I been having good luck with mine. I think most machines, no one fiddles with while swinging. Usually it would be just setting up a program for the area (if their machine has custom programs) or just setting a few menu options and then swing away. I'd def say this is a better machine to use than the Ace series, and I'd sure stick with it. No need to upgrade in the future. Maybe just a coil change, cuz I swear the round DD shape works different than the butterfly DDs. Altho I do feel there should be a backup machine. As much as I love having the 2-AA in this one, having the 2-9V means the output power can be higher and the receive side can have less gain and therefore be less susceptible to EMI and the dog fences.