PCI Interface PCMCIA & CardBus PC Card Drives (1 Slot)

for
Standard and Low-Profile (Slimline / Small Form Factor) Desktop Computers
(PC & Mac G4/G5)
 

With this PCMCIA CardBus PC Card Reader installed on desktop computer, users can enjoy the same PCMCIA functionality that laptop computer provides. Your desktop computer can do what a laptop computer does, including but not limited to the following:

• Support all kinds of 16-bit PCMCIA PC Cards and 32-bit PCMCIA CardBus cards.
• Operate PCMCIA wireless 3G / 3.5G AirCard for wireless broadband connection internet access.
• Read Panasonic P2 card.
• Operate DEXIS Digital X-Ray System PC Card.

• Can be mounted in either a 3.5" drive bay or a 5.25" drive bay with the optional 5.25" mounting kit.
• Also can be set as a stand-alone external unit (but is not recommended due to the cosmetic reason).
• Windows XP & Vista will detect this hardware and install the Windows built-in driver automatically.
• Macintosh Users: please check the PCI expansion slot requirement.

Installing this low-profile PCI-to-PCMCIA card drives is an ideal method to add a PCMCIA CardBus PC Card slot to a desktop computer of any form factor (standard, mini-tower, low-profile, slimline, small form factor, etc). This high performance PCI interface front-access single-slot PCMCIA PC card reader-writer is compatible with any desktop computer with an available PCI expansion slot. The front 3.5" or 5.25" drive bay mounting or externally stand-alone design make inserting or removing PCMCIA cards much more convenient.

This desktop computer PCI Bus to PCMCIA 16-bit PC Card and 32-bit CardBus PC Card Reader/Writer (aka PCMCIA Card Drive, PCMCIA Adapter, Socket Controller) is equipped with one Type III PCMCIA CardBus card slot that accommodates all kinds of Type I, Type II, & Type III PCMCIA PC cards.   [All three types PC Card devices are 85.6 mm long and 54.0 mm wide. This is the same size as a credit card. The only difference between the card types is thickness. The thicknesses are 3.3, 5.0, and 10.5 mm for Type I, Type II, and Type III cards respectively. Because they differ only in thickness, a thinner card can be used in a thicker slot. Thus a Type III slot can accept Type I, Type II, and Type III cards. On the contrary, a thicker card can not be used in a thinner slot.]

This desktop PCMCIA CardBus Card Adapter, using the highly compatible Texas Instruments PCI1510 PCMCIA CardBus controller chipset, requires no special drivers. It uses Microsoft built-in Windows XP/Vista/7 native driver for the TI PCI1510 controller. Simply plug the supplied PCI interface card into a PCI expansion slot on the computer motherboard, boot, and Windows XP, Vista, & 7 will automatically detect this PCMCIA card reader and install the Windows built-in PCMCIA driver. This hardware also works with Windows 98SE/ME/2000 with the optional IRQ steering driver (not provided in the package).  This hardware is also known to work with Mac OS, Linux, and Open BSD, [Note: Amtron Technology does not support installation for system running Linux or Open BSD.]

This PCI-to-PCMCIA CardBus PC Card Reader supports all kinds of PCMCIA Type I, Type II, & Type III 16-bit PC cards (such as ATA flash memory card, hard drives, linear flash card, SRAM card, wired / wireless IEEE802.11b or Bluetooth ethernet network/LAN and modem card, DEXIS interface card, I/O card, etc.) and 32-bit CardBus PC cards (such as IEEE1394 / USB2.0 / eSATA adapters, 3G/ 3.5G wireless modem PC Card, Panasonic DVCPRO P2 card, etc.).  This PCMCIA card drives also reads & writes other types of data storage cards such as CompactFlash (CF) card, MicroDrive, Memory Stick (MS & MS Pro), MultiMediaCard (MMC), Secure Digital (SD) card, xD picture card, SSFDC SmartMedia (SM) card .. etc with the proper PCMCIA adapter.

For customers who live in an area without wired high speed broadband connection, this PCD-TP-110CS PCMCIA CardBus card drives allows you to use a laptop wireless PC card on your desktop computer for wireless mobile broadband connection internet access. Amtron PCD-TP-110CS is recommended for wired and wireless modem PC cards (3G / 3.5G AirCard) such as Verizon / Sierra AirCard, Novatel Merlin, Cingular EDGE, Kyocera Passport, Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T, Netgear, AirPrime, ACS, Fiberlink, SK-Earthlink, Qualcomm, and other wireless PC card modems using CDMA, WCDMA, EDGE, GPRS, GSM, UMTS, HSDPA, EV-DO (EVDO) technology.

[For wireless ExpressCard, please order PCIE-110 (front mounting) or  PCIE-101 (rear mounting).]

External Mounting
If all drives bay of a desktop computer are occupied, this card reader can be used as an external unit since the reader unit is almost fully enclosed by a metal housing and can be connected to the PCI interface circuit board on the motherboard via the supplied UDMA IDE/ATA flat cables (80-wire ribbon cable with 2 ATA connectors) passed through one of the rear expansion slots of the desktop computer. The rear part of the reader unit is not fully enclosed and a small area of the circuit board is exposed to provide access for the IDE/ATA flat cables connecting to the IDE/ATA connectors on the reader unit. However, the supplied flat cables are only 18-inch long which are designed for internal mounting. If longer flat cables are required for external mounting, customers need to purchase two longer UDMA IDE/ATA flat cables (80-wire ribbon cable with 2 ATA connectors) such as the 25-inch flat cables set available at our site.  [Cons for External Mounting: The Card Reader unit is primarily designed for internal mounting, Therefore, the rear part of the reader unit is not fully enclosed by the metal case and a small area of the circuit board is exposed for the IDE flat cables. And, as shown in the picture, the metal case of reader unit is not painted with the same color that matches with the color of the front plate. Thus, for cosmetic reason, the external mounting is not highly recommended unless drives bay is absolutely not available.]

Product Option & Price

PCD-TP-110CS

System Requirements

• One PCI expansion slot on motherboard. [If only PCI Express (PCIe) expansion slot (X1, X4, X8, or X16) is available on motherboard, please select PCIE-CB110.]
• Windows XP, Vista, & 7.  [Note: 64-bit (x64) editions of Windows XP, Vista, and 7 are not compatible]
• Mac: OS X10.4 or later

Package Content

• 1-slot PCMCIA card reader  [fits in 3.5" drive bay]
• Optional 5.25" drive bay mounting kit
• Low-profile PCI interface board attached with full-height (4.75" / 121 mm) metal bracket for standard PC
• 2/3-height (3.15" / 80 mm) metal bracket for low-profile/ slimline/ small form factor PC
• Two 18-inch Ultra DMA (UDMA) IDE/ATA flat ribbon cables
• Drive bay mounting screw set
• Installation manual

Features

• Easy installation
• Support Windows XP, Vista, & 7. Windows XP, Vista, & 7 will detect this card reader and install the Windows built-in driver automatically.
• Work with Windows 98SE/ME/2000 with optional IRQ steering driver.
• Work with Power Mac G4 & earlier G5 (OS X10.4 or later). [Macintosh Users: This card reader works only if the Macintosh desktop, such as Power Mac G4 and earlier Power Mac G5, has the 64-bit PCI expansion slot on Mac's motherboard. However, most of the newer Mac desktop computers do not have PCI expansion slot on motherboard. If your Mac only has the PCI Express (PCIe) expansion slot, please purchase PCIE-CB110.]
• Unsupported, but known to work with Linus with Kernel 2.4.0 and above
• Unsupported, but known to work with OpenBSD 3.3 and later, should work with NetBSD and FreeBSD
• One type III front access PCMCIA socket support both 32-bit CardBus PC Cards and 16-bit PC Cards.
• Low-profile PCI interface card
• Full-height (4.75" / 121mm) end bracket (backplate) for standard desktop PC including mini-tower.
• 2/3-height (3.15" / 80 mm) end bracket (backplate) for low-profile (slimline / small form factor) desktop PC.
• Complies with PCMCIA PC Card 95/97 CardBus Standard Specification.
• PCMCIA 2.1, JEIDA 4.2 compliant
• Complies with PCI Local Bus Specification Revision 2.2.
• Intel 82365SL register compatible, ExCA compatible
• 3.3V/5V operation. Supports both 3.3V 32-bit CardBus cards and 3.3V/5V dual-voltage 16-bit PCMCIA cards
• No need for any ISA IRQ Board.
• Support IRQ steering: native driver built in Windows XP, Vista, & 7.
• ATA disk interface support.
• Supports Type I, Type II, Type III 16-bit PCMCIA and 32-bit CardBus PC Card including Panasonic P2 card, ATA Flash Card, DEXIS Card, Hard Disk Drives, Linear Flash Cards (AMD, Intel, etc. chipsets), SRAM Card, Fax Modem Card (wired or wireless 3G / 3.5G AirCard), Ethernet/LAN Card, Wireless Network/LAN card (IEEE802.11b, Bluetooth), I/O card, Cardbus PC card (IEEE1394 and USB2.0), etc.
• Also support CompactFlash (CF)** Card, SSFDC SmartMedia (SM)** card, Microdrive**, Memory Stick (MS) & Memory Stick Pro**, MultiMediaCard (MMC)**, Secure Digital (SD)** card, xD picture** card, etc. (** with a proper PCMCIA Adapter)
• Supports all kinds of PC Card Hot-Swapping feature (insert or remove card without turning off the system)
• Power saving suspend mode support.
• No external power required.
• 1 year warranty and free technical support.

Specifications

• PCI-to-PCMCIA/CardBus host bridge: Texas Instruments PCI1510 PCMCIA CardBus controller chipset
• PCI interface card dimension: 4- 3/4" (120.5 mm) [L] x  1- 3/8" (35.0 mm) [W]
• PCI interface card end bracket height: (a) 3.15" (80 mm) for low-profile PC, and (b) 4.75" (121 mm) for standard PC
• Card reader dimensions: 5- 13/16" (147.7 mm) [L] x 4" (101.6 mm) [W] x 1- 1/16" (26.2 mm) [H]
• Card reader weight: 360 g
• Data transfer rate: CardBus mode 132 Mbytes/sec (Max)
• PCMCIA PC card: 8/16 Bit, 8 MHz, 3.3V/5V
• PCMCIA CardBus card: 32 Bit, 33 MHz, 3.3V
• Operating temperature: 0^oC to 70^oC
• Operating relative humidity: 0 - 70%
• Storage temperature: -55^oC to 125^oC
• Storage relative humidity: 0 - 95%
• Power:
  Voltage @ PCI: DC 3.3V/ 5V/ 12V
  PC Card socket: DC 3.3V/ 5V @ 1A

Warranty & Support:

• 1 year warranty.
• Free technical support from Amtron Technology, Inc.