HPX250: USB Host Issue

Michael Johnstone

Michael Johnstone

Member
OK I've got me an HPX250 and after trying a couple different USB bus powered drives - a USB2 Touro 500Gb and a USB3 Toshiba 1 TB - neither of which will light up, spin up or be recognized - and yes I'm in "USB Host" mode. So can anyone point me to a particular brand & model drive (1 TB if possible) that will fer sure work in this scenario? These 2 drives show up & work fine on the USB1 port on my 5 year old HP desktop BTW. This camera has the 10.36-00-0.00 firmware.
 
I wonder if there might be a compatibility issue with those drives and the hpx250? I had no issues with a seagate 1tb passport drive.
 
male_man said:
I wonder if there might be a compatibility issue with those drives and the hpx250? I had no issues with a seagate 1tb passport drive.
Click to expand...

Hitachi is probably the most compatible brands out there that can be powered by a single USB 2, eSATA bus (provided that 5vdc is supplied). I use Hitachi along w/ Samsung 840 series SSD for the AG-MSU 10 and sometimes /w the HPX-250. They work seamlessly to offload P2 data in the field w/ no laptop. I do not like to buy ext hdd that is sealed fr. the mfg. I typically buy the OEM hdd and a separate enclosure (Vantec) to power it. If you want 100% compatibility and don't mind the extra USB cables, I'd buy the Panasonic MXB10 interface box. Although the MXB10 is designed for their MSU-10, you can use it for other purpose. It has separate cable port for USB data and power. 2nd alternative is to use the USB cable that has power + data USB. The older Vantec ext. enclosure has it. New hdd may not.
 
Last edited:
Thanx lonewolf. Let's see if I got this right. If I get a Panny AG-MBX10 Disk Tray (that normally slides into the AG-MSU-10) - just the tray - and put a drive into it - SSD or 2.5" drive (under 2 gig),that tray/drive is all I need to hook up to the USB2 host port of my 250 to dump my P2 cards to. Correct? I know I need a USB cable and maybe a wall wart power supply or some other 5vdc source. 4 AA batts in a field pack gives you 6vdc - is that too much? B&H has the AG-MBX10 Disk Tray for $167 and listed under "accessories" for another $63 a (I'm guessing) compatible Western Digital 500gb Scorpio Black SATA 2.5 HD. Would that work as a stand alone solution? I know a 500gb SSD is gonna be costly to the point where maybe I'd be better off just getting a laptop w/a card slot or one of those single slot Panny P2 drives. Am I on the right track? Appreciate the info.
 
Michael Johnstone said:
Thanx lonewolf. Let's see if I got this right. If I get a Panny AG-MBX10 Disk Tray (that normally slides into the AG-MSU-10) - just the tray - and put a drive into it - SSD or 2.5" drive (under 2 gig),that tray/drive is all I need to hook up to the USB2 host port of my 250 to dump my P2 cards to. Correct? I know I need a USB cable and maybe a wall wart power supply or some other 5vdc source. 4 AA batts in a field pack gives you 6vdc - is that too much? B&H has the AG-MBX10 Disk Tray for $167 and listed under "accessories" for another $63 a (I'm guessing) compatible Western Digital 500gb Scorpio Black SATA 2.5 HD. Would that work as a stand alone solution? I know a 500gb SSD is gonna be costly to the point where maybe I'd be better off just getting a laptop w/a card slot or one of those single slot Panny P2 drives. Am I on the right track? Appreciate the info.
Click to expand...

Yes. The MXB10 must have 5vdc to it for the hdd to work. If you connect to the USB data, it will not turn on the drive. Similarly, the PCD-2 single P2 reader also needs two separate USB cables to power it on. Panasonic intentionally put ICs to strip out the power and data on the USB. The downside is that it's an inconvenience thing but the positive is that the power to the device is very reliable and stable.

AA battery is for short term use. They have small circuits to make it USB bus power 5vdc standard. But long term, this is what I use as my rechargeable USB power source to power the MXB10 externally via eSATA: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=618847&is=REG&A=details&Q=

The MXB-10 is a very flexible enclosure that will give you a nice upgrade path to the MXB-10. The MXB-10 pretty much make laptop and on-camera USB offload a thing of the past. I personally have nothing against laptop offloading, but it's severely limiting for demanding field workflow where you need to get the data off very fast while driving/walking to the next location. Furthermore, the flimsy USB cables are very sensitive to shock and vibration. My Mac Book Pro was dropped 3 feet fr the passenger's seat to the ground. In the car, I had other hard cases dropped from the top and made a small dent to the MPB as road conditions fluctuate. Laptop in the car (w/ out laptop mount) is just not a good mobile offload solution. Out of the hundred of while driving offloads, I have quite a few hidden errors that eventually get detected weeks later.
 
Last edited:
That's some information I can use. I'd completely forgotten about those USB battery packs. I almost got one last year to charge cell phones/tablets on road trips. Guess I'll revisit that now. Seems like an all around handy thing to keep in your kit. Thanx
 
Michael Johnstone said:
That's some information I can use. I'd completely forgotten about those USB battery packs. I almost got one last year to charge cell phones/tablets on road trips. Guess I'll revisit that now. Seems like an all around handy thing to keep in your kit. Thanx
Click to expand...

Re SSD on the HPX250 or MSU10: Be careful on the brand and type. The cheaper $380 range Samsung 840 500 Gb SSD has serious compatibility issues w/ the HPX-250 and MSU-10. I just bought it and thinking it would be a piece of cake on the SSD. Boy I was wrong. It's great when connecting to the PC or Mac, but not so when interfacing directly to the USB host mode. I spent the entire day yesterday performing full 64 Gb copy+verify to the MSU10 and HPX-250 to about 30 64 Gb P2 cards w/ Hitachi, Samsung SSD & hdd, Seagate hdd . The only hdd brand that works in all scenarios is the Hitachi. Samsung, Seagate are no good. Haven't ventured w/ Toshiba or WD brands. Seagate & Samung hdd & ssd would disconnect itself randomly during data offload. Panasonic support is clueless as I heard nothing from them ever since the initial report. It appears that the firmware on the hdd is very important as well. I don't know what Hitachi did w/ their hdd firmware, but it works well w/ the HPX-250 and MSU10.

With that insight in mind, I afraid that your Touro or Toshiba may disconnect itself during offload. It's very odd that Touro (a Hitachi brand hdd) is not working out by even spinning up. Perhaps the Touro USB3's mobile enclosure hardware is lacking certain feature. I'm getting great results w/ Hitachi (HGST) OEM 1 Tb 2.5" 5400 rpm hdds w/ the MXB10 and Vantec USB2 enclosure. Great results meaning zero disconnection from host issue after after hundreds of P2 offloads to a HGST 1 Tb OEM hdd using Type S format w/ verify on. That's something I can count on in the field.
 
Last edited:
Yeah that Touro thing is prolly a USB3 vs USB2 issue. Also yhe Touro doesn't have the "Y"cable for seperate pwr supply - instead it uses one of those segmented USB connectors. You'd think there'd be a way to make that work tho. Anyhow I ordered a MXB10, a power supply, the correct cable and should get it all next week. Since my Touro has a Hitachi HDD in it maybe I'll just crack it open, pop it outa there, put it in the MXB10. and see what happens. If no joy there, I'll just get a Hitachi disk as you mentioned. I considered a SSD but they're a bit expensive for the size I'd like so a HDD will be ok. Anyhow I don't need to download while driving,hiking or mountain climbing - prolly a motel room will be the location. I just need something that works every time,can hold 10 or 15 64MB cards worth and it's ok for now if the host mode process is kinda time consuming. Since I quit working for lawyers I just do the odd event here and there - maybe 6 to 8 major jobs a year and nothing like the volume of downloading you describe. Possibly in the near future if certain things fall into place I'll be that busy again and if so I'll step up my game accordingly. Again thanx for the information. Invaluable!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top