I too am from Michigan. Southeastern part of the state to be exact. Welcome aboard. Lots of very quilty people here. Wonderful information shared every day. Learn something new all the time.
I have the 1500s Brothers for my OGF. My sure stitch regulator just gave out on me a short time ago and I am now learning to work without it. So far so good. My only problem is the chord to the foot pedal is to short. I can't seem to find an extension either. I will find a way to solve this problem or move onto another quilting method. Call grace they will tell you how to set the jumpers for your machine.
Again welcome aboard.