Mark, Oleg, Alex, I am posting here In case anyone on the board has any ideas where I can get a hand amp control to fit my 255ext. I have called several places today and no one has any available for my machine. Just some back ground info on the situation. Purchased the 255 a few weeks back. The only stipulation to me buying the unit was that I could use a hand amp control. Due to the nature of our work it is a necessary evil, I say evil because in the shop I prefer to use a pedal. In the field we cannot. Nor will downslope control work for our application - see my previous post. Anyway when we purchased it we also ordered the hand amp torch Oleg and Alex recommended. Unknown to them and myself these torches cant be used on the digital machines! I talked with Alex today and he said they haven't came up with a solution yet and to send the torch back, he said we will have to use a CK amptrol wired to the Everlast 7 pin connector. I do not want to wire this myself, and void the warranty if the machine burns up for whatever reason! I talked to CK, they will not wire a switch for me either. Does anybody know where I can get a rotary, track or linear control for this machine. I believe I read the steady grip will work, but I'm not too keen on that in the tight spots I need to use the torch. In fact, from the beginning I was hoping to get a removable hand amp instead of the torch I ordered through everlast ( that wont work anyway) with the control built in. On a couple different machines we repair we often have to use a weld craft straight torch which is about the size of a magic marker. When repairing these machines in the past we would use the straight torch and actually hold the amptrol in the other hand with the filler wire because the torch wouldn't fit in the area to be welded with the amptrol strapped on it. I have used a lot of machines, and this everlast machine ranks at the top. In fact it welds very similar to the older thermal arc I bought this to replace. Unfortunately the unit is useless to us outside of the shop when were called to fix continuous batch washers. We need to drop and raise amps quickly on the eroded steel that varies significantly in thickness on these washers we are repairing. We are performing these repairs in situations where a pedal is near impossible to use. Sometimes hanging from a harness off a forklift.
