Multi-function eSATA/USB HDD dock/card reader

Nikolai · May 28, 2008

Extremely cool device!
http://usb.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=00516

I was running out of space on my home system. I even got a new Hitachi 1TB HDD installed but still was a bit worried looking at the rate it fills up.
Now my troubles are over. :deal
With this device (which costs only $82 shipped :huh ) I can use dirt-cheap 500Gb or even slightly smaller (as long as they hold opne year worth of images)drives as an inexpensive backup options and don't worry about all the enclosures hassles. :ivar

Rhuarc · May 28, 2008

Wow, that would make using multiple rotating drives for backup very easy! Thanks for the heads up on this!

Nikolai · May 28, 2008

Rhuarc wrote:

Wow, that would make using multiple rotating drives for backup very easy!

Totally, my thoughts exactly

. External R.A.I.D., so to speak.

Manfr3d · May 29, 2008

A great, now I only need to find a way to put my 500GB Samsung into my camera

Scott_Quier · May 29, 2008

Hey Nik - that is way cool. Have you already got one or are you in the process of getting one. I would be very interesting in knowing how this thing works out for you.

claudermilk · May 29, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

Totally, my thoughts exactly . External R.A.I.D., so to speak.

To be pedantic, not really. But that is a very, very cool device. Goes on my wishlist.

Nikolai · May 29, 2008

Scott_Quier wrote:

Hey Nik - that is way cool. Have you already got one or are you in the process of getting one. I would be very interesting in knowing how this thing works out for you.

I fiound and ordered it yesterday. I'll let you know when I put it to my use.

Nikolai · May 29, 2008

claudermilk wrote:

To be pedantic, not really.

That's why I spelled it d.i.f.f.e.r.e.n.t.l.y

cause it's an easy way to use your own Redundant Array(collection) of Inepensive external Drives

GSPeP · May 29, 2008

I use a cable from www.digitus.info that can connect SATA and IDE drives to a USB port. Works with 1,8", 2,5" and 3,5" drives

Item: http://www.digitus.info/scripts/digdetail.asp?artnr=DA%2D70148%2D1

Works just fine. I recovered 2 HDD's from an old laptop and a IDE HDD from an old PC. Use it to keep some things as a backup.

Nikolai · May 29, 2008

GSPeP wrote:

I use a cable from www.digitus.info that can connect SATA and IDE drives to a USB port. Works with 1,8", 2,5" and 3,5" drives

Item: http://www.digitus.info/scripts/digdetail.asp?artnr=DA%2D70148%2D1

Works just fine. I recovered 2 HDD's from an old laptop and a IDE HDD from an old PC. Use it to keep some things as a backup.

Peter, thank you, very interesting!

Too bad they don't seem to ship to US...

ChrisJ · May 29, 2008

This one looks similar... [Amazon.com link]

Nikolai · May 29, 2008

ChrisJ wrote:

This one looks similar... [Amazon.com link]

Thanks Chris! Good find!

My only concern for the cable solution is that I really don't think standard USB port can provide enough power to fire up a large drive. Anybody can contest that?

Scott_Quier · May 29, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

Thanks Chris! Good find!
My only concern for the cable solution is that I really don't think standard USB port can provide enough power to fire up a large drive. Anybody can contest that?

What I have for quick drive duplication/ghosting, etc is this....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812119152&Tpk=rcw-608

Works pretty good. Has power brick for powering larger EIDE drives. It's just not real elegant.a I guess that's in keeping with the $25USD price.

GSPeP · May 30, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

Thanks Chris! Good find!
My only concern for the cable solution is that I really don't think standard USB port can provide enough power to fire up a large drive. Anybody can contest that?

The one I have came with a separate power supply for the drives. I think with the ones proposed before, this should also be the case.

Nikolai · May 30, 2008

GSPeP wrote:

The one I have came with a separate power supply for the drives. I think with the ones proposed before, this should also be the case.

AH, OK, cool, thank you!
Well, I guess the brick I ordered has the convenince of a nice look, all-in-one design and the capabilities of the built-in multi-card reader, hence twice the price...

Nikolai · June 6, 2008

Update: package arrived from Hong Kong this morning. Looks as described. I'm gonna give it a whurl tonight...

Scott_Quier · June 6, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

Update: package arrived from Hong Kong this morning. Looks as described. I'm gonna give it a whurl tonight...

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to your review.

DavidTO · June 6, 2008

Scott_Quier wrote:

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to your review.

Yes.

On dgrin.smugmug.com!

ziggy53 · June 6, 2008

Scott_Quier wrote:

What I have for quick drive duplication/ghosting, etc is this....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812119152&Tpk=rcw-608

Works pretty good. Has power brick for powering larger EIDE drives. It's just not real elegant.a I guess that's in keeping with the $25USD price.

I have a USB 2 to SATA/IDE cable:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=2020&cpc=RECOM

It does indeed work with large HD, CD/DVD ROMs and even transparent to DVD burners and software. Transfer speeds are excellent and it supports about twice what is needed for DV video.

I use it for file transfer and backup applications and it makes a great device to support an external DVD burner to copy directly from the internal burner on the computer. I also use it with an older laptop that doesn't have an internal burner and to supplemet the laptop's internal drive.

Nikolai · June 6, 2008

ziggy53 wrote:

I have a USB 2 to SATA/IDE cable:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=2020&cpc=RECOM

It does indeed work with large HD, CD/DVD ROMs and even transparent to DVD burners and software. Transfer speeds are excellent and it supports about twice what is needed for DV video.

I use it for file transfer and backup applications and it makes a great device to support an external DVD burner to copy directly from the internal burner on the computer. I also use it with an older laptop that doesn't have an internal burner and to supplemet the laptop's internal drive.

Ahhh! Only $12! And I paid $82

Darn, that's what I get for being impulsive buyer... :bash
Oh well, we'll see how it works...

Scott_Quier · June 6, 2008

ziggy53 wrote:

I have a USB 2 to SATA/IDE cable:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=2020&cpc=RECOM

It does indeed work with large HD, CD/DVD ROMs and even transparent to DVD burners and software. Transfer speeds are excellent and it supports about twice what is needed for DV video.

I use it for file transfer and backup applications and it makes a great device to support an external DVD burner to copy directly from the internal burner on the computer. I also use it with an older laptop that doesn't have an internal burner and to supplemet the laptop's internal drive.

You got essentially the same thing I did, but you got yours for about 1/2 the price I paid. Where were you when I was looking for my solution?

Nikolai · June 6, 2008

OK, here's the quick results:

First annoyances:
1) power brick cord came with some weird AC plug. Luckily the other side of the cord was standard PC type power plug (which I had a spare or two) and the device can take both European and US AC current.
2) after connection and powerup it took about two minutes to recognize the hardware and then required the restart... argh:-(

Now the good part:
Once this was done, the rest was fairly easy. Plugged in CF card, plugged in my 250Gb SATA HDD (wich I just replaced with 1Tb as internal one)... All media types are immediately recognized and seem operational.

Here's how extra $70 (compared to Ziggy's $12 cable) look like:

Art Scott · June 7, 2008

is this thing HOT SWAPPABLE?? ZOUNDS REALL KEWL!!:D

Nikolai · June 7, 2008

Art Scott wrote:

is this thing HOT SWAPPABLE?? ZOUNDS REALL KEWL!!:D

It says so...

Art Scott · June 7, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

It says so...

NOW IT ZOUNDS REAL REAL REAL KEWL.....

THANX NIkolai

ziggy53 · June 7, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

It says so...

Hot swappable and a USB hub plus ports. Sounds like a deal to me.

clap

Nikolai · June 7, 2008

ziggy53 wrote:

Hot swappable and a USB hub plus ports. Sounds like a deal to me. clap

Well, FWIW it's also a multi-card (xD, SD, MS, CF) reader

Nikolai · June 7, 2008

Seymore wrote:

So Nik... what was the total outlay for this? (I'm just seeing if I can justify the cost)

Well, I'm on the fence here. I can pretty much guarantee that if I knew about Ziggy's $12 device before I bought this one, I would opt for it hands down.

I mean, I don't need all this capability THAT often, and for once-a-month or evel less frequent deal this simple cable would serve me just right, especially considering it's also IDE-compatible (this one takes only SATA, although both 3.5" desktop and 2.5" laptop drives)
However, since I already got this one (and mentally justified its cost) I don't think trying to get rid of it and naturally losing extra $ would worth the hassle. Essentially, I upgraded my simple Sundisk multi-card reader for a a slightly bigger device that also accepts SATA drives and provides two extra powered USB 2.0 ports right on my desk - all in one relatively compact and neatly looking package.

Nikolai · June 9, 2008

OK, thought more about it and decided to sell the thing. I know I may lose a few bucks, but better than losing the whole amount. Before I post on andyBay anybody here wanna have a first chance?
$75 shipped... all working. For $5 extra I'll add US power cable (which was NOT the part of the original package). Email me for a faster response.

DoctorIt · June 10, 2008

That is definitely an interesting all in one device, can't think of anything you CAN'T plug into it!

Nik, reading your first post about quickly swapping drives in and out as you fill up made me think of the Drobo (the video is particularly compelling, just yanking drives in and out). Probably a bit too automated for what you want, but the ease of pulling drives in and out really caught my attention when I saw it for the first time.

Nikolai · June 10, 2008

DoctorIt wrote:

That is definitely an interesting all in one device, can't think of anything you CAN'T plug into it!

Nik, reading your first post about quickly swapping drives in and out as you fill up made me think of the Drobo (the video is particularly compelling, just yanking drives in and out). Probably a bit too automated for what you want, but the ease of pulling drives in and out really caught my attention when I saw it for the first time.

Erik, I have been eyeballing that Drobo for several months already. I agree it's very cool, but the price, gosh... $800 just for the device itself....

Multi-function eSATA/USB HDD dock/card reader

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