USB Reader for Embroidery Machines For Tajima, Barudan, Toyota, and Happy (C) 2016-2017 PLR Electronics What's included An order of a USB reader uncludes the following items: One blacktop USB reader unit. It holds all the main electronics, and we refer to it in our company as the "blacktop". One 9 volt power supply brick that runs off of 100-120V. One data cable ONE communications key, according to the customer's machine type. We must have the make and model info from the customer to match the order, except for Tajima models. Please let us know at checkout what model of machine you on using this device with. Welcome to PLR Electronics. Please call 817.405.3449 (USA) or email us at sales@plrelectronics.com for more information. We also specialize in floppy drive to USB drive upgrades for Tajima, Brother, Barudan, Toyota, SWF, Haas and many more machines. We also specialize in Tajima circuit board repair, SWF circuit board repair, Barudan circuit board repair and most types of circuit board repair. We also offer many types of USB reader for embroidery machines. Check out our many YouTube videos to see a sample of our extensive experience. USB Reader for Barudan Beat IV, BEDT, BENT, BESR... Convert Floppy Drive to USB Drive Circuit Board Repair Estimate Toyota 820A 830 Repair Tajima TMFX Repair Barudan 900 YS YN ZN Repair HAAS CNC Machine USB Upgrade SWF Error 101 Repair Video USB Reader for Tajima TME/TMEF, TME-DC, TME-HC... Tajima VFD Display Replacement - FC20X1SA M20MD07A Replace your old VFD (vacuum fluorescent display) on your Tajima control panel. Old ones fade out and get dark over the years. We have new stock and it will ... + More Products USB to WIFI - Share your data through your wireless network. Acts like a regular USB memory stick. Convert your floppy drive to a USB drive (click to learn more) Overview Why should it be so hard to load files into your machine? Are you stumped trying to remember all the buttons to push? Are you tired of teaching your operators how to load a design, again and again? Are you keeping an old computer around (and keeping it working) just to load designs? And memorizing that as well? Are you still using floppy disks, hoping your mechanical floppy drive system made in the 1990's can last just a few more days while chewing up hard-to-find double density floppy disks? (Or your taped-up high-density floppies?) Do you have more than one brand of machine, and need a consistent solution for all of them? We have a better way! The USB Reader made by PLR Electronics is designed to KEEP IT SIMPLE! We offer one easy way to load designs, no matter what brand of machine you may have! Instructions listed below: Plug in your USB stick Spin the dial until your file is shown It's ready to download! Keep your profitable machines running! There is no reason to put down $50-$100k for new because you can't get any old reader to work. Your faithful machine can still do the job, with just a little help! Embroidery Machine Support The USB Reader supports many embroidery machines using a pluggable "key" system, which matches to the type of machine. The brands supported are: Tajima, Barudan, Toyota, and Happy. Tajima USB for Tajima embroidery machines The Tajima USB Reader key supports every type of Tajima embroidery machine that has the standard tape reader port, which is a 36 pin female connector. The usual models we've sold to include: Tajima TME-C Tajima TME-HC (very popular) Tajima TMEF-HC Tajima TMM (Melco control panel) Tajima TMFD Tajima TME-DC The Tajima TMFX, Tajima TMEX, Tajima TFHX, Tajima TEHX and other such newer models are recommended to use our other product, the Tajima Floppy Drive to USB disk drive replacement, because Tajima decided to disable the TRACE feature if you load from the Tape or Serial port in their TMFX-style control panel. Customers with the TME-DC series, the TME-DC Type 1, TME-DC Type 2, etc., have the option of either the blacktop USB Reader or the alternative Floppy to USB replacement on our main page. Please note that older embroidery machines were able to run one stitch at a time, instead of loading the entire pattern to memory. So when you are using your Tajima control panel, make sure you are using the memory option not thedirect-from-tape option. Either way will work with the Tajima USB Reader. You will note, if you bypass memory, that only about 20 stitches or so will load, and then the reader will stop and wait for you to start sewing on your machine; most customers use memory and its recommended to load the entire stitch file from the Tajima USB Reader. The Tajima USB Reader runs off of a 9 volt DC power supply brick (included), which plugs into the 110 or 100 volt AC line provided by the Tajima machine itself or from the 110V wall outlet (if in the US). Be sure to use Tajima .DST files in the USB stick. The Tajima USB Reader will display two names when you are choosing files from the USB thumb drive; it will show the DOS name, and under that the Tajima DST name. USB for Barudan Embroidery machines The Barudan USB keys (of which there are three types) each support a different set of Barudan embroidery machines. This is because Barudan used many variants of its connector, as if they were not satisfied with the first one they tried. The first type that we sell, which we call the Barudan standard key, plugs naturally into the cabling built-in to the following models: Barudan 100 series; Barudan 102, Barudan 106 Barudan 700 series; Barudan PROFIT 702, PROFIT 706 Barudan 800 series; Barudan BEAT 802, BEAT 806 The Barudan standard key is a male connector made by HIROSE, with a black case (with male D-shaped latches in the front) and a blue female 20-pin plug. We have seen this connector on other Barudan machines, usually on the BEMS series of machines, as a three foot long adapter cable. We do not recommend BEMS owners to purchase this type of key unless they are absolutely sure their 15 year old original Barudan adapter cable is still functional; we have seen many times where the wires and foil on the insides have fallen apart. The second type of Barudan USB Reader key that we sell, which we call the Barudan female key, plugs only into the single-head model: Barudan BEAT-IV This key plugs directly into the back of the Barudan BEAT-IV control panel. The BEAT-IV may still have an original Barudan adapter allowing you to use a standard HIROSE male, instead of just the HIROSE female, but because we do not make adapter cables we recommend the Barudan female key for this Barudan single-head machine. The third type of Barudan USB Reader key is called the Barudan direct key. It is so-called because it plugs directly into the circuit board of the Barudan control panel, where the other types of keys plug into cables that already extend out of the machine, or to the panel-mount type of connector of the BEAT-IV. The following is the compatbility list: Barudan BEMS Barudan BEMR Barudan BESR Barudan BEJR Barudan BEJM Barudan BEHJ Barudan BENS This type of key is distinctive from the others, where it has a large grey button which controls a hook; so it may securely latch and unlatch from the motherboard connector. We highly recommend the Barudan direct key for the listed types of machines because we've found that the long three-foot Barudan cabling usually degrades and breaks internally, leaving some of the 20 required wires non-functional because they've dried out and snapped, or the foil being used as a ground reference crumbled. The original Barudan cable used either black HIROSE ends or grey HONDA ends. The Barudan direct key is intended to plug into the back of these control panels; you have to open the cover in the back to detach the original, unreliable data transfer cable and then plug our key in. USB for Toyota Embroidery machines The USB Reader for Toyota supports those machines with a 9 or 25 pin communications port in the back. Toyota 800 Toyota 820 Toyota 820A (six needle) Toyota 830 Expert (nine needle) Toyota 850 Toyota 860 The picture shown is of a 25-pin communications plug, for the older Toyota machines up to the 830 model. The 850 model and above use a 9-pin plug, which we also sell. A common 9-to-25 pin Male to Male adapter can be used if you have the need to do so. Be sure to setup your Toyota embroidery machine to CONNECT TO PC, and always use 01 for the download number. USB for Happy Embroidery machines The Happy control panel uses either a 24 pin SCSI connector similar to the Tajima plug or a standard 25 pin serial communications plug. Their models may have both, including a floppy drive. The picture shown is a Happy tape reader port connector. Some Happy machines also use the same connector as the Toyota, above. The USB Reader for Happy Embroidery machines is in the preliminary stages of sales; we have been unable to test or get feedback for many older models, until we build a client base up. Our USB communications key appears to work fine on the newer models, however because newer Happy models also have floppy disk drives they were a more appropriate candidate for our other product, the USB to Floppy disk drive replacement. We've had good feedback on our few Happy sales, both of the serial and older SCSI connector, and we are willing to work with you. If you try out the USB for Happy and it is not compatible, we can either update our hardware to get it working, or you can return the product. Hardware Overview NOTICE: Turn the power OFF before attaching or removing any cable or connection! Power down your machine, power down the USB Reader, then you may attach cable and key. While the device can handle alot of hot-plugging, it is best not to tempt fate. Apply the same care with your personal USB sticks, and try to properly power them down when unplugging from your Windows computer. Measurements The USB Reader measures four inches across, by three inches deep, and an inch and a half height. It weights several ounces. The data cable is three feet long. The communication keys are of several different shapes, depending on what the target machine uses. What's included An order of a USB reader uncludes the following items: One blacktop USB reader unit. It holds all the main electronics, and we refer to it in our company as the "blacktop". One 9 volt power supply brick that runs off of 100-120V. One data cable ONE communications key, according to the customer's machine type. We must have the make and model info from the customer to match the order, except for Tajima models. USB Sticks, USB Drives, Thumb drives, etc. A USB stick is not included but our blacktop USB Reader is highly compatible with 95% of USB sticks out there; from older 64mb sticks to newer 4GB+ brands. Supports both FAT16 and FAT32. If your USB stick does not work with our unit but your computer can use it, then we would very much like to know so we can update our firmware. We also stock and sell USB sticks at a nominal price. (Optional USB stick is shown in all pictures.) Additional Keys Customers may purchase additional keys; however they are not designed to be plugged in and out of the blacktop unit five times a day; such abuse voids our warranty. We recommend owning ONE blacktop USB Reader per communications key, so the key may be plugged in permanently. If out of warranty, we of course can repair/replace each and every part for a nominal fee and shipping costs. And, as mentioned, keeping all parts completely unpowered when plugging and unplugging will extend life expectancy. Warranty We warranty our USB Reader for a full year. If defective, we will either refurbish parts or replace, at our discretion. As mentioned, abuse of the communication keys may void the warranty. Handle with care. Operator Instructions Prepare the USB stick Make sure your USB stick has been previously formatted either in FAT or FAT32. NFTS or other filing formats are not supported. Copy your Tajima DST files to the USB stick. DST files are an industry standard and your stitch editing program should be able to convert or export or save-as Tajima DST. Place all DST files in the main directory. It is recommended not to overload the stick with dozens of DST files, to save the operator time in scrolling back and forth. Prepare the USB Reader Make sure both the embroidery machine and the USB reader are unpowered. Make sure the data cable is plugged securely in the blacktop, and plug the communications key into the embroidery machine data port. If using a Tajima or Barudan, there should be a convenient 100V AC socket for plugging in the power cord. Now you may power up the machines. After the initialization sequence is done, the USB reader will say INSERT USB. Insert the USB stick here; although you may also insert the USB at any previous step. Prepare to download The USB Reader will scan the directory and pick out the DST files, and display the first one that is found. Use the greyspin dial to scroll to the left or right, and leave the dial alone when you are on the desired selection. After a few moments, the device will say READY. Start downloading! At this point, start the downloading process from your Tajima or Barudan or Toyota control panel. The steps are almost always make/model dependant. Sorry, we cannot make your control panel simpler as well! Some common control panel download instructions will be provided in the next section.
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