emusonacid!

To everyone,

I'm having problems getting a PCMCIA reader to work with my ESI2000. Here is my system:

ESI2000 + Microtech Digital PhotoAlbum p + Viking Components PCMCIA-CF adapter + Adata 2gb Speedy Compact Flash card

This is the first time I've worked with the above system and there are
currently many problems. I've used a 9gb scsi hard drive with my
ESI2000 without any problems for a few years now, but I recently
decided to try using a scsi PCMCIA reader with a compact flash card
for a much quieter system.

Here are the issues.
1. Formatting of the 2gb CF - The first time I formatted the cf with
the esi2000, it took probably 1.5, or maybe even 2hrs. THe second
formatting: I first insert the CF into a PC/windows xp and formatted
it with FAT32 which only took 20 seconds. THen I tried formatting with
the ESI, it kept formatting, with the little clock still active, for
2hrs until I stopped it by turning off the reader. As Tristan indicate
in the previous thread, it only took him a few minutes.

2. Saving and Loading with esi -
2a. Banks -It is possible to save banks into the cf but it often hangs
such that I have to restart both the esi and the reader. The same goes
for loading.
2b. Presets - I have not been able to load a preset from a saved bank.
It hangs everytime
2c. Samples - There is no problem with loading samples from saved banks.

3. Hardware and possible issue that contribute to above problems -
3a. External Reader: Microtech Digital PhotoAlbum p (DPA p-SCSI-MAC,
Mac Version) - purchase used. A Mac version. from what I can tell the
Mac version comes with a different scsi cable than the PC version (Mac
comes with a db25 male to db25 male cable while PC comes with a HD50
male to a db25 male). The reader has a db25 female in the back. As far
as platform specific firmware, I am not aware whether this exist. I
assume that for such an external drive, it is the driver that matters,
not the firmware. Transfer rate 3mb/s - this should not be a problem
because SCSI-1 (centronics interfaces) only handle up to 5mb/s and I
doubt that the ESI can transmit even close to 5mb/s. Here are more
spec from from this page
http://www.d-store.com/d-store/microtech/qs-dpap.html

* Single slot accepts type I, II, & III PC Cards, as well
CompactFlash* and SmartMedia* cards
* 3 MB/sec. data transfer rates
* Compact design - 3"x 5"x 1" size
* Ultra lightweight - 4 oz
* Wall mount 110V AC adapter for US/Japan
* Also available with 220V European AC adapter
* Switchable active termination
* SCSI ID select switch
* Double shielded DB25MB-DB25MB/F SCSI "T" cable
* Includes the Mac-PC Manager extension for use with Mac OS based
systems
* Comprehensive User's Manual for simplified operation
* Absolute Plug-n-Play simplicity
* Compatible with all PC card-ATA storage devices
* Compatible with Mac OS 8, System 7.x, and System 6.x
* Compatible with Windows 95, NT, 3.1, and OS/2**
* Optional Parallel to SCSI Converter - allows use of SCSI devices
on non-SCSI equipped PC's
* Lifetime toll free technical support

3b. CABLE: SCSI 50pin Centronics (SCSI-1) to db25 - I bought this from
some computer repair place it looked unused. It shouln't be damages.
The ESI manual suggest using centronics cables always and always use
ones that are fully wired. Apparently some 50-pin cables are only
wired for 25 pins. However, the manual contradicts itself since it
indicates that if you are using a mac computer with your ESI, you will
need a 50pin centronics to db25 cable. I'm not sure whether this is an
issue really because the manual indicates that many peripherals have
db25 inputs and suggest using the cable that I am using,SCSI 50pin
Centronics (SCSI-1) to db25. I don't use ZIP drives but don't these
have db25 sockets as well? And they work with ESIs right?

3c. ADAPTER: Viking Components PCMCIA-Compact flash adapter - I don't
know too much about the adapter that it came with but I can't see
anything speciall with it since the reader is compatible with types I
II and III. I have come across some adds for adapters that have high
transfer rates than previous ones.

3d. MEMORY CARD: Adata 2gb speedy compact flash - I don't know it's
transfer rate since it isn't indicated on their site but it is a very
current model and should conform to cf standards. However, some people
online claim that it has problems with some cameras with one person
citing use with an Amiga computer and issues saving (but others say it
works great). Here are the specs
http://www.adata-group.com/EN/product_s ... =ACFCZZZBK
Conforms to Compact Flash Card specification standard
Fully compatible with PC Card ATA specification
Support for 8-bit or 16-bit host data transfers
Support PIO mode 4
Support Error Correcting Code (ECC) function to detect and correct
errors.
Support In System Programming (ISP) function to load the firmware.
Supports power down commands and sleep mode
Support Wear Leverage function to maximize data endurance.
MTBF > 1,000,000 hours
Durability: Minimum 10,000 insertion/removal cycles

IF the main problem is the CF card, then it would be great because it
would be easy to replace.

HOPEFULLY SOME OF YOU CAN PROVIDE INSIGHT EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT WORKED
DIRECTLY WITH FLASH/MEMORY CARDS FOR YOUR ESI. I listed as much info
that I know above. Hopefully some of you can compare your gear with
mine and we can figure out the heck is wrong with my system.


Thank you all in advance,
PanDesBot