Official Gamecube IDE/USB interface thread (PROJECT BEGUN!)

Valium · Post by **Valium** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:13 pm

How much power do disk drives use anyway? I know 1.8'' aren't much, iPods, Zunes, etc, use them. But what about 2.5?

Tibia · Post by **Tibia** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:29 pm

A 2.5" laptop with IDE connections can be run off a USB port. The draw depends on the individual drive, but they work just fine on those USB adapter cords without an additional power source.

Valium · Post by **Valium** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:31 pm

So we're looking at around 500mAh at most? And that'd be under heavy use I'm sure. How much did the original disk drive use, anyone know?

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:42 pm

TheOnlyOneHeFears wrote:@Mario

He's ordered the PCB, now he's got to wait for it to be printed and shipped, then he can start soldering.

Ah, so he's got it figured out, it's just not built yet.

And at Electric Rain, get more CF ones than HDD ones. HDDs take up more space and power.

Turbo Tax 1.0 · Post by **Turbo Tax 1.0** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:52 pm

I'd probably be interested in a CF one
and I am pretty interested in buying one once you get a few

Electric Rain · Post by **Electric Rain** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 6:02 pm

I was wondering how much the original DD used as well... I haven't measured that.

Yes, those external enclosures for 2.5" drives can be powered off of only USB, BUT, they usually have two USB connectors. USB ports are each limited to where they can only supply 500mA, but 2.5" drives can in fact draw more than this, thus the reason for the dual USB plugs. This allows a total of 1 amp to be drawn for the HDD.

The HDD I bought for this project is rated at 750mA. That's more than I thought it would be, actually... I kinda wish I would have designed a CF version from the start, but, oh well... the 2.5" drives are cheaper. I don't know the average draw of CF cards, but it is very small, which is why they're used in media players, cameras, etc. The CF version of this project will be much MUCH more suited for portables because of their size and conservative power requirements.

tom61 · Post by **tom61** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 6:41 pm

If you want to try out CF cards on the first version, there are adapters on eBay to go from CF to 44-pin IDE.

Electric Rain · Post by **Electric Rain** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:49 pm

tom61 wrote:If you want to try out CF cards on the first version, there are adapters on eBay to go from CF to 44-pin IDE.

That's true... I forgot about that. They're really cheap, too. This way I can make sure CF cards actually work without issue before I order a dozen boards. And I won't even have to order a prototype first!

Thanks for the suggestion... I can't believe I didn't think of it.

Warp · Post by **Warp** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:39 am

if it works, consider sending one to france

Rekarp · Post by **Rekarp** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:21 am

Aye Ye be shippin' one to the center of Texas. Smart as paint Ye be.

Electric Rain · Post by **Electric Rain** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:50 pm

Warp wrote:if it works, consider sending one to france

Sure thing!

Rekarp wrote:Aye Ye be shippin' one to the center of Texas. Smart as paint Ye be.

...

Okay... thanks.

There seem to be a good number of you who are interested in buying one of these, and every one of you that has specified has said they want the CompactFlash version. So, I really need to know, does ANYBODY want the HDD version? Don't feel obligated to say yes, please... it's not gonna hurt my feelings.

Actually, I would highly prefer it if you all only wanted the CF version. That would mean I'd only have to get one kind of board.

Oh, and if you guys only want the CF version, I came up with a great solution for the FX2... See, some people may still want the ability to stream ISOs over USB and load games onto the CF card over the FX2 (so you wouldn't have to remove the CF card from the board and use a separate CF reader), but some may only want this to store games on CF cards and would prefer the FX2 be left out in exchange for a cheaper (probably by $10-15) board. Well, I know how I can provide this option but still only have to get one board design made up.

Remember that destop said the FX2 can be let out and an oscillator could be put in it's place for the FPGA (the clock out of the FX2 is the only thing the FPGA uses, and the FPGA handles all of the HDD functions). I'll simply design the board with a spot for the FX2, as though I were going to include it, but also put a spot on the board for the oscillator and its external components. This way I can just solder on one or the other, depending on what the customer ordered. I can even put the footprints for the oscillator components directly inside the FX2 footprint to save room on the board.

So, yeah... I really need to know if anyone will be wanting HDD versions of these boards. And out of curiosity, how many of you would want the FX2? Like I said, it will probably be about $10-15 cheaper without it.

MrTroy · Post by **MrTroy** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 1:18 pm

When I read that everything was going to take about 2 weeks I was going to stop reading this for a while. But... I'm just going to jump in here and say. I'd like a Hard Drive version. If no one else does.... I'm SOL. But hey. I'm speaking up.

Rekarp · Post by **Rekarp** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 1:25 pm

Electric Rain wrote:
Rekarp wrote:Aye Ye be shippin' one to the center of Texas. Smart as paint Ye be.
... Okay... thanks.

Oh for ten toes! Ye needs to be watchin' more Treasure Island me thinks!

Metroid fan · Post by **Metroid fan** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 1:48 pm

I would want the CF version without the FX2 personally, but I'm wondering, how much are you going to charge for populating the board? I know that I can't do anything to all of those wonderful surface mount components, and would like to have someone do it for me for cash...

Electric Rain · Post by **Electric Rain** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 1:57 pm

It's hard to nail down a price at this point, but I've estimated it will be somewhere around $100 or maybe a little bit more depending on how long it takes to assembe the boards. Cheaper without the FX2, of course.

I'm working on designing a universal board that will allow me to provide the options you guys want. Mainly CF or HDD, and with or without FX2. But, I don't want to get TOO far ahead of myself...

Edit: Yay! BatchPCB is telling me that my boards have been panelized! *does a happy dance* They're probably being etched/routed in China as we type.

Or maybe there's a short delay of a day or two before they actually start working on them... but still. *shrug*