Recommended Card Readers

I got the microtech pcd 47 b installed. Did anybody use the pcmcia slot with a pcmcia to sd converter ?

JVC wrote:IDE CF card reader uses only 5V DC, whereas floppy drive uses both 5V DC and 12V DC, and that is why there are 2 pair of wires used for floppy drive. 12V DC is used for floppy drive's motor.
For CF card reader, it does not use 12V DC, that is why you see only one pair of connection attached to CF read's board.
In short, you can use the power plug that were connected to floppy drive, for IDE CF read reader.

Make sure to remove floppy ribbon cable from 2000XL. And, don't use connector in the middle of you r IDE ribbon cable. CF card (again, use Sandisk brand CF card) must be inserted before booting up XL.

My floppy drive (which was probably not original to the unit) had only 2 wires, black and red, going to it. I measured them when the unit is trying to read the drive and 5volts was the reading; However I notice in your picture of the cables you connected to the CF reader, there are all four wires connected to it. I'm wondering if it would be worth a shot to try connecting the other 2 wires, if it would do nothing or be redundant? (While I'm waiting for the new Sandisk 1gb CF card to arrive).

JUKE 179r wrote:I use a Kingston 133x Elite Pro 8GB flash card with no problems on my 2KXL.

You get all 8 gigs? That sounds fantastic! Those larger capacity cf cards are actually easier to find, as I understand it.

Maxillaa wrote:I got the microtech pcd 47 b installed. Did anybody use the pcmcia slot with a pcmcia to sd converter ?

Yep. You can use the PCMCIA slot with a converter but you got to make sure your got your SCSI ID# set for each of the reader's 3 slots.
The -47B SCSi card reader is like having 3 harddrives once you have the cards in them.

modornge wrote:You get all 8 gigs?

Yep. It can read 8GB but the cf card has to be partitioned into 9 sections at about 910MB each=8GB (partitions A-I).
To partition the CF card I had to use OS1.14/1.14C to make it work. I could never get OS1.2 to partition the cf cards at all.

Microtech PCD 47B (which is very rare and very expensive on used market) is a SCSI device, which works completely differently from IDE devices. Unlike non-swappable IDE CF reader, XL does not have the 1GB limit for SCSI storage devices.
Again, for IDE non-swappable CF reader, you need the last XL OS.

I didn't know that this thread has become a sticky!

I'm glad it is a sticky. There are many details that I'm learning. So I can use 1.14c if I have a SCSI internal drive because it can partition an over-1gb cf? But if I have the non-hotswappable Addonics card reader, I must have 1.20? Can one partition an 8gb CF card (in the scsi drive) with 1.20? So the 8GB card shown above only works if you have an SCSI internal or external drive? I must have the above-shown sandisk 1gb for the 1.20 os to work with the ide cf reader?

I got problems with the pcd 47 b, saving to a card is impossible, I heard a firmware update could solve this. has anybody done this before ?

modornge wrote:I'm glad it is a sticky. There are many details that I'm learning. So I can use 1.14c if I have a SCSI internal drive because it can partition an over-1gb cf? But if I have the non-hotswappable Addonics card reader, I must have 1.20? Can one partition an 8gb CF card (in the scsi drive) with 1.20? So the 8GB card shown above only works if you have an SCSI internal or external drive? I must have the above-shown sandisk 1gb for the 1.20 os to work with the ide cf reader?

If you are using IDE non-hotswappable Addonics card reader, then use OS 1.20. If you are using SCSI compact flash reader, use older OS. Both can be downloaded from MPC-Forums now. Click "MPC-OS & Manuals" on the top menu.
With the Addonics card reader, you can use maximum of 1GB of each compatible CF cards, regardless of capacity of CF card. For instance, Sandisk 2GB CF card would work with the Addonics CF card reader, XL would create a 1GB partition. (Larger partition would not work with XL with the addonics.)Always use XL to initialize CF cards before start using.

JVC wrote:

modornge wrote:I'm glad it is a sticky. There are many details that I'm learning. So I can use 1.14c if I have a SCSI internal drive because it can partition an over-1gb cf? But if I have the non-hotswappable Addonics card reader, I must have 1.20? Can one partition an 8gb CF card (in the scsi drive) with 1.20? So the 8GB card shown above only works if you have an SCSI internal or external drive? I must have the above-shown sandisk 1gb for the 1.20 os to work with the ide cf reader?

If you are using IDE non-hotswappable Addonics card reader, then use OS 1.20. If you are using SCSI compact flash reader, use older OS. Both can be downloaded from MPC-Forums now. Click "MPC-OS & Manuals" on the top menu.
With the Addonics card reader, you can use maximum of 1GB of each compatible CF cards, regardless of capacity of CF card. For instance, Sandisk 2GB CF card would work with the Addonics CF card reader, XL would create a 1GB partition. (Larger partition would not work with XL with the addonics.)Always use XL to initialize CF cards before start using.

The Sandisk card arrived last week, but I went out of town. As I was gone, somehow it fell behind the bench I'd put it on and couldn't find it until today. I found it. It works! First time the cf drive has been recognized. Thanks so much for the help.. Now I have a couple of things to do before testing it (such as a tactile button f4 needs replacing) but this was a major hoop. Thanks again..

modornge wrote:...
The Sandisk card arrived last week, but I went out of town. As I was gone, somehow it fell behind the bench I'd put it on and couldn't find it until today. I found it. It works! First time the cf drive has been recognized. Thanks so much for the help.. Now I have a couple of things to do before testing it (such as a tactile button f4 needs replacing) but this was a major hoop. Thanks again..

I'm glad it worked out for you.
The tact switch that you need is one of the most common tact switch available. Don't buy from MPC specialists, as the switch can be purchased around 25 cents a piece. I think I posted the part number before.
And for function button, I think foot pedal (via MIDI) can be assigned to one of function key. I could be wrong, but I think I saw the menu when I was just browsing the menu on 2000XL...

Hey Guys, I have this:

http://www.addonics.com/products/adidecf.php

Problem is i have no idea how to mount this thing in place properly.... how did you guys do it?

Maxillaa wrote:I got problems with the pcd 47 b, saving to a card is impossible, I heard a firmware update could solve this. has anybody done this before ?

I did it with firmware version 3.2 under Win XP... http://www.midicase.com/downloads/PCD47-m32.zip
I don't know how/if it will work under Vista or 7.

snaelro_wen504 wrote:Hey Guys, I have this:

http://www.addonics.com/products/adidecf.php

Problem is i have no idea how to mount this thing in place properly.... how did you guys do it?

Check out the page 2 of THIS thread, I posted pictures of installation process.

You'll have to make holes on the metal case of the CF reader. I've read that some people used hot glue to attach it, but I would recommend to drill the metal case and use metal screws to secure it.

I did make mistake though. The holes did not match with the metal bar:


I should have used white masking tape to mark the exact locations of the holes, then drill on the marks on the masking tapes.

Anyone know if these card readers will work AND be hot-swappable/allow more than 1gig?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370574035722?ss ... 776wt_1090


Thanks

sbaugnies wrote:Anyone know if these card readers will work AND be hot-swappable/allow more than 1gig?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370574035722?ss ... 776wt_1090
Thanks

I think it should work, but I've heard that not all SCSI CF reader work with 2000XL.
If (again, if) it works with XL, then you can more than 1GB, and should be hot-swappable. Like other legacy devices, 2000XL handles SCSI devices better than IDE devices.
In my opinion, it is just too expensive, and risky (because it may not work).

I am happy with my IDE non-swappable CF card reader. In my opinion, hot-swappablity is overvalued, not worth $85 more (my CF reader was about $25.)

JVC wrote:

sbaugnies wrote:Anyone know if these card readers will work AND be hot-swappable/allow more than 1gig?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370574035722?ss ... 776wt_1090
Thanks

I think it should work, but I've heard that not all SCSI CF reader work with 2000XL.
If (again, if) it works with XL, then you can more than 1GB, and should be hot-swappable. Like other legacy devices, 2000XL handles SCSI devices better than IDE devices.
In my opinion, it is just too expensive, and risky (because it may not work).

I am happy with my IDE non-swappable CF card reader. In my opinion, hot-swappablity is overvalued, not worth $85 more (my CF reader was about $25.)

Damn...I'm pulling my hair out over here haha. I've been looking for weeks for the PERFECT card reader and there's always something that pops up. I'm reeeally not trying to spend 150 on a reader that's worth at most 40 or 50. The reason I want hot-swap ability is so that I can separate my songs on some cards and my sounds/programs on other cards. At this point, as long as it fits in the slot and doesn't stick out 2 inches and/or look like shit, and costs less then say 60 bucks if it's only CF and 80ish if it's multicard, I'll take it. I'd be really grateful if you or anyone else could just tell me exactly which reader yall are running on and where to snatch one. Thanks


edit: would this one work? http://www.psism.com/scsi50band60b.htm