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Looking for a few inexpensive CF card extenders

Bill-kun

Bill-kun

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Joined
Nov 2, 2020
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686
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Michigan
Looked on eBay and found these. Just what I am looking for, but--uh--that's too much to ask. (Why that much when the IDE-to-CF adaptors themselves are less than $10?)

Does anyone know where I can find at least a few for less? I am wanting the ability to use my IDE-to-CF adaptors, but not have to reach behind the computer case to change CF cards, especially if the computer case is one of several that I've packed into a computer armoire.

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I may be missing the problem but....
You have an IDE to CF adapter why not put a 40 pin flat cable on that?
 
jlang said:
I may be missing the problem but....
You have an IDE to CF adapter why not put a 40 pin flat cable on that?
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Well, one thing is that the IDE-to-CF adaptors also require power from the computer case's power supply, so using a 40-pin IDE ribbon cable extension would be great, but it means it would not be the only cord that would have to be run or have an extension.
 
Bill, I was looking to do the same thing. I ended up going with IDE cables and power lead extensions.
 
Bill-kun said:
Well, one thing is that the IDE-to-CF adaptors also require power from the computer case's power supply, so using a 40-pin IDE ribbon cable extension would be great, but it means it would not be the only cord that would have to be run or have an extension.
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I didn't think about power. I bet I could do IDE cable and power extension for a lot less then $49.99 ;^)
 
Chuck(G) said:
If you use a 44 pin CF adapter, would this do the trick for you?]
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This is a really great idea! But I don't understand it. Which end is supposed to go to the motherboard and which end is supposed to go to the CF adaptor? Why are there 44 pins on one end when IDE uses 40? What if the extra 4 pins make the connector not fit in a shrouded header?
 
Plasma said:
Startech makes a very nice 3.5" drive bay CF reader...
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Hey, I think I brought home a stack of these from Computer Reset! Unless the things I have are for PCMCIA cards instead. I'll have to look at a few up close to see if this is what I already have or not.


jafir said:
2.5 inch laptop style hard drive to cf
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I found these on eBay which look comparable to your picture. (The "size" dropdown lets me select from either this pictured or the backplated IDE-to-CF adaptors that I already have.) Great price, but I would have to wait for slow shipping from China.
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But I still don't see how it all connects together. If I take one of these and connect it to the 44-pin end of the extension in post 7--
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--then there would just be a loose Molex connector, and it would all have no power since the 40-pin IDE end would connect to the motherboard only. Or does it not need 5 volts? (In which case, why do the IDE-to-CF adaptors that I already have need 5 volts?)
 
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Some CF cards will work without the 5V, but most won't. Also your IDE card may (again most won't) transmit 5V on pin 20 of the IDE connector. If so the CF adapter has a jumper to use that 5V power source.
 
Bill-kun said:
Hey, I think I brought home a stack of these from Computer Reset! Unless the things I have are for PCMCIA cards instead. I'll have to look at a few up close to see if this is what I already have or not.
Click to expand...
Negative; I checked and all the ones I was thinking of are drives for 3.5-inch desktop bays and they accept PCMCIA cards.

Here's a 36-inch Molex extension cord. This would work with the cable in post 7. I'd certainly need a 24-inch IDE extension cable. That's 3 parts, but at the risk of running a Molex cable outside of the computer case, they certainly add up to less than $41.

10.95+4.68+2+8.99 = $26.62

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Scratch that; $41 is only for the 30-cm. CF extension. The 100 cm. CF extension cable is $49.99. Ideally, I'd just like to find the direct CF card 50-pin extension cable at significantly less than $50. 🙄
 
I don't understand where you are extending this cable. Are you going to build an enclosure for that bare CF adapter, or is it just hanging out in the breeze?

If you have any free drive bays, that would be a much cleaner install and not require special cables. If you want to use your existing PCMCIA drives, there are PCMCIA to CF adapters.
 
Sure! ☺️

My computer armoire looks essentially like this, except that to make maximal use of the space, I have a computer case below the monitor and two other cases, one on either side of the monitor. The cases are all from different eras, and each will have its own hard drive, with a CF card as a D-drive. Once everything is in place (probably using a 4-way KVM switch so I can also attach a modern laptop if I choose), it will be impossible to reach behind the cases to exchange the CF card(s). So for 2 or 3 of the cases I’d like to have a CF card on a cable that gets stuffed beside the monitor. All I would have to do is pull out the cable, swap the CF card, and stuff the cable back alongside the monitor.

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I'd like to keep them as era-accurate as possible, especially on the visible front panel, plus some of them don't have a bay to spare. Adding a CF card adaptor in each is the only modern change/addition, and that is only for the great convenience (and best method in my opinion) that they give in transferring large amounts of data between vintage and modern computers.
 
Well, I was thinking about one of these. I used to have a pile of them, gave them all away several years ago. Stick your CF card with adapter in one and there you go. This was sometime in the early-mid 1990s, so I assume they're period-correct. Still have one for SE SCSI 3.5"
 
Chuck(G) said:
Well, I was thinking about one of these. I used to have a pile of them, gave them all away several years ago. Stick your CF card with adapter in one and there you go. This was sometime in the early-mid 1990s, so I assume they're period-correct. Still have one for SE SCSI 3.5"
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Ah, I've got a few of these in my inventory. I will keep this idea in mind for a tall tower build. I never thought of putting a CF card adapter in one!
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