Microtech PCD-25BH and A2000

[curtis]

Got an A2000 that I'm building up.

I was going to use the Microtech as my hard drive but can't get it to be recognized.

I have a GVP HC+8 Impact Series II with rev. 4.15 ROM.  Nothing!  Doesn't even see it.  I tried FAASTPREP, EXPERTPREP, HDToolbox and nothing is seen in all 3 even after editing HDToolbox to include the gvpscsi.device.  Sees my Maxtor drive with no problem.

Tried an earlier GVP board, HC+2 with a rev. 3.15 ROM.  Same result.

I even went over to an ICD ADSCSI 2080 with the same result!

I am using a couple of different CF cards (1MB and a 2MB) with a PCMCIA to CF adapter.  Don't know if that makes a difference or not but I also have a PCMCIA hard drive on the way.

According to previous threads touching on the same subject, it SHOULD work, but for some reason I can't get it to do so.

SCSI devices are 0 for the Maxtor and 4 for the Microtech.
The Maxtor has 3.1 loaded on it.

Any suggestions for ANYONE would be greatly appreciated.

Curtis

[Pat the Cat]

Issue might be that the unit does not work with CF cards without an adaptor. I know you are using one, but it might not be compatible with the unit.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/371718707484?rmvSB=true

I suggest you contact the manufacturer and ask them if any CF adaptor will do, or it has to be one from them.

http://www.microtechint.com/qs-PCD-25BH.html

Might possibly be an issue with 3.3V card not happy working with 5V system. Google the CF cards to check.

[Matt_H]

LUN problem, maybe?  On the Mechware readers, only the PCMCIA slot is usable if multiple LUNs are disabled on the SCSI controller. Not sure if something similar is going on here. Have you tried both slots?

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Check your termination and device ID. I can confirm that the Mechware card readers can be a little tricky to set up, but I've had them working on three different models of GVP controller, so it should work for you.

[curtis]

Well, the LUN comment got me thinking so I edited HDToolbox to remove that line and now I can see the cards Most of the time.

Curious thing is sometimes units are read okay, but I'm still seeing a LOT of "Unexpected Status $4E/$20" errors.

Sometimes a card will be read and I try to partition it and things seem to be going okay.  Do the required reboot and nothing is found and it goes back to the $4E/$20 error.

I also tried several IBM Microdrives (340M, 512M and 1G sizes) with an IBM adapter and it seems to REALLY HATE those!  They error out almost all the time.  Thing is I remember using them on a GVP combo board before and they worked fine.

Heck, I got a Viking 512MB to get almost all the way through setting up.  Defined it, tweaked the settings to fit the drive when it couldn't read the C/H/S stuff.  Partitioned it, and was saving the info to the drive and then everything froze up!

Puzzling still.

Anymore suggestions?  I'm pondering reloading 3.1 on the Maxtor to see what that would do!
Puzzling.

[curtis]

Well, I have a SCSI to IDE bridge coming so will see if I can just go straight to a CF card reader and get it recognized.

Bugs me that ALL these CF cards I have used previously suddenly are ALL no good.  Find that a little hard to believe.

IF the bridge works, I will probably have a Microtech PCMCIA dual slot card reader available!

[mechy]

Well, the LUN comment got me thinking so I edited HDToolbox to remove that line and now I can see the cards Most of the time.

Curious thing is sometimes units are read okay, but I'm still seeing a LOT of "Unexpected Status $4E/$20" errors.

Sometimes a card will be read and I try to partition it and things seem to be going okay.  Do the required reboot and nothing is found and it goes back to the $4E/$20 error.

I also tried several IBM Microdrives (340M, 512M and 1G sizes) with an IBM adapter and it seems to REALLY HATE those!  They error out almost all the time.  Thing is I remember using them on a GVP combo board before and they worked fine.

Heck, I got a Viking 512MB to get almost all the way through setting up.  Defined it, tweaked the settings to fit the drive when it couldn't read the C/H/S stuff.  Partitioned it, and was saving the info to the drive and then everything froze up!

Puzzling still.

Anymore suggestions?  I'm pondering reloading 3.1 on the Maxtor to see what that would do!
Puzzling.

the pcd-25b does not use luns. the jumpers must be right or u will have troubles.
take the screw off the bottom that holds the plate on and make sure there are terminating resistors in it.there is also additional jumpers under that plate. If no terminating resistors, then use a external terminator with it.

make sure the pcmcia adapter is 16bit and not 32bit card bus.
don't use oddball cf cards. go buy a sandisk 4gb or less and try it. forget microdrives.

[curtis]

Terminators are in place and the adapter is the 16 bit.  Card bus wouldn't fit anyway, the pins are staggered instead of straight on.  Also tried a smaller sandisk and it didn't make any difference.

However, I picked up an ACARD 7720, plugged it into a CF reader and everything is right with the world.  Read it first time and every time!

So, I now have a spare Microtech PCD-25BH media reader if anyone is interested.  I'll even toss in a 170MB PCMCIA hard card IF the offer is right.

I'll give it a week for offers.  After that off to ebay it goes!

the pcd-25b does not use luns. the jumpers must be right or u will have troubles.
take the screw off the bottom that holds the plate on and make sure there are terminating resistors in it.there is also additional jumpers under that plate. If no terminating resistors, then use a external terminator with it.

make sure the pcmcia adapter is 16bit and not 32bit card bus.
don't use oddball cf cards. go buy a sandisk 4gb or less and try it. forget microdrives.

[wmaciv]

Reasonable success first try with mine.  A2000 rev. 62.with a2091 7.0 ROM's and AMD33C93A-16 and 14mHz hack.  Worked first time.  Readers are set to device 4 and 5 (slots 1 and 2, respectively) and easy to change via jumper.  Using cable with integrated active terminator.  Sandisk PCMCIA to CF adapter with Transcend 4GB generic 300x UDMA.  The read speed is slow, 717,000.  Other than that, works like a champ.
 
 Mac

[jaesonk]

I'm late to the party on this topic, but it might be useful for anyone else treading down this path.

I'm using a Microtech PCD-25BH on an A4000 with GVP-TREX-II SCSI-II.  Presently, it is working reliably.  I did have some similar issues with random errors.  After switching to Microtech branded PCMCIA-CF adapters, problems went away. 

Other potential problems were mentioned in previous posts.  CF cards vary, if one brand doesn't work, try another.  No name cheap cards may be more trouble. 

SCSI cabling and proper termination may be another fault.  I believe termination is at the root of my current issue.  I only have this microtech drive on the GVP SCSI and want to add a second drive, but none are being seen.  I likely need to remove or disable termination on the microtech drive. 

On termination, you may need to use active vs passive, depending on your controller.  If you are using any adapters, like 50pin to 68pin, you may also need one terminates the unused pins.

It's also worthwhile to clean your connectors with something like deox-it. 

FYI, one document I found suggests that the microtech drive is rated for 4MB/sec transfers.  I have not speed tested this myself though.  ZuluSCSI Blaster is faster.

Jaeson