Attaching 3.5" disks to WL-HDD

Printable View

08-10-2004, 20:33
brubber

4 Attachment(s)

Attaching 3.5" disks to WL-HDD

In the thread http://wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=906 some people have been discussing the option to attach 3.5" disks to a WL_HDD

I think this a very appealing option, and I have been looking to find the necessary hardware to make it work. I do not (yet) own a WL-HDD, so it would be nice if someone who does own a WL-HDD can check whether the hardware selected below would do the job.

Furthermore I would like to know if it would be possible to add basic RAID functionality (mirroring) to the WL-HDD firmware and perhaps a tool similar to SWAT to manage Samba

http://www.cablesonline.com/44pinmalidc2.html gender changer

http://www.cablesonline.com/182dr44la40d.html female 44 pin / 2* female 40 pin / 4 pin power connector

http://www.cablesonline.com/idehardrivme.html (2*) (removable) harddrive case with fan

http://www.cablesonline.com/6in525ypwers.html 5.25 " y power cable (6", maybe 12" would be better)

If ordered from the above site the whole package would cost around 37 USD, however shipping to NL would be 45 USD, and probably some amount of (Dutch) VAT and perhaps other taxes (anyone familiar with buying online from US shops?)

Does anyone know a (Dutch / European) shop where you can buy these or similar things for a reasonable price?

If this is no option we may reduce the price buy buying together with a number of people to reduce the price. Anyone interested?
08-10-2004, 22:46
Styno

Nice idea brubber.

But the casings....2 internal 3.5" removable brackets...that doesn't have the looks at all! :cool:

Isn't this a better idea? http://www1.alternate.nl/html/nodes_info/t5st01.html

I know its for scsi, but it certainly has the looks and space for both HDD's and WL-HDD hardware.

Just trying to be helpful...
08-10-2004, 23:09
brubber

Quote:

Originally Posted by Styno

Nice idea brubber.
But the casings....2 internal 3.5" removable brackets...that doesn't have the looks at all! :cool:

Isn't this a better idea? http://www1.alternate.nl/html/nodes_info/t5st01.html

Sure! Looks are bad.

I only looked for the cheapest (9.5 USD) removable case with a fan at that specific shop.

Since it is a removable case, you can easily load into any :cool: computer case with a 5.25" bay.

Just wish there was a shop like this in NL / EU
09-10-2004, 14:43
Styno

Quote:

Originally Posted by brubber

Just wish there was a shop like this in NL / EU

Conrad Electronics?
(www.conrad.nl or .de)

Oh, and the VAT stuff: If the customs service intercepts your package, they will charge 19% VAT. No other taxes apply.

I've heard that if you let the shop print 'GIFT' (as in 'present') on the package no taxes have to be paid, but I don't guarantee that of course.
09-10-2004, 15:34
Antiloop

Quote:

Originally Posted by Styno

Conrad Electronics?
(www.conrad.nl or .de)

Conrad, Compricon and Intronics don't have it.. (pointing at the 2,5inch gender changer)
24-11-2004, 23:01
brubber

Since it is:

1. Difficult to get the necessary hardware
2. Only a few people are interested
3. R/W Speed of WL-HDD2.5 is way too low for my purposes

I will no longer pursue this idea.

Thanks for your responses anyway.
24-11-2004, 23:22
Antiloop

Quote:

Originally Posted by brubber

Since it is:

1. Difficult to get the necessary hardware
2. Only a few people are interested
3. R/W Speed of WL-HDD2.5 is way too low for my purposes

I will no longer pursue this idea.

Thanks for your responses anyway.

I agree,

In mean time I received an old defective 2,5inch HD where I ripped of the 2,5inch MALE connector

perhaps before I begin to solder a 3,5inch cable to it, the WL500gx will be out already and the HDD will stays in it's usb2 case
27-01-2005, 02:24
tinman

Heh,

i got all the cables and connector but it didnt work. I found out, the
pin 1 on the WL-HDD is pin 2. It was bad idea to buy "2.5 inch drive to 3.5 connecor" cable, it must be "3.5 inch drive(s) to 2.5 connector" and of course both female.

Well, durnig testing i have broken the 2.5 connctor on the WL-HDD :( and
after 3 hours work solder station ( is this right one word ? ) i got 3.5 inch connector on my WL-HDD. Well, no more 2.5 inch drives, but i works fine.
Sometimes the WL-HDD loses the hdd config after cold start, so no drives mounted on status page.But a simple http://IP/SaveRestart.asp works fine as warm start.
28-01-2005, 10:34
Spot

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinman

Heh,

i got all the cables and connector but it didnt work. I found out, the
pin 1 on the WL-HDD is pin 2. It was bad idea to buy "2.5 inch drive to 3.5 connecor" cable, it must be "3.5 inch drive(s) to 2.5 connector" and of course both female.

Well, durnig testing i have broken the 2.5 connctor on the WL-HDD :( and
after 3 hours work solder station ( is this right one word ? ) i got 3.5 inch connector on my WL-HDD. Well, no more 2.5 inch drives, but i works fine.
Sometimes the WL-HDD loses the hdd config after cold start, so no drives mounted on status page.But a simple http://IP/SaveRestart.asp works fine as warm start.

Hi Tinman,

I'm very enthousiastic by your results but I'm wonderring how/where you take the power for your 3.5 drive?
28-01-2005, 20:11
brubber

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spot

Hi Tinman,

I'm very enthousiastic by your results but I'm wonderring how/where you take the power for your 3.5 drive?

From 4 pins of the 44 pin connector??

@Tinman: What hardware did you use? Did you get a gender changer somewhere? Where did you get your stuff?
31-01-2005, 01:03
tinman

Well, i found on ebay a old SCSI Streamer with integrated Power supply and one 3.5 " slot ( something like http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=5161109017 ).

It is possible to use AT-BUS-HD 2,5" DATENADAPTER from www.Conrad.de and a custom 3.5 ide cable. Customization is easy:

1. Open the ide cable plug and pull off the cable from the plug
2. Split the cable to 20 paired cables
3.Turn around each pair
4. Pull in the cable pairs in the plug and close the plug.

I think the little problem that i get with the hd mounting on reboot is the power plug configuration :

1 . I have pluged the 5V from the Stream powersupply to the external wl-hdd power plug.
2. The 3.5 hdd get the power ( 5v and 12v ) from the streamer power supply.

This configuration makes impossible for the wl-hdd logic to start the hdd delayed. This delay is needed to reset and initialize the ide chip. Anyway, it work , but warm reboot is neded after each cold start. I think it is better to use the 5V for the 3.5 hdd from the 44 pin adapter and not from the streamer power supply directly. The 12V is not importatnt for the wl-hdd logic, so shutdown via web works fine ( of course only the wl-hdd 'mainboard' and the 3.5 hdd ). The streamer power supply cant be shuted off in this way.
Maybe i will develop a little extra hardware logic to put off the streamer power supply.
31-01-2005, 08:28
Antiloop

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinman

Well, i found on ebay a old SCSI Streamer with integrated Power supply and one 3.5 " slot ( something like http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=5161109017 ).

It is possible to use AT-BUS-HD 2,5" DATENADAPTER from www.Conrad.de and a custom 3.5 ide cable. Customization is easy:

1. Open the ide cable plug and pull off the cable from the plug
2. Split the cable to 20 paired cables
3.Turn around each pair
4. Pull in the cable pairs in the plug and close the plug.

uhm.. no offence

http://www1.conrad.de/scripts/wgate/...5&~target=area

and how do you connect this wrong gendered connector to the WL-HDD ?
you need a male 2,5" connector which is not present at the datenadapter

edit: nevermind it seems you have soldered a 3,5inch connector directly to your wl-hdd
31-01-2005, 17:15
signed

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antiloop

uhm.. no offence

http://www1.conrad.de/scripts/wgate/...5&~target=area

and how do you connect this wrong gendered connector to the WL-HDD ?
you need a male 2,5" connector which is not present at the datenadapter

edit: nevermind it seems you have soldered a 3,5inch connector directly to your wl-hdd

I think i found something, this is what u were looking for right?

http://store1.yimg.com/I/priorityele..._1829_11996880

http://store.yahoo.com/priorityelect...ahadradto.html

Okay, it's the wrong one, i think it's the other way around. sorry.
01-02-2005, 01:39
tinman

well, Conrad.de have a pin??? ( what is the word for stiftleiste :P ) ..

STIFTLEISTE 2 X 20 / RM 2
Artikel-Nr.: 739219 - U0

40 pin is ok, we need only 40 pin ( if the hdd get the power directly from power supply ).

And indeed, i hve the 3.5 connector now dirctly on my wl-hdd board, but the custom cable still needed, no matter what kind of connector i have.
01-02-2005, 13:08
signed

Cables!

This time i found the right ones.
I also found a load of info about the connectors.
Look for Cabletype: C.01220.
There are also cables to connect 2 3.5" HDD's (should that be possible?)

http://www.unitechelectronics.com/C01220pic.gif
http://www.unitechelectronics.com/idecables.htm
01-02-2005, 23:04
tinman

i dont think so .. 44F to 40F ... look on http://www.unitechelectronics.com/whyisitso.htm

Thst the reason for me to build custom cable . and of coure cheaper as the one from unitechelectronics
02-02-2005, 07:40
signed

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinman

i dont think so .. 44F to 40F ... look on http://www.unitechelectronics.com/whyisitso.htm

Thst the reason for me to build custom cable . and of coure cheaper as the one from unitechelectronics

Have u looked at the cable type i suggested?
If u look at the picture attached u see the connector to the 3,5" HDD, i think it's the right one isn't it?
That it's cheaper to make one yourself is true, but you have to be handy to do that.
I'm not that good with small wires.
02-02-2005, 21:56
tinman

the cable u have posted have something like 44F, where F is female. The link i have posted tells why is not possible to connect mainboard with female connector onboard + male/male adapter + female/female cable to the hdd.

Custom cable is easy to do, i have spend 5 min's :)
03-02-2005, 06:58
signed

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinman

the cable u have posted have something like 44F, where F is female. The link i have posted tells why is not possible to connect mainboard with female connector onboard + male/male adapter + female/female cable to the hdd.

Okay, i understand what u mean now.
I'm going to try to make a cable to, i ordered a ide cable 40 pins, and a 4 pin power cable. (I want to get the power from the connector)
The only things i need are indeed a Male/Male 44 pin connector and a female 44 pin Connector?

Quote:

Custom cable is easy to do, i have spend 5 min's :)

And? Does it work?
Did u use a cable where u can connect 2 drives on?
04-02-2005, 01:00
tinman

yes, you need only 44 female to 40 poin female cable and 44 male/male connector, and of course the customization. I have currently only one hdd, but there is no problem to connect two hdd's. The ide chip should have no problem with CS on both hdd's, but maybe it is needed to setup one to master and aother one to slave. You will get only problems with the firmware (someone have tested on this formun, i dont know the thread now ), there was a litle problem with httpd twic loaded ...
04-02-2005, 06:20
signed

Cable is ordered

Did not find the 44 male male thing yet.
And i have to test my unit again, or the 2,5" disk died or the Asus doesn't initialize the ide disk anymore.
I hope it's just a heat problem or something.
04-07-2005, 18:29
triple

There is no need for any Gender changer. Only solder the 40 Pin "Stiftleiste 2mm pitch" on the backside then the pinout will be ready for the normal 2,5"to3,5" Laptop Adaptor.

Have a look at the picture it works great.

http://www.mach-iii.de/SANY2405.jpg

triple
13-10-2005, 08:14
xlephant

hi folks,

i know this is an older thread, but anyhow interessting.

are you guys be able to get the power for the 3.5" drive out of the wl hdd?
maybe this adapter (2 parts!) is interessting for you. specialy for the power connector on it.
anyway, i will also test my wl hdd with a 3.5" drive. is there any news i have to know?

thx in advance
10-11-2005, 08:30
triple

The problem on one side is that the power supply from the WL-Hdd is
only 5 volt and the other problem is the power consumption . A 3,5" HDD do have a lot more consumption compared to a 3,5 " HDD. So because you still need anyway a new case go and buy the cheapest 3,5 " USB 2.0 case . You will get those for about 18 Euro. Then only connect the 5 Volt from the Wl-Hdd to the 5 Volt from the new power supply most things are done.

Greets Martin
06-12-2005, 09:27
v.d.schuit

This is it-> without using your solder iron

http://www.i88990.com/images/44ide3.jpg

This is what we need. It'll cost u 1,99 euro and 15 euro's shipping cost.:D
Ckeck it on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

You get a PCMCIA coverter for free :rolleyes:
23-12-2005, 07:26
rolano

@v.d.schuit

THX! It just works fine!
28-12-2005, 19:25
v.d.schuit

2 HDDs slave/master is possible!

If you made it possible to use a 3,5 inch HDDs you must know by now that is is also possible to use 2 HDD's.
It's working here right now.
I have a 80GB 7200 2M at MASTER
and a 60GB 72000 8M at SLAVE

Succes.
17-04-2007, 14:27
starbright

Someone knows, how much current is going into the 5V part of a 3.5"HDD?
Would it be possible just to power the 12V from extern and use the 5V from WL-HDD? What happens if the are not plugged in at the same time?