ACARD AEC-7720U Ultra SCSI-IDE bridge

SEED78 wrote:

asichop wrote:DaveMars reported one good card and one bad card so Seed78 is not an isolated case. He contacted me and I sent replacements right away for the cost of postage.

did he try to flash the bad card? thats when it becomes really clear there is a major issue.

problem with sending replacements to me, means I could just have this all over again, as you have no way of testing before sending back to me.

I don't know the full details. I'm sure he will chime in when he sees the thread. His replacement cards are at customs waiting for him to pick up.

@DaveMars please let us know your findings and if you did anything different with your installation. Pics would be nice to break up all the reading. Haha

if you have a pc

get a adaptec 2940pro scsi pci card they cost peanuts $10-20

get a basic cf adapter $5

an internal 50pin idc cable and some power cable splitters

you will be able to check the cards yourself before sending

it only takes a few minutes to rig one up

then start the pc and before windows boots you get the adaptec

scsi control software utility

then you choose scsi utility this will scan the scsi buss and find any devices connected

if you have enough power splitters you can do 7 at a time

by setting a different scsi id for each

if the cards are seen by the scsi buss then they work

then you can download the acard scsi utility and flash them to anything

the latest do it yourself firmware 6.9 and 3.86

if the acards have a funny fimware number they are special oem versions for customers and have code to work with specific ide drives

by updating to the latest firmwares most of the extra code is for working with higher windows os

if you can get more scsi cards and the 7720uw versions then this small investment

would be advantageous to you as you could pre flash them and have them guaranteed working

if you need any help in setting this up you can contact me as i have several system set up like this for sample creation and smdi dumping

asichop wrote:There is also a local seller I found who has the 7720UW version but I do not know if they are compatible...

I have a 7720UW, firmware 3.71. It works fine with MPC3000, S1000 & S750.

The Delock are the key part - they work with a much wider firmware range than other CF drives... AND the UW variant of Acards - shame that wasn't figured out a lot earlier, UW cards used to be REAL cheap, but prices have rocketed up just like the regular U card variant.

jimmie wrote:I've tried 3.45, 3.88, 3.89 and 6.89 with my Acard 7720U's and they all work fine for me with the cards I mentioned previously with the Delock 91640.

I'm not going to recommend the Lexar Premium 80X though because I've been using it with my S1000 and it has started to corrupt sample data. So, I will not be chancing it again with my mpc3000. I did do tests on it before usage and it had no errors..
EDIT: been testing it again with my MPC3000 and it's been working fine without corruption. Maybe it's just a problem with the S1000..

Fixed!
Turns out that the problem with my Lexar 80X in the S1000 was that I was using firmware 6.89 with my S1000 Acard 7720U.
I flashed it to 3.88 instead and now the Lexar 80X works fine without corrupted samples.

I'd like to know the actual differences between firmwares!!!
I've written to Acard but my emails don't seem to be getting through to them.
We need definitive facts about the differences between these firmwares.

On an Atari forum, someone wrote:
"
aec-7720 firmware ver 3.64.3.86.3.89 6.89 Supports ONLY DMA 66/100/133 devices
firmware 3.88 (ARS-2000) Supports PIO mode 0,1,2,3,4 Multiword DMA mode 0,1,2 Ultra DMA mode 0,1,2,3,4
"
source - http://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=19959&hilit=7720u+3.88&start=25

I want to know if this is true.

Based on this, and on the sample corruption of the Lexar 80X card with 6.89 (even though my other cards still all worked fine) I have flashed all my devices to 3.88.

SEED78 wrote:The Delock are the key part

I'm not using a Delock with my 7720UW. I'm using a CF-IDE adapter I bought from eBay for £1.50
Works fine.
I have also tested it with my Delocks and it works with them too.

I do need to get another Delock when I can find one that isn't overpriced. I have two already but refuse to pay £20 more than what I paid a couple of weeks ago for one.

asichop wrote:

SEED78 wrote:was there ANYTHING special about the batch you sent me - did they come from separate box, or anything that isolates them from the rest?

Yes. Yours was shipped via a faster method because you ordered more. I used DHL for your order. The rest were shipped via USPS.

seem unlikely that it would make a difference, but maybe that company scan's their items differently.

SEED78 wrote:The Delock are the key part - they work with a much wider firmware range than other CF drives... AND the UW variant of Acards - shame that wasn't figured out a lot earlier, UW cards used to be REAL cheap, but prices have rocketed up just like the regular U card variant.

Delock 'might' be the only currently available ATAPI hot swap reader that works with the MPC3000.

The AEC-7720U and AEC-7720UW share the same user manual, and in it are referenced together as having the same specs/compatibility/etc., and even seem to use exactly the same firmware, so not that surprising that they work with the same samplers/cards/etc.

jimmie wrote:

SEED78 wrote:The Delock are the key part

I'm not using a Delock with my 7720UW. I'm using a CF-IDE adapter I bought from eBay for £1.50
Works fine.

Works fine...as hot swap?

Hot swap is the issue here, pretty much every cheap IDE-CF adapter should work as non-hot swap, as they are a straight electrical connection/adapter from the adapter to the cable, they should all be exactly the same.

jimmie wrote:I do need to get another Delock when I can find one that isn't overpriced. I have two already but refuse to pay £20 more than what I paid a couple of weeks ago for one.

Mine cost me $58US + $20US shipping, from the manufacturer.


IDE/ATAPI is dead, SATA is the present and near future.

SimonInAustralia wrote:

jimmie wrote:

SEED78 wrote:The Delock are the key part

I'm not using a Delock with my 7720UW. I'm using a CF-IDE adapter I bought from eBay for £1.50
Works fine.

Works fine...as hot swap?

Hot swap is the issue here, pretty much every cheap IDE-CF adapter should work as non-hot swap, as they are a straight electrical connection/adapter from the adapter to the cable, they should all be exactly the same.

You miss the point of my post.
I was making a point that the Delock is not the deciding factor with making an Acard 7720UW work.
I have tested it with both my Delocks and a cheap CF-IDE adapter and it works with both.
I only have two Delocks and three samplers with SCSI so I cannot have hotswap with all three.
As I have already stated in my previous post, I am on the lookout for another Delock if I can find one for the right price.

SimonInAustralia wrote:IDE/ATAPI is dead, SATA is the present and near future.

Hopefully it'll be cheaper than IDE tech if I ever want to buy more samplers in the future and invest in more card readers for them.

Have you found a hot-swappable SATA card reader?
SD? Compact Flash? USB?
What are you looking into currently?

jimmie wrote:You miss the point.
Seed said that the Delock was the reason the 7720UW worked.
I was making a point that the Delock is not the deciding factor with making an Acard 7720UW work.
I have tested it with both my Delocks and a cheap CF-IDE adapter and it works with both.

I understand your point.

Seed's comment might be based on/referenced to it being hot swap, in an MPC3000.

The only real reason to try and get a more expensive ATAPI reader like the Delock working with the MPC3000 is for the hot swap capability, that is why it is being mentioned so often, otherwise you would just go with whatever cheap IDE-CF adapter worked for you in terms of chassis/fitment/etc.

It is already understood/assumed, I think, that most basic IDE-CF adapters will work without any problems.

jimmie wrote:As I have already stated in my previous post, I am on the lookout for another Delock if I can find one for the right price.

What is the right price?

There is no distributor in my country, so I have to buy direct from the closest regional distributor/manufacturer, or an overseas retailer/ebay/etc., so it was just easier for me to buy direct at whatever price they gave me, since I was in contact with them at the time, no idea if that was a retail or wholesale price, and how that compares to what prices you are looking at.

I am wondering what it is costing you, and what you expect to pay for it?

My price was $58 for the Delock, that doesn't seem too bad compared to other units like the (incompatible) CompuApps ATAPI 741, which sells at $50 for a single unit.

jimmie wrote:

SimonInAustralia wrote:IDE/ATAPI is dead, SATA is the present and near future.

Hopefully it'll be cheaper than IDE tech if I ever want to buy more samplers in the future and invest in more card readers for them.

Have you found a hot-swappable SATA card reader?
SD? Compact Flash? USB?
What are you looking into currently?

None of this is properly tested, I wouldn't want anyone to take this as a recommendation without further testing...

I have a Delock 91690 SATA-CF reader at the moment, which I ordered with the Delock 91640, just to test it, hoping it might work.

I also bought a Stratos AztecMonster II SCSI-SATA bridge, just to test it, hoping it might work.

They seem to work, as hot swap, but I need to do some proper tests to make sure, I think the bridge uses the same bridge chip as the Acards.

The bridge manufacturer says it does not hot swap, but it seems to. Their SCSI-CF reader, the CF AztecMonster, doesn't hot swap, but this does.

This is not cheap, at around $150 for the SCSI-SATA bridge, and $35 for the SATA-CF reader.

There are cheaper SCSI-SATA bridges, and multi-slot SATA card readers (same as the ATAPI 741, but with SATA instead of IDE/ATAPI, for example), as well as cheaper SATA card readers, that would need to be tested to try and find a cheap/multi-card/alternative-media solution.

I have a different/cheap/no-chassis SATA-CF reader here at the moment, plus a Delock 91680 SATA-CFast reader, but have not tested them at all.

SimonInAustralia wrote:It is already understood/assumed, I think, that most basic IDE-CF adapters will work without any problems.

People have stayed clear of the 7720UW fearing incompatibility. I know Seed did, hence why I bothered to write my post indicating my findings that the 7720UW actually does work. He said that it probs worked because of the Delock. I said that it works regardless of whether you have a Delock. This is getting rather long-winded, having to explain myself again to you.

jimmie wrote:

SimonInAustralia wrote:It is already understood/assumed, I think, that most basic IDE-CF adapters will work without any problems.

People have stayed clear of the 7720UW fearing incompatibility. I know Seed did, hence why I bothered to write my post indicating my findings that the 7720UW actually does work. He said that it probs worked because of the Delock. I said that it works regardless of whether you have a Delock. This is getting rather long-winded, having to explain myself again to you.

You don't have to explain anything.

I know what he said, I know it is incorrect, I know it is nothing to do with the Delock, I know it works regardless of the Delock, I was only guessing at the context he may have said it in, I understood your point exactly right from the start, I know that everyone are sheep and will mostly only do what someone else has already done, I really don't care.

I have stayed clear because it is easier for me to work with the IDC50 connector on the 7720U, and now the SCSI-SATA bridge seems to me like a better way to go.

It seems obvious that the 7720U and 7720UW would work the same way, having the same user manual (with included compatibility list) and firmware.

early testing myself and a few others did with UW cards didn't result in a lot of success - just luck of the draw it seems. we didn't get good results until using them with Delock, purely by chance it now seems.

UW are now becoming just as expensive as U, so ship is fast sailing on that one...

@jhulk I was looking at the adaptec options. There seems to be 3 different versions with the number with the "pro" version you suggested being harder to obtain. Or more expensive than $20 new. I am definitely going this route so I can check the remaining acards but it will be sometime next month. What is the exact version I need?

@jimmie
@simoninaustralia
this link is to the guy selling the 7720UW in my state:
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ele/3711265093.html

I am not affiliated with him in any way so caveat emptor.

@seed78 any luck with acard customer service?

@DaveMars
@Gertie
@Chaka
Is it possible for you guys to chime in on the forum? I would like find out if any of you had issues with your cards. Thank you.