within a 15 mile radius. The closest is my LQS which is 7 miles from my home and I am there for an open sew every week. The farthest is 15 miles and is where I have purchased my Pfaffs and Juki from.

Stitches23

I drive 2 hours one way. I like the repair/service man. There is nothing where I live.

GGK

Across the nation from southern California to the east Coast:

I have two Viking Designer SE machines, motherboards when out on both. My Viking dealer want $650 (each) to replace with 'used' motherboards (no warranty). Other dealers were even higher, and a new machine is too expensive.

After searching the Internet for 'how to repair' and after A LOT of prayer, I found 'The Sewing Machine Repair Guy' on YouTube (retired...worked as an electrician on nuclear submarine for 20+ years). Turns out, his wife also has a Designer SE; he replaced all the capacitors on the motherboards. He has videos on how to do this on YouTube, and sells kits on Etsy.

Cavaet...I took both my machines apart MYSELF, and shipped the motherboards to him (his suggestion as I do not have original packing to protect machines during shipping, nor does he.

He was able to replace all the capacitors on the motherboards for both machines for less than $175; they work beautifully...including the embroidery.

There were two special screwdrivers that I had to purchase and a wrist/static thingy (so I would not get shocked). Also, I watched his video on how to take the machines apart and replace the motherboards several times (including taking screen shots of each and every step and putting them into a PowerPoint presentation...also took a lot of photos with my phone while taking them apart.

https://www.youtube.com/@SewingMachi...h?query=Viking

LGJARN52

Peckish....my 1600P does double duty for me. I use it for plain sewing (straight stitch only) and when I want to quilt something. I's skipping stitches in both instances. The recommended needle for this machine is a HLx5 90/14 from Organ Needles which is what I use with Omni thread.

GGK

OOps...I just realized that your question was how far do you 'drive' ...I mailed my motherboards...sorry.