Microtech PCD-47B Card Reader on the 2000XL.

After lots of sweat and tears scouring the internet for a compatible card reader i finally found the Microtech PCD-47B on the internet which i think/hope will work.

This one...



It hasn't arrived yet and because there was a bit of a language issue with the seller i couldn't ascertain which (if any) cables/connecters came with it.

So are these easy to fit?

I've searched in the archives of this forum and looked on Google - lots of knowledge and advice on the forum which led me to this purchase. I saw a thread with a link to some photos showing how to install a memory card reader but not for this Microtech one specifically. Is this going to be any different to install? is it easy to install? anything i need to know?

Thanks.

If you have the 2000xl why go with a SCSI card reader instead of a IDE/ATAPI card reader?

After having problems with my Zip 250, I got the -47B in My 2XL and it is the sh!t! It's like having 3 hard drives in one.
Make sure the card reader you got can read and write to cards. I bought mine and had to upgrade the firmware to 3.2 in order to do this.
Check out Midicase.com for more info:
http://www.midicase.com/card_reader_guide.htm

JUKE 179r wrote:After having problems with my Zip 250, I got the -47B in My 2XL and it is the sh!t! It's like having 3 hard drives in one.
Make sure the card reader you got can read and write to cards. I bought mine and had to upgrade the firmware to 3.2 in order to do this.
Check out Midicase.com for more info:
http://www.midicase.com/card_reader_guide.htm

Still don't get it?
If you owned a 60/3000 then the SCSI reader is the way to go, but for the XL the IDE/ATAPI is an easy do.
They aren't hard to find and you can even find the model that Akai used, since it is a standard model.

THE ADVERSARY wrote::?
If you have the 2000xl why go with a SCSI card reader instead of a IDE/ATAPI card reader?

I know it would be quicker but i just couldn't find one for sale. And have got this one now (when it arrives)

JUKE 179r wrote:After having problems with my Zip 250, I got the -47B in My 2XL and it is the sh!t! It's like having 3 hard drives in one.
Make sure the card reader you got can read and write to cards. I bought mine and had to upgrade the firmware to 3.2 in order to do this.
Check out Midicase.com for more info:
http://www.midicase.com/card_reader_guide.htm

Thanks man for the advice. Will check it out once it arrives. That link is very useful, nice one.

THE ADVERSARY wrote:

JUKE 179r wrote:After having problems with my Zip 250, I got the -47B in My 2XL and it is the sh!t! It's like having 3 hard drives in one.
Make sure the card reader you got can read and write to cards. I bought mine and had to upgrade the firmware to 3.2 in order to do this.
Check out Midicase.com for more info:
http://www.midicase.com/card_reader_guide.htm

Still don't get it?
If you owned a 60/3000 then the SCSI reader is the way to go, but for the XL the IDE/ATAPI is an easy do.
They aren't hard to find and you can even find the model that Akai used, since it is a standard model.

I think a card reader would run quicker through SCSI than it would through IDE/ATAPI... i'm pretty sure that's what i read somewhere.

I know Rohan had discussed many times the variables in the PCD's that make some work and some not work so it just seemed like adding potential headache.
If you got one that works that's good I hope the one he has coming does the same.
One last thing.
Transfer rate on the PCD-47B is 4mb/sec while the rate on the IDE/ATAPI for the XL has a transfer rate of 16.6mb/sec.

THE ADVERSARY wrote:I know Rohan had discussed many times the variables in the PCD's that make some work and some not work so it just seemed like adding potential headache.
If you got one that works that's good I hope the one he has coming does the same.
One last thing.
Transfer rate on the PCD-47B is 4mb/sec while the rate on the IDE/ATAPI for the XL has a transfer rate of 16.6mb/sec.

Okay man, haven't read any posts by Rohan i don't think. If it does work it's got to be better than my current setup - i can only save to floppy disk at the moment.

StreetWalker wrote:
Okay man, haven't read any posts by Rohan i don't think. If it does work it's got to be better than my current setup - i can only save to floppy disk at the moment.

Cool, no more caveman saving.
Just remember what JUKE 179r said about upgrading his firmware to get it to work and look at the instructions on that so you'll know what to do if yours is the same.

THE ADVERSARY wrote:

StreetWalker wrote:
Okay man, haven't read any posts by Rohan i don't think. If it does work it's got to be better than my current setup - i can only save to floppy disk at the moment.

Cool, no more caveman saving.
Just remember what JUKE 179r said about upgrading his firmware to get it to work and look at the instructions on that so you'll know what to do if yours is the same.

I don't think it will come with instructions as it's secondhand ripped out a different sequencer.

these are great units, and are actually faster than their ide counterparts, i did a test loading the same 15mb program on my machine and my friends, mine beat his by around 8 seconds. not that its anything to gloat about. such a small ammount. Try to snap up as many as possible if u do find them, i have sold 5 on the australian ebay for about 5 times what i paid for them online.

Providing it works does any know if i'll be able to use any type/brand of CF cards?

StreetWalker wrote:Providing it works does any know if i'll be able to use any type/brand of CF cards?

Size is a limitation (I think its like 1GB or 2GB for the 2kXL, but I'm not sure. I'm using a 512MB and a 1GB in my external for my 2k), but you also want to invest in something that is quality and if you really want to cover all bases, go for the faster rated CF cards. I haven't done any testing yet myself, but the fgaster rated CF cards are supposed to read/write faster, particularly the SanDisk Ultra II and Ultra III series cards. I'm just rocking a Kingston and Crucial cards right now. I don't care that much about speed, but I may get a faster one just for the boot card. (Yeah I know...boot disks are wack! Gotta do what I gotta do.)

Peace,
KM