PMW EX1/3: Use cheap USB Hard Disk Drives up 168GB!

The top side wraps around both edges and onto the bottom. I used a small knife to leaver one side out and around , then the top comes off easy from the other side as the top falls away.

Clear as mud?
 
I just opened a Sonnet adapter yesterday and I am certain that the procedure should be the same.

Using needle-nosed pliers, I carefully pulled on the black plastic end cap on the SD-card side. There are two locking tabs on either side of the cap so that as soon as the cap begins to loosen, use something like a thin screwdriver blade to depress the tabs. The top metal housing fits under the upper rim of the lower. Again, there are two small tabs. Then remove the entire PCB assembly from the botton housing. The locking tabs are now visible. Remove the daughter card by carefully cutting (I used very small screwdriver blade) the solder connections.

That's as far as I've gotten as I need to buy a new soldering iron this AM and a USB adapter (my enclosure has the square USB plug).

I'll report on success or failure later.


Ned
 
I tried tonight but it wouldn't work for me yet, I think it is my powering option.

I was hoping a self powered external USB drive would work without any USB 5v power but either it doesn't (ie the drive uses it to sense a connection and start talking USB) or my connections are wrong.

While I used the opposite side connections to Deti, a continuity test shows the same points have the same connections...

I tries one of those double adaptor USB cables for an external USB 2.5" HDD with the data plugged into my adaptor and the secondary power plugged into the USB of a PC but it still didn't work :-(
 
Guy, a self (bus) powered drive will need to a supply of USB power. A couple of points:

In ExpressCard, the Black wire is USB ground. Solder this with the USB stranded sheath to the ExpressCard ground Pin1. Cut the red wire off (USB +5 volts), it does not get connected anything inside the ExpressCard.

The USB cable to the bus powered drive needs to modified into a Y-cable. On one end of the "Y" only connect the Red (+5v), the Black (GND) and the Sheath. This latter will the power source cable that can come from you PC's USB or from a powered USB Hub.

I have attached the USB Connector Pinout so that you can verify that the power and data signals are going to the right place. Good luck!
 

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No success on my first attempt. I suspect I may have shorted out or otherwise damaged the card. All of my connections seem soldered in the correct place but camera does not recognize drive.
 
I added power through another connector now
Now I am getting 'unknown media please change'

This is a 20GB 2.5" HDD in a Welland USB enclosure

UPdate: A 80GB 3.5" HDD in one of those docking chassis (where you just shove a raw HDD in) worked & formatted.
 
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To avoid 'unknown media please change' make sure the hard disk has only one partition. If you are not sure, use the disk tool of your operating system to remove any existing partitions.

Deti
 
yep, there was only one partition. I am repartioning/formating on a PC again now anyway then will try again. I am just using the 'default' cluster size with the FAT32 format, or should I just partition & not format in the computer?
 
THere you go, a clean repartition/format on the PC brought up the 'format media' option in camera & got the HDD functional.

In this case 20GB only gives 71min but its more about testing of course.

At least now there is good use for all those 80GB hard drives & new 80GB SSDs out there!
 
I could see the EX's world moving this way. would anyone interested in a rod attachment for HDD + power regulator which you can put any 12-20V power source to power up your HDD. all for about $80 + your DIY xpress card adaptor and HDD.
 
deti said:
When you are not using the small daughter board of this GL827 based card reader you have to connect pin 4 of the ExpressCard slot to ground. This pin indicates to the host system (camera) that the USB pins are being used (see http://www.allpinouts.org/index.php/PCI_Express_Card_and_PCI_Express_Mini_Card).

Never connect pin 17 (like some card readers do) - otherwise the card will be treated as a PCIe storage card though USB is connected properly.

Deti
Click to expand...

Yes. I had connected black+insulation to pin 4 but no joy.

Have no idea what went wrong, so I simply suspect I trashed the card somehow.
 
nsoltz said:
Yes. I had connected black+insulation to pin 4 but no joy.

Have no idea what went wrong, so I simply suspect I trashed the card somehow.
Click to expand...

Ned, Pin4 is for the CPUSB signal to detect the presence/absence of a USB device. It is not a Ground.

The Black wire (USB ground) and the sheath need to be connected to Pin1 which is ground. You will also see the ground traces/plane leading to Pins 20, 23 & 28 all of which are gound in the ExpressCard Connector specs.

Hang in there and good luck. Cheers!
 
I'd be interested in seeing Marek or Ross going back to their Express Card manufacturer & making a more elegant solution. Something properly manufactured with an integrated powering option in the cable etc I shouldn't be that expensive as the adaptor itself has litteraly no circuit. They could design a 12v to 5v power supply into the card though, and just have a power input in the cable somewhere... It shouldnt really need to be any more expensive than a MxM/MxR card.

On the EX3 you would mount it on the rear cold shoe, on the EX1, well, anyway you can think.
 
I demoed this solution at the end of our video producers associations monthly meeting tonight. It was rather well recieved given only a few of them actually shoot with EX's.
 
Barry J. Anwender said:
Ned, Pin4 is for the CPUSB signal to detect the presence/absence of a USB device. It is not a Ground.

The Black wire (USB ground) and the sheath need to be connected to Pin1 which is ground. You will also see the ground traces/plane leading to Pins 20, 23 & 28 all of which are gound in the ExpressCard Connector specs.

Hang in there and good luck. Cheers!
Click to expand...

Think I confused my pin numbering. I connected black+sheath to the far right connector which I assumed to be pin 4. I followed the visual in the first post of the thread. I'll just go buy another adapter and try again. Don't want to trash any of my precious Kensingtons.

Ned
 
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