The Card Reader Myth (pcd-15b,Forat, Argh!/help!)

Easy Q: Why do y'all hold on to the internal so hard?
Perhaps I'm missing something here, but to me I wouldn't want to take my floppy out, just to be able to load old discs and shyt.

Firmware transfers might be the answer: So, who's got working units???
.toon

yo, thes, lookin' forward to that new 'stepfather' jawn.

good luck finding a working card reader. hopefully someone'll post up the firmware version or other helpful info for their working drive and we'll get this mod figured out and add it to the '60/3000 bible' thread.

P.S. do you have any show dates in san diego lined up yet? i think i may have just missed you guys at the belly up tavern in solana beach?

http://www.adtron.com/products/Aspc.html external for 60/3000
http://www.adtron.com/products/Sdds.html internal for 60/3000


www.scsiforsamplers.com also has them not shure if 3000 compatiable!!! call him

http://www.mpc-forums.com/viewtopic.php ... +aspc+html

check this thred dood has done it!!!

noble9 wrote:http://www.adtron.com/products/Aspc.html external for 60/3000
http://www.adtron.com/products/Sdds.html internal for 60/3000


www.scsiforsamplers.com also has them not shure if 3000 compatiable!!! call him

http://www.mpc-forums.com/viewtopic.php ... +aspc+html

check this thred dood has done it!!!

That "dood" was me...

Try these ADTRON drives with caution as they work for some people and not others.

Reasons why seem a bit hit and miss as two with seemingly identical boards, firmware and all the other stuff behave in different ways.

IE: One I have works great ... and the other is of no use with the MPC. ( possibly an electical problem with it that I have yet to be bothered trouble shooting ).

A certain MICROTEC model I quoted previously in this thread works WITHOUT fault and that is why I posted as much information as possible about it.

Question for Member "LORDRADIO", this thread initiator ... How are you doing with this project

Rohan.

bump, and rohan - will this work?

http://www.span.com/catalog/product_inf ... ts_id=1058

earwolf wrote:bump, and rohan - will this work?

http://www.span.com/catalog/product_inf ... ts_id=1058

I have used a couple of the ACARD branded adapters ( SCSI<>IDE bridges ) to bridge a samplers SCSI port with an IDE device in the past.

Not tried it on the MPC3000 yet.

Rohan.

Rohan,

I just purchased two of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 8786246506

I'm going to do a little experimenting; ie. remove one of them from it's external case, modify the power connection and try installing it in the MPC3000. Unless you know of a reason why this *wouldn't* work, I'll email you with the results in a week or so.

peace,

I hate to tell you but those don't work with the 3000, redgreenz. Plus trying to modify that model to internal is just too hard/not worth it.

The search continuuuuuues......

okay, theoretical question: If a card reader works on a s3000xl will it run on a mpc 3k?

.toon

c.toon wrote:okay, theoretical question: If a card reader works on a s3000xl will it run on a mpc 3k?.toon

Theoretical answer... no.

While the two models use the same FUJITSU SCSI protocol controller; the software layer that each use for the I/O communication over the SCSI bus is quite different.

Possible answer ? Maybe I should try this on my S3000 and S3200XL and then ... the MPC3000.

Yes ? Maybe.

Rohan.

redgreenz wrote:Rohan,

I just purchased two of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 8786246506

At that price ... why not

redgreenz wrote:I'm going to do a little experimenting; ie. remove one of them from it's external case, modify the power connection and try installing it in the MPC3000. Unless you know of a reason why this *wouldn't* work, I'll email you with the results in a week or so.
peace,

Good ... some one giving it a go and also sharing their results.

These units are a DPA class Microtech drive ... if they don't work it will be because of a firmware issue.

Try first using the external model with the <FAST> and <SLOW> format options in OS 3.16.

Then futz around with the internal install attempt.

Cool.

Rohan.

mpc3000le wrote:

c.toon wrote:okay, theoretical question: If a card reader works on a s3000xl will it run on a mpc 3k?.toon

Theoretical answer... no.

While the two models use the same FUJITSU SCSI protocol controller; the software layer that each use for the I/O communication over the SCSI bus is quite different.

Possible answer ? Maybe I should try this on my S3000 and S3200XL and then ... the MPC3000.

Yes ? Maybe.

Rohan.

Friend of mine got an external joint he used with this s3000, which he is selling. So I gotta figure if its worth having him send it here.. Would be greatfull if you could run a test on this, since I've been looking for a solution for quite a while..

.toon

mpc3000le wrote:
Good ... some one giving it a go and also sharing their results.

These units are a DPA class Microtech drive ... if they don't work it will be because of a firmware issue.

Try first using the external model with the <FAST> and <SLOW> format options in OS 3.16.

Then futz around with the internal install attempt.

Cool.

Rohan.

Is there a way to upgrade the firmware ? sorry if this was covered before, but I'm just curious. If it is possible, then that should squash the firmware issue. Haven't received them yet, but I expect to have 'em this week sometime. I'll keep y'all posted.

peace

redgreenz wrote:

mpc3000le wrote:These units are a DPA class Microtech drive ... if they don't work it will be because of a firmware issue.

Is there a way to upgrade the firmware ? sorry if this was covered before, but I'm just curious. If it is possible, then that should squash the firmware issue. Haven't received them yet, but I expect to have 'em this week sometime. I'll keep y'all posted.

peace

Yes ... but.

Extraction of the working firmware from another model requires a bit of board level work.

Loading the extracted firmware binary into a new drive is not so difficult as Microtech's flash tool for their other models can easily be told to flash another drive type, as long as it is a Microtech that is flashable.

Of course... see how you go with the existing firmware first.

Rohan.

Ok y'all, I got a little further with my second external unit. This time around, the MPC actually "sees" the card reader on SCSI ID 5, which was NOT happening on my first external unit. Couldn't get it to format though. I tried using the <FAST> and <SLOW> options in OS 3.16, but I think it's due to the fact that the PCMCIA card is only 16mb..... Luckily, the person who sold me this card reader, included the compact flash card adapter, so I'm gonna pick up a 512 CF card sometime this week and try it again.

peace,