Hot Specials for March 2008

PCI Bus to PC Card and CardBus Read-Writer 2 Slot Internal Front R5C486

Note on Elan P-Series Controllers

The Elan P-Series card readers have switched CardBus controllers several times over the years. While they have used Texas Instruments and TI compatible controllers, the changes in specifics sometimes cause issues. While not completely chronologically accurate, the following rough timeline should be helpful. Elan P-Series devices prior to 2002 used the TI PCI-1420 for their two slot readers and either the TI PCI-1410 or PCI1211 (depending on availability at production) on their one slot readers. For a stretch of several years (roughly 2002-2006) Elan used ENE Technology Inc. CardBus controllers in place of TI. The CB1420 for two slot readers and the CB1410 for one slot readers. A reliable, and widely support TI PCI-14xx clone series, ENE's controllers actually fixed many of the errata from the chips they cloned. This, however, caused problems for systems coded around the problems with the original TI PCI-14xx series. Around the beginning of 2006 Elan switched back to TI PCI-1420 for their two slot readers and either the TI PCI-1410 on their one slot readers. However, there still is a lot of ENE based P-Series readers in inventory, and certain models of the P-Series will not be replaced with the TI based controllers until the existing stock of ENE devices are sold.

FarSite Device Replacement Guide

Possible Probe Source for Elan USB Test Equipment

Synchrotech isn't endorsing this vendor or products, but so many customers ask where they can purchase probes for the USBscope50, USBwave12, USBpulse100, and USBcount50, we decided to provide this link as a helpful starting point.

Terry White Puts Synchrotech's 13 Port Hub Through Its Paces

Terry White deploys Synchrotech's 13 Port USB 2.0 Hub and reviews it in: The mother of all USB hubs. Terry connects a wide variety of devices to the Hub. From Terry's review:

If you have two or more hubs that you would like to consolidate down to one, then I highly recommend the Synchrotech 13 port USB 2.0 Hub.

USB 2.0 Hub 13 Port Powered with Power Supply

Terry White Reviews CFFire800 Pro

Terry White tests, benchmarks, and reviews Synchrotech's CFFire800 Pro FireWire 800 to CompactFlash Drive Read-Writer (PCM-CR-FW81ECF-02) in a recent post: Super fast CF reader for your desktop. Terry times the CFFire800 Pro's read and write speeds with three different brands of UDMA enabled CompactFlash cards. He also includes the best time of a USB 2.0 based reader for comparison. From Terry's review:

The Synchrotech CFFire 800 Pro FireWire 800 to CompactFlash Drive Read-Writer goes for $59. If you have a FireWire 800 port and speed is important to you, then you can’t go wrong with this purchase.

CFFire800 Pro FireWire 800 to CompactFlash Drive Read-Writer