Best CF Reader?

[efs]

Hey all,

Many months have passed since I've first received my X68000 XVI; unfortunately, I haven't made much progress on getting a CF reader set up quite yet.

Back when I first got my XVI, BlueBMW suggested I buy a CF AztecMonster. There was talk of tomfoolery with molex connectors, wire splicing, and connecting the thing to the PSU. Unfortunately, I have zero experience with soldering and wires and all that stuff, and I especially wouldn't want to go mucking around inside a $500 vintage computer having no idea what I'm doing. I'm not crossing my fingers on there being any better options, but if like to know if there are possibly any other CF readers that work fine and require a bit less internal modification. Externally powered, perhaps? Or, if anyone could suggest any other ways to go about the AztecMonster setup, please don't hesitate to give me your two cents.

Thanks,
efs

[SuperDeadite]

The Aztec doesn't require modding.  The question is does your XVI have an internal HDD SCSI cable or not?  And also do you have the original PSU with the proper power plug.  If yes, then it's plug and play.  If you don't, then you need to add them, by either buying and original set (expensive) or by making your own (cheap).

In your case, I'd just go external.  Just buy a cheapo external SCSI HDD.  Open it up, pull out the HDD and put the Aztec board in it's place.  Then just use the XVI's external SCSI...   You can also use the PowerMonster2, which is the same thing, just AztecMonster is 3.5'' while PowerMonster is 2.5'' size.  The smaller 2.5'' external drives are quite nice, but a bit harder to find these days.

[efs]

Okay, the one who sold me the XVI included an internal SCSI HDD cable in there for me. And I'm pretty sure there's some soft of power cable in there too. So, I guess that means that there's no modding required? That's a relief.


Also, I've heard talk here and there that using something like the AztecMonster, or at least the kind of software one would load the CF card itself with, would require a few things, namely:

*At least 4 MB of RAM (which would be a problem for me, as I only have 2 MB)

*A 1 GB maximum CF card (I know there's software out there that lets you use higher capacity cards, but I don't have any means of loading such software until I actually hook up a card reader anyway)

If these hold any credence, please let me know.

[SuperDeadite]

RAM just depends on what you want to run.  More RAM = more games can be played off flash.  Even a 1mb machine can play a good chunk of games off flash though.  You can also load up on disk images and use the computer as a disk writer, hence getting rid of the RAM requirements for most games.

You can use any size of flash card really.  I use a 2gig card, and I have 2 1gig partitions, and is the idea size, as bigger is just wasted, unless you really want to mess with goverhd....

[BlueBMW]

In all the machines Ive worked on, the power connector for the hard drive is a small 3 pin connector that is not a standard 4 pin molex like what the aztec monster uses.  One of my machines had what looked like a factory adapter cable that converted that smaller 3 pin to a standard molex.  You will either need one of those adapters if it is missing or you will need to cut that connector off and replace it with a 4 pin molex.

[efs]

http://www.amazon.com/Alpha-Omega-3-Pin-4-Pin-Adapter/dp/B000BSJGL0

Would something like this suffice?

[BlueBMW]

I dont think so... that adapter doesnt look like the right one that you'll need.  I'll see if I can find a picture of what the actual adapter looks like.

[efs]

okay, thanks.

[kamiboy]

The Aztec only uses 5V and GND. So you can just solder those wires directly to the PCB if you want.

[efs]

The Aztec only uses 5V and GND. So you can just solder those wires directly to the PCB if you want.

You'd have to give me a guide as to how exactly I'd go by doing that, but I would be willing to try that as well, so long as it won't carry the risk of breaking anything, X68000-wise or AztecMonster-wise.

[kamiboy]

The AztecMonster manual is here.

http://www.artmix.com/pdffiles/CF_AZTECMONSTER_MN_E_13.pdf

You can take a look at where the 5V and GND pins are on the molex connector. All you need to do then is flip the board and look the corresponding 4 solder blobs on the underside that connect the molex to the PCB.

Now you know where you need to connect 5V and GND. Either two GND locations will do as they are connected.

To find the 5 V line on your X68000 HDD power connector I suggest using a multimeter.

That is the best I can do, good luck.