Dennis, (or anyone) correct me if I'm wrong please, I'm not sure where you are getting your info about US lasers from, but I only know of one that charges for support, (there may be others?) but if you read through the forum you will find many who have bought Universal or Epilog that as far as I am aware, do not have to pay for basic tech support, in fact just the opposite, they seem to be willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to help even those who have bought an old used machine for no cost, I've never had to pay any kind of fee, I call the Mfg, they help me diagnose the problem and they overnight the part I need, for the cost of the part.
I have never had to pay this for my Universal. I just don't want others seeing this thread and thinking that US made=$150 hr/$2000 yr support.
Perhaps given enough skill and time to re-engineer the machines with workable parts it could be done although Rodney is the only one I've seen on here that has been successful doing this, and that with a different Mfg.
I hope this doesn't come across as angry, I'm just passionate about what I do. I'm glad you had a good experience with yours but as you said its was more of a hobby, for those of us who depend upon it to make a living every day, it's worth the extra cost and peace of mind. I hope you find the next one even more satisfying.
Paul