Variable Speed Power Supply, Treadmill Motor Controller Boards: MC-02, MC-60, MC-2000 or MC-2100 

Just received my PWM controller and have been grinning like an idiot at my smooth running treadmill motor for 20 minutes now. Figured I should be productive and tell everyone it was because of this video. Thanks!

one of the specialist of this field didn't even know pulse width modulation he just call it *PMW*! great video at least you know what you do.

Thanks for this video! I found an old treadmill with the MC-2100 and thought there was no way I’d ever be able to run the motor using the onboard controller. I happened to have a PWM module and it worked. Thanks man

My fingers got that stained once when I was dissolving silver nickel copper coins in nitric acid. Some of the liquid spilt down the neck of the flask and wet my fingers.. I washed them a few minutes later but too late. The thing was that the staining came on over the next few hours and stayed for more than a week! Excellent vid, thanks man.

Appreciate this guide! I have a 2100 I've been wanting to repurpose

Thanks again,, you are amazing,, and you have no idea how much anxiety you have relieved me of. I'm not very clever and you make it so easy to follow,, I wish you were my neighbour 😃

I saw your videos on setting up a quality speed controller because I am a noob and I just assumed that I couldn’t use the supplied board without also using the treadmill display. I started watching some other videos because I was overwhelmed with the thought of sourcing the necessary parts and was glad to find this one. One tip: you might want to put a link to this video in your other videos because some of your viewers might not know this is an option!

This is the most comprehensive and well laid out video explaining how to modify treadmill controllers I have ever seen, have fitted treadmill motors to my Seig Mill and Hobbymatt lathe so this will help me to adapt the controllers I have, will be doing this tomorrow, many thanks regards Doc Cox.

Thanks for doing this nice summary of treadmill motors and controllers. I use these all the time and have a few others to add to your list. So if you don't mind I'd like to comment on these and few other things I've learned over the years. By the way I like the term "safe start" better "soft start". (there are "soft starts" available for large industrial motors). Safe start makes sure a tread mill does start at a high speed when you get on it, thus the term safe start. It is an inconvenience when using these on our home shop machines, but there are ways around it. As you pointed out the benefit of a DC motor is the ability to easily adjust the speed. Equally important however is that a DC can produce its full torque throughout the speed range. The current going thru the motor is proportional to the torque it is producing. The DC voltage applied to the motor determines its speed. So the controller simply controls the voltage based on the speed setting (potentiometer or PWM) and the load on the motor determines how much current it will draw from the controller. Most controllers will limit the amount of current it will provide and when it reaches that point it will start to decrease the voltage to keep things from overloading. The motors sometimes have protection built into them also. As you showed in your video the blue wires coming out of the motor is a thermal overload (not a fuse) and it will open the circuit (just like the on-switch) if the motor gets too hot. I found an MC-20 in a small low end treadmill and used it on a small bench top drill press along with the 1HP motor that was in the treadmill. I could not find much info on the MC-20 so I was unable to disable the safe start but I just turn the pot down to zero each time I start and then set it to the desired speed. I've used the MC-60 on my vintage Craftsman bandsaw to slow the speed so I could cut metal (using a metal cutting blade). It works very well. You can easily defeat the safe start by snipping one lead on R27. Mine is an MC-60 rev H. I've also used the MC-60 on my Atlas/Craftsman lathe. I've documented this on the Craftsman Lathe Forum if you are interested. I have an actual treadmill (don't use it much anymore) that has an MC-80. From what I can tell its very similar to the MC-60. I don't think my wife will ever let me dismantle it..... I do have an MC-2000 on the shelf that I plan to use on a belt sander some day. Lastly I'm using an MC-2100 on a small CNC mill I'm building. My research led me to believe the PWM period needed to be 50 HZ, not 20. When I get time I may change that to 20HZ and see what happens. I'm using an Arduino to the read the value of potentiometer and generate the PWM signal to the MC-2100. You also need to limit the PWM pulse width to 85%. The nice thing about using an Arduino is you can defeat the safe start in software by controlling the PWM output according to your needs. Thanks for letting me hack your thread. I hope others will learn how easy it is to use these controllers in their home shops. JD

Exactly what I needed! Great video.

Finally a decent tutorial, many many thanks 👍😄

Thank you! I've spent many hours of research trying to find this kind of information. It's out there but hard to find. I used an Arduino to run the MC-2100 before finding the PWM method. Excellently made video. Thank you!

Excellent video. You just saved us all some time.

Great video, thanks! I've done both an SCR controller and a MC-2100 with pwm and I love the latter; it runs very smooth and quiet. I used a a raspberry pi pico for the pwm and wired a potentiometer to the pico to make adjusting the speed nice and easy.

Please do a video on the MC1618DLS There is not a video or wiring diagram on Google. Im guessing one needs a PWM controller to use it. Keep the videos coming, ive watched all yours at lease twice. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Really nice job man. Wish I would have had this video months ago! I have a MC2100 and getting good info on it in language I understand was nearly impossible.

Thanks for the great info on these boards

The most productive informative video indeed. Just have to buy a pwm. I think one of the controller I have is the last one you flashed and moved out of the way, the complicated one you said you can' t hack. I have to look. I assume if a board doesn't show PWM somewhere, it is a no go. But I have the other two. One I just use the potentiometer and the other I believe needs pwm. Thank you so much.

Good video. It saved me a lot of time and money.

Excellent job great video and exactly right 👍

Great video, thabk you for posting great info. The one problem i find and getbpretty frustrated with is where the hell do i find these ac and dc chokes lol. If they dont come with the machine i i just forgo them because idk how toncalculate andnconfigure one to make myself or to even buy the right one online. Anyway, thabks a ton, helped me much

Very informative. Nice Intro. 😉

Hi. Thanks for your videos! When you are discussing hooking up the 2100 with PWM, you mention putting the power through the ferrite choke. It looks like you point to the coil choke, but I do see the ferrite one sitting behind it and am assuming that is what you were pointing at. Can you just confirm that you do not use the coil choke anywhere in your circuit for the 2100 board and although it was sitting on your bench, it was not Connected to anything.

Day, what’s the difference between a pulse width modulator and a potentiometer? They look similar but the modulator has modes wires so I assume something else is going on with it. Thanks, loving your videos. Having to repeat watching to get every detail.

Great video

Very informative , Thank you

In the realm of junked treadmills, which brands or models would you choose to tear into? There are a couple of very accommodating salvage operations nearby.

Keep in mind you may not get full horsepower from a treadmill controller. I have a NordicTrack 2.25HP motor and MC-2100 controller. The motor is rated at 130VDC, 2200 Watts. That calculates to 16.9 Amps. The tag on the machine frame states 120 Volts, 13 Amps. That calculates to 1560 Watts. That's about 25% reduction in Wattage. I'm not sure how much the maximum torque is reduced. The power cord is 16 AWG, another indicator of the power the machine uses.

Grate video grate teaching.thanks

I had a bad MC2100 SDI board so that the treadmill quit working. I replaced the 6800uf electrolytic capacitor and now the treadmill works again as though it was new. The capacitors go bad. Replace them and you're good.

nice job mate😍

really nice and didactic video but how can we reconize the pins for the pwm connection on the board; there are no signs or nummembers on the board(mc2-v3,1).

If I want to keep the flywheel on my motor, do I grind/file the grooves off and get a fitting pulley? Or can I get a pulley with the same grooves to put on my harbor freight wood lathe shaft? Also what are recommended outer diameter pully sizes for bowl turning? I'm sorry if you've already answered this for someone else.

So I have the MC2, well actually the other one the MC 60, it has got the LWH. I guess it employs the control using potentiometer, and so the motor speed is controlled by just controlling the voltage supply. If that be the case doesn't it make this type of control board a good bench top high DC power supply. So one can install Volt Amp meter with it and run whatever one needs. Just a cheap old power supply which are typically 30V, 10A, run from $60- whatever. While this unit can supply around 100V and over and 20 A. I just the motor that MC60 was running. It says 90V 21.5A So I thought today that the PWM set up does not vary the voltage while the LWH does. So the idea just popped in my head to use it as a nice high power DC power supply. Also I noticed some sort of transformer you have hooked to the MC 2100 besides the big choke. What is that for? and what kind of transformer is that? Thanks.

ithis is way cool! I have been sitting an MC-2100WAM and motor out of the same treadmill. I have a wood bandsaw to put it in to make it a metal bandsaw. Now I'm thinking it should go in my HF 3 in 1 mill. decisions, decisions

Hi DazeCars, With the knowledge you share in your videos I've successfully converted a JET Wood Lathe to a treadmill motor and have now powered my rotary dirt sifter with one. In both cases I'm still using the original treadmill power supplies and controllers, and, also the user interface panel. Using the panel has the additional benefit of allowing me to monitor my heart rate. 😊 Wondering if you have ever modified the speed of a motor by adjusting the potentiometers on the board. The manual for the PROFORM 520X has instructions for calibrating various functions of the machine including the speed. I ask because the speed of the lowest setting is slightly too fast for my dirt sifter and slowing it down mechanically by changing pulley diameters would be pretty difficult. Thanks again for the great videos and content. Jay

1st video of hundreds watched telling me exactly what needs done to get the 2100 running. I have the main console for the proform treadmill, but I need it to run for days at a certain rpm for tumbling rocks. Because of that, it looks like I’ll have to bypass the console with your suggestion. One question though, if my pwm and pulse generator doesn’t have an on off switch, can I insert one in between the motor control board and pwm?

Thank you!

Great video man. I learned alot. I have a treadmill with with a 3.8hp motor and mc-2100ls-30rev controller. That is what is labeled on the board. The tag says mc2100lts-30. I am going to convert it into a lamb walker and have eliminated the large display and all that. I am going to use the same pwm with the dial you used. Can't seem to find which motor choke I need though. Any advise? Also is this motor reversible? Thinking about putting in a 3 position 6 pole switch to be able to run it both directions. Thanks again man. Great video!

Thanks for the information on dc motor controllers, I harvested a motor and contoller from a treadmill that has a MC1650LS-2W controller. I am trying to find information on this model controller and how I can connect a potentiometer to the controller. The wires that connect to the controller are color coded black with white stripe, red,green,blue. I have 10.5v from red wire and 4.9 from green wire, they connect to the controller with only the markings of HD4. Can I use a potentiometer with this board or do I need to use a pulse generator and how do I connect them. Thanks for any help you can give.

I have a MC2100 from a treadmill. The plan is to retrofit my wood lathe. My question is what type of box should I be looking for to house everything? Thankful

boo thank best info ever

Good morning, I have a problem with my treadmill Proform 755 that has an MC-2100B controller card, the problem is that when I give it the order to start, the maximum speed goes and I have to stop the treadmill. What could be the problem if you can't control the speed? It only goes at maximum speed, it is impossible to use. The failure started when I moved it from one room to another, opened the treadmill and found the card full of dust and dirt.

Its hard to see in the video is the black dc power wire from A+ terminal running into the large ferrite choke then to motor?

wow great video.... I want to make a linear actuator using a thread mill motor... what is the minimum speed with this configuration

Very informative. Great video. Have you had any experience with speed sensors on these motors? The motor I have has a wheel at the opposite end to the drive shaft. Has a sensor with 3 wire plug that connects into the board. Is there any way to display the RPM?

Great video and very informative. I have a mc80 Although it does have the LWH connection the board seems to be very small compared to the boards you have on this video. Is it a good board to use or should I keep looking for one of the boards you have on this video?

How hot is that white tall rectangular component supposed to get on the MC 2100 board? Mine gets very hot. Every time I energize the board and I’ve got it wired exactly the way yours is.

Thanks for taking the time to post this kind of info for the do it yourselfer. I have a ProForm 695Pi it's about 15 years old and has had little use. Recently I started using it and after about 2 weeks of using it 20 min a day at 2.3 Mph , the motor began to stop running. If I get off the belt it will go back to running at the set speed. I have lubed the belt but the motor has begun to act up even sooner now. any ideas? Any help would be appreciated.

Hey DazeCars, I have the MC2100 board, and I thought I had salvaged all the components but I'm not sure now after watching. At 6:09 you are pointing out the peices on the bench and you point to what I thought was a transformer, but you called it the Ferrite Choke. I thought the choke was the round thing with the wires coiled around it. I also have the same PWM as your first demo' d set up, but my motor won't start. Any ideas as to where I should go from here? When I salvaged this treadmill, it worked intermitantly and I traced it to a separation in the touch screen plastic layered switching for the speed controls and incline on the consol. The motor did work before is what I am trying to get at. I double (actually quadruple) checked my wiring as per yours and it all looks good except for your Ferrite choke thingy. I was so glad I found your video as I have been struggling with this off and on for a while now, and but alas my struggle seems to continue. Cheers and thanks for posting.

Hey! Have you ever heard of a B017d control board? I am attempting to use one on and a treadmill motor on my lathe. I am not super electronically inclined though and was hoping to find a write up using that board instead of an MC board, but have had no luck! Thanks for making such great videos

Which pwm do you like better or recommend? Great video btw, doing this build with a 2100 board right now.

I think I have the mc1200 and I want to do away with the counsel board do to its size. The problem I have is my flat plug has 8 wires. Can you tell me what colors are my "H" "W" "L"? The colored wires are black, orange, red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and brown. I took a close up picture of the plug and wires but I see no way to attach it,

i have a MC-5100 and its made by Icon like the 2100, and looks similar, but has 2 big caps. and the pinouts are a little different. The internet has zero interest in these i guess, because for the life of me i cant find anyone talking about them. I just scored a free tread off the curb, it has a mc-2000. And i dont know if anyone has foiund a really old treadmill, i mean so old the motor looks like a washing machine motor, and it has a pulley thats adjustable by spreading it apart with a flexible shaft screw knob. i love the simplicity of it! i left it as is and use it as a conveyor belt for sifting sand, it makes such a pretty pile lol, just like the big boys. Anyho, anyone have a 5100? anything cool about to know or is it just a revised 2100 pretty much?

Great video 👍 Is a MT05 board any use? I picked up a new treadmill with a damaged cord. Repaired the cord, but the control panel doesn’t illuminate. I’m sure it’s a issue with the wire that runs through the frame to the control panel, but I want to repurpose the motor anyway.

Hi I have a treadmill that won’t stay on it’s got the MC-2100 REV B board on it! The power light on the board is lit and when I press the on switch the motor briefly comes on but then shuts off and the power light goes off too! then the power light cycles back on and repeats the same problem again & again! Is there a component that I should check for this problem? Also the white ceramic block labeled 7W 3K3J FY gets very hot is this normal? Thanks for your emmediate response! E. Rod.

I have a md030617 seems like the PWM can plug into aswell.

Thanks. Great video. Do you know if the motor feedback will work as it should by using this pwm module for speed control

I have a Johnson Fitness control board (JDYF14PL REVd) and can't figure out to control it with a PWM. Where do I find the pin-outs?

I got a reebok treadmill it has a MC70 controller board and no choke but looks like it can directly mount to a potentiometer, but not sure what size? How do i know what size? Is this controller any good it is 20 years old but worked great in the treadmill. looks like on the board I can adjust torque and top speed?

Daze, I tore apart a Nordic track treadmill with a board like the very last one you showed (mine is labeled me520-26). It has another panel with what looks to be two inductors, a capacitor and two components that look like filter chokes wired in series? I'd love to salvage them if they are chokes but the actual windings are hidden behind plastic. Pricing this part on Amazon it runs $450 so I'd hate to tear it apart to find out they are transformers. Curious if you've you've run into these before?

I had to replace one of the Mofett and after soldering it on then plugging everything back in, the red light will just flash while pressing start. Any ideas?

Awesome Thank you for sharing this info! Question: Can reverse be added to this circuit when using the MC-2100 board? Need reverse in a lathe operation when backing out a tap.

Thank you for replies to my comments on the "blue wire..." video. I have a MC-70 board. Any thoughts?

Thank you for the video. Biggest help so far. Motor will come on but pulsates. Want to use for my treadmill. Everything good except push buttons on monitor board Want to use board for emergency cut off. Treadmill Nordic track C2050 about 15 years old Motor board number MC-2100 REV B V#37376 As you suggested Got a ZK-PP1K PULSE GENERATOR MOTOR RUNS BUT PULSATES. SPEED CONTROL WORKS ON GENERATOR BUT MOTOT STILL PULSATES. UNHOOKED ALL WIRES ON MONITOR BOARD LEAADING FROM MOTOR BOARD. STUMPED. Any suggestions? Do not want to get rid of good treadmill because of electrics. Just know it can be fixed if find out how. Thank you for any help

Daze, if my 2100 didn’t come with the transformer and has not place to plug one in - does that mean it runs ok without one? I’m speaking of the one I sent you a diagram of the other day. Thanks

I got a treadmill with a MC 80 board in it. It looks very much like the MC 60. I have tested one of them boards ?

Brilliant work. Thank you for uploading. I have a MC-2100 which i am going to get a PWM controller for (to fix my treadmill actually!). According to the schematic, the PWM controller will be powered by the MC-2100's 12V rail.. Then the MC-2100 expects a PWM signal in the range of 0V to 5V. Just wondering does the PWM controller's duty cycle effectively "step down" to this 5V or is it spitting out +12V?

Hello. I just picked a 2100 board, without the transformer that powers the logic side of things. Can you tell me what voltage yours outputs on the low voltage side? Thanks for the great rundown!

Hello. I enjoy your stuff a lot. I have a SS 90 control board from a True 500 treadmill. I assume I will need a PWM but not sure which connections from the board to use and/or where to connect on the PWM. Any suggestions? Thanks much.

Great video! I have an MC-1648 board, which is [visually] very similar to the MC-2100. The connector where you attach the PWM looks to be in a similar location, but has a lot more wires. My guess is that I'd simply disconnect all but the 4 wires needed for the PWM. I've seen on forums that the MC-1648 wants a 5V signal on the blue wire and some people have added resistors to step down from 12V. Do you have any info on wiring this PWM to the MC-1648 board? Thanks so much!

do you have a video on the mc1618dls ?

Belo trabalho em seus videos sobre o scr tenho um com potenciometro de chave e também se for possivel informe tenho uma placa mc60 esta funcionando somente veloc. alta o que pode ser ? o resistor controlador de velocidade queimou por alta temperatura ? (Brasil)

Do you think you could use a cell phone with a pulse generator app download and if you could how might one go about connecting it to the board? Thank you

Great video 👍 iv got a MC 2000 board do I run power through the LG2 white and the LG1 blue direct and then connect a speed control unit i I need help with this please

thank you so much for great info i have the last board that you talked about but it is little bit different it is MC 2100LTS-30 does it need a choke or not? please your help will be greatly appreciated thank you in advance !

So I have my lathe with the mc2100 board up and running ,thanks to your info. Now I'm doing another project but I have an alt 6330a board and I'm not sure I can control this one with just a pwm controller. Any knowledge of these boards?

have you done a video about a mc-2000E?

Nice video, I used it to shop for a better controller than an SCR set up. I went with a used MC-2000 from Ebay. The wiring is pretty straight forward but when powering it up only the 15V and SPD SIG Leds light up. Rotating the pot (200K) does nothing to the motor but the SPD SIG Led does dim. I know the motor (2.44 HP) is good as I had it set up with an SCR controller at first but it couldn't keep up with the load I was putting it under. I'm using it for a woodworking lathe. With the SCR it would repeatedly pulse between full on and off. Did I get a bricked controller or am I missing something else here? Thanks Dude!

Hello. I'm looking to control a treadmill motor to drive a pottery wheel. I need a slide control to use in a foot pedal, which means a potentiometer. I think it might be possible to find a pwm with a constant frequency output that is controlled by a potentiometer. Any ideas about this?

Do you have information for Digital Concepts controllers used on Proform equipment? They look robust like the MC2000 and 2100 units.

Can you run a MC2100LT REV board and the motor you are controlling off of 220V ? Or is it just gonna smoke it? Reason I'm asking is I'm converting my wood lathe over to a treadmill motor and I know that the 220V will give me more and consistent power.

Dave love all your videos. Can you help me locate the wiring diagram for an Aerobics pro plus board # 9501001? Have the PWM but not sure which wire is the signal wire and which supplies voltage . Board seems to work properly but obviously need the correct wiring to get the motor to spin. Seems to me it is very close to the MC-2100 board.

What does it mean to "clean up the power"? And what happens when you do or don't do that?

Do you have any videos on the more complex board (or one similar to it) you showed at the end? I have one collecting dust in my shop, and I'd like to try and use it instead of just tossing it.

Daze. I have a Lower Motor Control Board Controller 8130201 MEG4LF-1E. Have you had any experience modifying this board for use on any DIY projects? I have all the components and wiring off the treadmill with all wiring. Any help on the proper wiring to accommodate a PWM signal generator would be appreciated. thanks

And a follow up question. What size PWM?

Hi I just picked up a mc-2000, I hooked everything up No lights come on what would the problem, most likely be, Please help

Is there somewhere on the board that says what type of control it is, MC-whatever?

I own a treadmill with the PCB 2100 , it run then it stop suddenly, what could be the issue?

Can I get a part number regarding the power supply you used with the mc2100 at the end of the video . Thank you in advance

When I see dirty fingers I know it will work for me. Thank you.

I purchased an MC2100LTS-50w board. The board did not come with an 8 pin male connector. Do you or anyone else have one I can purchase. I also need an appropriate sized DC choke. Thanks Jerry

hi david, well i couldnot not post my question here while having a compressor 150 liters looking for motor. i have used my treadmill motors for various things but not a compressor-single head. neither seen any body did that. so, what do you think about this possibility? home use not daily use. thanks dear

In another video, you claimed the MC-2100 speed with a PWM is course when compared to the cheapo SCR you're so fond of. What giveth and why thy taketh?

Great info, in a great video with well spoken narration. Thanks for that. I have a question: I have a treadmill motor and controller, the MC2100 you referenced here. My plan is to use these for a lathe upgrade, but getting braking and reverse switching designed so as to not damage the motor or the controller does not seem to be readily available info. Do you have this setup on yours, and is there a schematic or some diagram to indicate the setup? Or at least some info about this? Thanks

Hey Daze, do you know what type of connector is used for the PWM plug?

Hi, my lifefitness 9500hr next gen treadmill electrics recently got fried. It has a large AC motor, says three phase. Can you recommend any controller to run tge treadmill as lifefitness no longer provide support.thanks lee

Как контроллер работает без сенсорний датчик скорости ошибка недаеёт

Hey, Just wondering if you are familiar with a TM5917 board? Its the one I have. Similar to the ones you show here. Since we last spoke I purchased a tiny push button PWM and connected it to the 4 pin connector on my TM5917 controller. 20Hz did nothing. Just wondering if you can you suggest any other frequencies to try?