Customer Reviews

PCMCIA Compact Flash Type I or II Adapter (BPJ)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have a pair of these, one I use with my Canon digital camera to transfer full CF cards onto my laptop, and the second I use as a PCMCIA flash drive with a large CF card that I leave in place at all times.

This adapter is *very* well made. Solid construction, with a mechanism that protects the connector pins when there is no card inserted in the adapter.

I used the adapter with a Transcend 8 GB 133x CompactFlash Memory Card TS8GCF133. The system automagically recognized the card upon inserting it and the adapter in the PCMCIA slot. I was able to format the card, and the partitions mounted much like any other storage device (HDD, USB flash drive, etc.).

HOWEVER, the transfer speeds on my laptop are painfully slow. Write speeds were barely faster than the USB 1.0 ports on the T30, and 4 times slower than the USB 2.0 ports on another PCMCIA card. (2-Port USB 2.0 PCMCIA Cardbus PC Card (fully inside for Notebook))

This card does not have any kind of internal bus mastering, so it cannot support the UDMA modes that the TS8GCF133 support. Not that this card claims to do so. But be aware that, in terms of speed, you'd be better off buying a CF card reader that supports USB 2.0. (And if you lack an available USB 2.0 port, a PCMCIA card that has those.)

But what's even worse for the transfer speeds on my laptop is that Fedora refuses to mount the device at any mode other than PIO0. The TS8GCF133 will reportedly support up to PIO4 mode, but I couldn't even force the adapter into PIO1 mode. I think this may be an issue with the pata_pcmcia driver, so on Windows (or somesuch) you might be able to get PIO4 transfer speeds. (PIO4 technically supports peak speeds of 16.7 MBps, but it ties up your CPU in order to do so.)

This adapter is just what I was was hoping it would be...
an inexpensive replacement for my failed OEM PCMCIA memory card.
The plastic shipment packaging is Very User Friendly. No more cutting thru tough plastic to get at your goods... This packaging has a flip-down access flap that simply folds away so you can remove the adapter for use without destroying the package (or the adapter).

The adapter's smooth metal exterior case looks & feels sturdy enough to withstand everyday handling in my industrial environment. time will tell if it's as sturdy as it looks.
The recessed flat surfaces allow for ID Labels to be securely placed on the outside casing.

Mine is used with a Sandisk 2Gb Type II Ultra CF card.
Getting the CF card to line up with the adapter's guide slots took some care,
but once fully inserted it feels secure. I put some ID Labels across the CF connection joint just to be safe. (I don't plan to be swapping CF cards on this adapter)
I don't think this adapter would hold up very well to constant CF Card replacements. It seems better suited for leaving one CF card installed and using it as an PCMCIA assembly.
At $11 apiece, I'll just buy one for each CF Card as needed...

I Used an old laptop pc with WinXP on it to formatt the card & upload database files onto it.
The laptop easily recognized this adapter & memory card combination just as if it were an OEM PCMCIA memory card.
Formatting was easy too. Originally formatted at FAT32, we actually needed FAT(16) to allow xfer of the datafiles into our operating equipment. No problem,,, 2Gb size formatted in about 5 seconds!

This option sure beats spending several Hundreds of $ for a actual PCMCIA memory card replacement...