Reader/writer box question.....TIA

Unless I am sorely mistaken, which of course happens with regularity, the Brother cards are different than a standard CF card. I have one of each of the four types here at my desk, Brother old, Brother new, CF, and CFX. None of them are the same, but the two Brother's look pretty much the same, I think they are even the same pinouts.

CF cards have two rows of holes on them, and the Brother cards only have one.

DaveJ

Dave is right, I'm afraid. I have a digital camera that uses CompactFlash cards, as well as a card reader (Sandisk). When I got my Brother 180D I had high hopes that the cards were the same...but they're not. I bought an Ultimate Box and am well satisfied with it.

Iris

Get an Ultimate Box/Card (for Brother!) new on EBAY. It works very well on my PE-150. These boxes/cards are quite a rip, considering what a "normal" card/reader costs (i.e., for photography). But you'll "get your money back" after a few free design downloads from the net. No, you can't just use one of these PC Readers/cards.

Bob

Each manufacturer would have used a different card/disk format so that people who bought their machines would initially have to buy designs from the makers' dealers. With the conversion programs now available, that is no longer as much an issue as it was in the past. Some makers do use different card/disk formats on each of their machines.

In the case of Janome, they used the same card format for all machines from the MC8000 to the MC9000. However, as technology progressed, the complexity of the available designs also increased. Although the format remained the same, the older machines did not have the capacity to use some of the newer designs. The newer machines, MC9000 and MC5700, could use designs that were developed for the older machines.

When they introduced the MC10000, Janome changed both the design format (from .sew to .jef) and the card/disk format. Instead of a proprietary card, the new Janome machines use a standard PC memory card, that will fit in a laptop computer, OR, with a PC card adaptor, they can use the same Compact Flash cards that digital cameras use. Instead of an expensive card reader/writer, you can use the built-in PC card capability of your laptop, or an inexpensive CF reader/writer. The MC10000 could handle 200 designs on a card. The capacity of the new MC10001 (or updgraded 10000) is 1200 designs (if the card has enough capacity). With the use of a card reader, the MC10000 can also make use of design cards for the earlier models.

Although each manufacturer may use different technology for transferring designs from computers to their sewing machines, I don't think any one system, or machine, is necessarily better or worse than others: they're just diffferent. While the initial price of a particular machine may seem like a real bargain, sometimes the extra cost involved in buying the "extras" to make it do what you want it to do, would make the purchase of a more expensive, and more versatile, machine the better investment.

gwh

Thanks to all for the info!! :)

I decided to buy a new machine, a new BabyLock Ellageo 3. It takes floppies plus will take all of my brother cards. I need not buy anything else, just a new machine. I needed a new one anyway!!!

Lou

I have had my Ellageo for over a year and I love it!!! Congratulations!!

Linda