Thursday, October 21, 2010

Passap E6000 Battery & Chipset Information

I'm better with the Japanese machines, but I do love my Passap E6000.

A few years ago, with no local Passap dealers in our area and Passap E6000s developing dead batteries, my husband John learned to do several things to the Passap consoles to help keep us knitting.  John's not in the knitting machine repair business, but he's doing some work for Passap knitters in my club and at the seminars, since he comes with me to help.  If you are attending the DFW seminar and want him to work on your console, please contact me.  His charges are very reasonable, but he can only do a few at seminar, so he's taking them in the order requested.

The batteries are the most urgent issue.  They are all very old now, and once the battery goes completely, the console doesn't work properly until you put a new one in.  If your console develops these problems, DON'T give up on it!  A new battery very likely can bring it back to life.  John has repaired several of "dead" ones by cleaning the contacts inside and changing the battery.

The round, flat batteries are soldiered in the front of the printed circuit board.  These are time-consuming to access and time-consuming to remove and replace, since the old soldier must be removed.  The original batteries are no longer available, but there are newer ones that make a good replacement.

You have a bad battery if, after it has been off for a few days, when you turn it on it displays "memo" and then makes you reselect the language.


Or, for those who are able to work with electronics, here's how to test your battery:  Leave the unit on for a day to fully charge it, then turn it off, wait a few days, and then check the voltage at the battery (after opening the case up). After a day, it should be at 2.9v or more.

The bad news is, the battery is soldered in on the front of the printed circuit board (PCB) which is the inaccessible far side of the board when the rear of the case is removed. Changing the battery requires the special batteries, a special tool, and it takes an hour or so to disassemble the unit, de-solder and re-solder in a new battery, and reassemble.

What Chips Were Used
 
Now, do you know which chips are in your console?  The more modern chipsets had additional capabilities – most importantly, the ability to download patterns from a computer into your console. There were six versions of the E6000 chipset: 03, 13, 23, 33, 43, and 53.

03 – These were the first chips supplied in the E6000.

13 – This was the second version. We don’t know what Passap changed with this version. 

23 and up: All these chips have PC download capability (you might use DAK, Creation 6, or Wincrea).

33 – This chip downloads and also works with the 4600 motor and additional C6 capabilities. Machines originally equipped with this chip had a 32K memory. If this chip was put in later, it added downloading and motor capabilities, but didn’t increase memory.
43 – This chip had all of the above, plus minor enhancements or bug fixes.

53 – This chip had all capabilities of Form 6 software, and everything in prior versions.


If You Don't Know What Chips You Have

Find Out Whether it Will Download: (chipset test for Version 23 or higher):

The console may be removed from the machine to test if it will take a download.

Turn it on and if it says PROGR then go to step 4 and start there.

If it says MEMO, then start at step 1.

The first thing is the display and the second is what button one should push, sometimes 2 buttons in sequence.

1. MEMO Enter

2. Some language not English No

Repeat step 2.

3. ENGLISH Enter

4. PROGR Enter

5. ERASE Enter

6. CAST ON 3, Enter

7. All ST PATT No

8. ST. PATT A, press unlabeled key, zero

At this point the console will display PC START if it can accept downloads from a computer (indicates Version 23 of chips or higher) or ERR 213 and loud tone if not. If it doesn't give that display, then the chips are old but can be upgraded.

Open the Console to Identify the Chipset
1.  Prepare to work inside the console by unplugging the unit and grounding yourself.
2.  Remove the 4 Phillips screws on the back of the console.

Lay the screws out so you can put them back into the same locations they came from. John says that they go back in better in the location they came out of, even though they are "all the same."

3.  Gently remove the back cover to the console. It should come off fairly easily.

4.  Towards the top right corner are a pair of chips with paper labels on them.

They will read something like:

Programm A (or E or another letter) 05.363.03.4.01 08.09.88 (numbers may vary)

Muster A 05.364.03.4.01 08.09.88 (numbers may vary)

5.  Write down your numbers exactly as you see them.

6.  8k or 32k memory identification: Look at the number on the chip above the Programm chip. If the first group of numbers on the top row end in 64, e.g. 8464A-10L it is an 8K machine. If the numbers end with 256, e.g. D43256AC -10L, it is a 32K machine.

7.  Reassemble your console reverse of above.

The 6th and 7th digits (the 03 in my example) tell you which version.

The 6 versions are 03, 13, 23, 33, 43, 53 (see above for descriptions).

The numbers on the Programm chip (digits 3, 4 and 5) indicate the languages on the chip.

Languages are also denoted by the Programm Letter: Letter A: Deutsche - Francais – English; Letter E: Portug - Espanol – English.

The Muster chip is always 05.364.xx (the xx is the version number and starts with 03 and progresses by 10s to 53, which is the last version and must match the Programm version)

05.362 has Portuguese, Spanish and English (Letter E – Americas and/or Southern Europe)

05.363 has German, French and English (Letter A – Northern Europe)

05.365 has Italian, Spanish, and Dutch

05.366 has Greek, Turkish and English

05.367 has Portuguese, African and English

05.415 has German, Russian and Bulgarian

05.416 had German, Finnish and Romanian

Console / Memory Serial number information:

On the console there will be a serial number. If it is 6025980 or higher it will download. The same number should be on the machine bed at the front right end, but it is well to check the console itself just in case. If the number is higher than 7037000 then it will have the 32K memory. Unfortunately, upgrading the memory requires circuit changes so is not as simple as just inserting a bigger memory chip.

24 comments:

  1. Dear Diana,

    could you please tell me how to upgrade the chips? I am also interested to know which battery should be used as a replacement?

    Kind regards,

    Marco

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please email me and I'll reply privately. There's an email icon on the side of this blog.

      Delete
  2. If you will email John at jsulliva "at" sbcglobal "dot" net, he can let you know if there is much more information available than this.

    Upgrading the chips is a job for someone with experience playing on circuit boards. John cleans the electronics, disassembles quite a bit, changes the chips, unsoldiers the old battery, and resoldiers the new battery. I would absolutely not attempt this myself without someone looking over my shoulder the whole time, and very steady hands.

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  3. Hello Diana,
    Thank you for the info about the Passap E6000. the serial number 6035980 which I think she can download. I have inherited the passion for knitting since my childhood. 20 years ago i bought the brother 940 and it holds very good memories and some how life events has taken me away from it. After last year unfortunate accident, I craved to get back to knitting. My partner bought me second had machine... Here in the Nederland I get no much help about parts and software that available, and the prices are over the top. Pleas any advice will be greatly appreciated.
    kind regards
    Ell

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  4. i have a e6000 and have just changed the chips
    but i have the8k and cant download a big patter it has to be downloaded in two halfs and dont lick the idear of that

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  5. John says it's possible to upgrade the memory, but it's quite an involved process and not something he has done. You might contact Anne Croucher on the Passap (Yahoo) group and see if she knows someone who does that kind of work.

    It may work out to be cheaper and less hassle to find a bigger console...or to download in sections.

    I have the small memory, myself!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Diana,
    I have an e6000 and one of the two fuses keeps blowing out everytime i power on.Just incase you have an idea as to why this maybe happening and what could i possibly check on the circuit board that could be causing the fuse to blow.

    ReplyDelete
  7. When reovering after charging the default language is usually German.
    If the incorrect language is shown use the 'R' key and then 'No' until the right one is shown, then press 'ENT'.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Any idea what this means? When I enter any cast on# I get error 104. Obviously, I can't program this art all if I cant get past the cast on.

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  9. Hi Diane,

    The following information describing the test for downloading capability of the console is incorrect:

    **At this point the console will display PC START if it can accept downloads from a computer (indicates Version 23 of chips or higher) or ERR 213 and loud tone if not. If it doesn't give that display, then the chips are old but can be upgraded.** END OF QUOTE

    The ERR 213 message indicates a console that CAN download. It is looking for a PC and can't find it, so you get the error message. You'll get a PC start message only if there is a PC connected to the console.

    If you have old chips, the console hangs around waiting for Stitch Pattern A.

    Debby

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  10. Dear Diana,
    Could you help me please with a bit of advice? I am trying to sort my mother's E6000 machine which started to show fault 'error 200' during knitting. I cleaned the front lock according to the manual and it worked again for a while but started again and then shows 'error 207' as well. Sometimes it gets as far as cast on but will not do anything after 'row empty'. I have cleaned everything including all the needles and pushers and the console seems fine but no luck. Could it be something to do with the optical sensor? Any help would ge greatly appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Douglas
    Fort William
    Scotland

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Error 200 is caused by dust and fluff etc. If you followed the manual and cleaned the slotted guide rail and photo cell on front lock it may be the two little brushes on either side of the photo cell. I took mine off 30 years ago because of similar problems, had no bother since then.
      Error 207 is lock not in starting position, which is shown on section 55, page 91 in my manual. The arrow at top left on the front lock points exactly to the last grey bar of the striking comb, which is just to the right of the first needle on the right of the front bed.
      I did have trouble at one time with intermittent faults which turned out to be the cable from the lock to the console. I unscrewed the plastic cover on the cable where it goes into the connecter and found a broken wire. I cut a piece of the cable off and reconnected it.
      I can't rememember now but think I had to resolder the wires, maybe not it was long ago.
      Hope this helps.

      Delete
  11. Perhaps someone who has a list of error codes can help you with this, Douglas.

    You might post this question at the Yahoo groups Passap lists - they have incredible experts there.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hello Diana,

    I am a newbie at machine at machine knitting and considering buying a Passap E6000 32k for $2,600. The unit comes with a 3000a motor, Deluxe stand, Auto 4 color changer, set left side bed extension, set comb & 3 weights, U100e and a manual & pattern book. Is $2,600 a fair price for this machine?

    TY

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  13. I'm not Diana, but this might help: keep comparing prices for a while before you decide. There's more to buying a machine than the price, however. You should ask for photos -- closeups -- of everything, including samples of knitted patterns. If somebody says the machine "worked when last used" that doesn't mean anything. It could have been 20 years ago, or it might have be subjected to moisture or something since then. Ask that the seller test it again. Also, if money is a concern, ask yourself if you really need a motor. Debby

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  14. how does one download Creation6-a DOS program- onto Windows 7?

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  15. Just like any other program, it may run, I have no idea, or you could make a bootable DOS disk, boot into DOS and run the program, but that may not work either, depending uon how backwards compatible the PC is.
    Or simply buy a very old PC, that can run XP or earier, that will probably still run DOS-
    There are websites where they run old DOS programs each and every day still, talk to them!!

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  16. Hello Diana,please can you help me to solve a problem I am having with my Passap E6000?I am finding it hard to get the pattern sleeve to go through the machine,the sleeve is old and I am finding it difficult to obtain a new one along with the press studs.
    I tried to program a pattern from the Passap pattern book,when I had finished the letter P showed on the screen, any help or advice would be much appreciated, Eleanor

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  17. Hello Diana ,further to my previous email I should have said 3 instead of P

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  18. Sorry, I don't have expertise about Creation software.

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  19. My version is 05 which is not listed as a possible version. What's going on?

    Programm A
    0547505400
    21 03 88

    Muster A
    0547005400
    21 03 88

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here's what John says in response: That chip version (05) is a very early version of chips.
      I do not know what is the difference between it and the 03 which is the earliest I have seen, and also the most common.
      Version 23 is lowest that will download from a computer, i.e. will support DAK.
      Highest/latest/last is V53, which is what I provide.

      Delete
  20. Hola . Conecto mi consola a la PC pero no recibe el diseño que le envío los chips que tiene son Programm E 05.362.53.4.07 23/03/95 Muster A 05.364.53.407 de misma fecha que el anterior . Cuál podría ser el error?

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  21. E6000 Console V53 Chips see my "Comment As" eBay link

    ReplyDelete