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If you have an E6000 and want to create and download your own stitch patterns to your console, there are currently 2 free programs that will do exactly that.

Journal 6 is open source free software for the Passap E6000. The software will download your designs to the console and much more. Journal 6 is available to download from Github here. The software developer also has a Passap card reader technique calculator on her website here. There are also some other resources on the PassapPal website.

Wincrea is much more basic compared to Journal 6. It is just a color chart/graph where you can make and import designs. I do not use it but I do make .bmp files of my designs (from Designaknit) which will work with Wincrea. You can download Wincrea here .

Now the question is what cable do you need to go from the console to the computer? The information for making your own cable for Journal 6 is on page 8 of the software instruction manual. Richard Croucher makes a simple, affordable cable that works with Journal 6, Wincrea, and Designaknit. Richard is in the UK but ships worldwide. He also sells the console download chips and a cable switchbox. The switchbox is a must have in my opinion. It will allow the cables to always be plugged in to the console which will avoid wear issues with continual unplugging and plugging in. Contact his wife Anne here or contact me for their email.

Distinctive Knits in the US also sells a switchbox but I think theirs may only be for the Designaknit cable. You would have to contact them to see if they sell a Journal 6 or Wincrea cable (or if the current Designaknit cable will work).

I could write an entire post about download cables. There isn’t really a “buy now” link to find the cable you need. I have seen some people find a Journal 6 cable on Amazon. You need to do some research for the specific cable or post in the very helpful Facebook group for Passap for current where to buy information.

Regardless of which software you use, be sure to also download the instruction manual and read it thoroughly. If you are looking for software for downloading, stitch design, garment design and more, invest in Designaknit. There is a demo version for Designaknit on the Softbyte website. Designaknit cables may work for Wincrea and/or Journal 6 but I have not tested this recently…

How do you know if you console will accept downloads? Connect your cable to the E6000 console and the computer (this may also work without the cable plugged in). Turn the console on, then wait until the WAIT message disappears. The console should say PROGR, then press ENT, display shows ERASE press ENT again, the console says CAST ON. Press cast on number- example 3 and then ENT. Console says ALL STPATT press NO. Console says STPATT A now press the unlabelled key, and finally the Zero key. The console should show PC START or error 213. If it doesn’t do that, it probably means that it doesn’t have the chips that are required for accepting a download.

You can buy download chips from Richard Croucher and install them yourself. They are require no soldering, just careful insertion into the console. You can read more info on chipsets on Diana Sullivan’s blog. I do believe her husband may do Passap console repairs, battery replacement, and add download chips. Distinctive knits and PassapUSA may also sell the download chips. Do some research for purchase because they are all the same and the prices are all over the place.