How to connect a IDE HD to a CF slot

[MyPaq]

Hi all,

I have an old iPaq 3600 which I would like to use as an MP3 player in my car. I'm thinking of connecting a 'regular' IDE hard disk to the compact flash port, however I can't find such a 'plug'.

I realise that the HD needs some external power - which I can provide from the nearby car.... ;-)

..any hints&tips are welcome...

thanx
Christian

[Sven Johannsen]

I don't think that exists. At least not directly. There was the old Storage Brick thing http://www.tjotala.com/hardware/storagebrick/ but that's a PCMCIA card.

I suppose you could spend almost as much on getting a USB case to put your drive in, and a CF USB host adapter http://www.ratocsystems.com/english/products/subpages/cfu1u.html than it might cost to just get an MP3 player.

[Don't Panic!]

The Storage Brick thing works great I had it running on a 3850 and a 3975 but I did have the PCMCIA sleve and my HD had a PCMCIA adapter. You could use the CF sleeve if you got a PCMCIA to CF adapter like the one at semsons but you definitely need the tjotala driver.

[MyPaq]

fast Fast FAST reply - I'm impressed...

Yes, the price is an issue. I could get an iPod for 150U$. What I don't understand is how many IDE to (female)CF adapters are available for less then 20 U$ :cry: - not what I need.

[/u]

[atrain]

I was interested in something like this....

Would it be posible to reverse the pinout of the CF to IDEs, and connect a drive like that?
http://www2.wau.nl/hemeltje/temporary/personal/miscelaneous/cfadapter.html

obiously power would be an issue, but other than that, its almost the same pinout, shouldn't it be possible?


I guess I'll go with the USB host / USB drive solution for now...
Though you could get a cheap PCMCIA USB host, connect it to one of these: http://www.semsons.com/comflastopcc.html

[Menneisyys]

I've elaborated on this question a lot and also linked in related threads/pages at http://pocketpcmag.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13738 - definitely worth a read.

[atrain]

The wifi HD seems like a better solution...
Whatever usb / ide based solution youd use, it would need external power unless your PPC lasted only 7 seconds.

This would be very easy to wire a battery to, and no ugly wires connecting to your ppc.
might be bigish for portable use, but fine to keep in a backpack.

The other solution is the USB host adapter, which I don't see why anyone would choose, because its $140 w/o the HD case, and the HD is $80. It has ugly wires, and would have to get external power. Even if you dont have Wifi, adding a card still would be cheaper.


There is also http://www.twin-paradox.com/SEPDA.html ($90) but the RATOC seems to be the best choise.

[DavidinCT]

I don't think that exists. At least not directly. There was the old Storage Brick thing http://www.tjotala.com/hardware/storagebrick/ but that's a PCMCIA card.

I suppose you could spend almost as much on getting a USB case to put your drive in, and a CF USB host adapter http://www.ratocsystems.com/english/products/subpages/cfu1u.html than it might cost to just get an MP3 player.

You can get the PCMCIA sleave on ebay for a pretty fair price and just use that with a PC card to do what you need...Keep in mind you will have to power the whole kit...

Here's an example...(I'm not promoting this auction)
http://cgi.ebay.com/iPAQ-PCMCIA-expansion-sleeve-Fits-36xx-37xx-38xx-39xx_W0QQitemZ8821530151QQcategoryZ29848QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Cybrid]

You can get the PCMCIA sleave on ebay for a pretty fair price and just use that with a PC card to do what you need...Keep in mind you will have to power the whole kit...

Here's an example...(I'm not promoting this auction)
http://cgi.ebay.com/iPAQ-PCMCIA-expansion-sleeve-Fits-36xx-37xx-38xx-39xx_W0QQitemZ8821530151QQcategoryZ29848QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

What you can do is the PCMCIA sleeve to a Z250PCMCIA (pcmcia to 44pin? IDE) and use laptop drives.
http://i6.tinypic.com/11ty2s8.jpg
Not the best but if you only needed 5Gb or so...use a PCMCIA HDD like the Kingston DP-PCM2/5GB
http://i6.tinypic.com/11ty0pd.jpg
[/img]