Hi all,
I’m putting this post here for those that might be looking for help in the future. I’m not complaining about the Handy or overall dissatisfied with the product. 
I bought my first Handy 2+ years ago and used it for quite a while without much issue. I bought a second handy just over a year ago because I was realizing that my first one was wearing out. I saved it in it’s box and continued to use my first one.
About 4 months ago my first unit started to “slip” where the carrier would lose it’s sync with the motor. Heat seems to be the culprit. After cooling off, it would work better again.
That was short lived though and it would slip when plugging in and the motor would continue running after the carrier hit bottom. The motor no longer had enough power to be usable.
I put that one away and started using the second unit 4 months ago. The last few times I’ve used it, it seemed like at some point the carrier was slipping a little and the carrier started hitting the top of the unit during a session. (So I’d reduce the limit and carry on not thinking too much about it)
Yesterday it did the same thing where plugging it in, the carrier would hit bottom but the motor continued to run.
I contacted Handy support and sent 3 emails with increasingly more details. They did reply but a higher level tech will be looking into it.
I went ahead and took apart the motor from my first unit to see what is likely happening. The armature (axle that spins) has a cylindrical magnet on it. That magnet has come loose from the armature and spins even when the carrier (connected to the axle) doesn’t move.
The motor makes noise, but the carrier barely moves and can easily be held in place.
I haven’t found out what the best adhesive might be to get the magnet to stay connected to the armature yet. Some RC motor people talk about JB Weld.
I’m enthused about the idea of fixing this.
I think it could be fixed with the motor shell still in the Handy. (Getting the motor out entirely is a messier process)
Remove the bottom cap, loosen the screw coupling from the axle, somehow release the back plate from the motor (that outer shell material is bent over in three spots and really hard to bend strait again), pull out the armature and reglue the magnet.
Replacement motors would be nice to find as well though!
Anyway, I intend to buy another Handy and keep the failed units as spare parts. (My second unit is likely just out of warranty even though I didn’t start actually using it until 4 months ago)
There are a few changes that I think would make the Handy longer lasting. I like the idea of a metal “screw nut” that would connect the carrier to the screw rod. They come with a plastic one. I’ve seen that someone somewhere had replaced his with a metal one.
The top of the carrier has two metal sleeves that fit on the support rods to the left and right of the screw rod. The bottom of the carrier is plastic only and wears over time. That causes a light clunk sometimes as the motor changes direction. It would be nice if there were metal sleeves at the top and bottom of the carrier to hold it more securely.
A small fan next to the motor might help expel the heat. The Handy is plugged in anyway.
I hope this helps some of you at some point.
