Just an FYI - "hide-inside" cardbus USB2 adapters

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slaz · #1 Post by **slaz** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:34 am

Posting in this section as these are the generation of TP's for which many folk would want USB2 ....

There seems to be a new breed of cardbus->USB2 adapters emanating from China (bless their cotton socks).

These have the USB2 ports flush with the edge of the machine (i.e. no lump protruding) ... I ordered one from China - worked OK, but I suspect I may have "squeezed" it too much trying to fit a second cardbus card above/below it - its now died :-/ But the Chinese supplier has agreed to replace it - so I'll let y'all know how that pans out.

But its seems to me a pretty neat idea ... can be left in the machine as a permanent fixture. Provides 2 x USB2 (NEC chipset, so well-behaved) ... will supply about 100mA bus-power (per port I think) so fine for memory sticks, mice etc. without ext 5V (for which there's a 3.5mm barrel connector).

If you want to look into it, check ebay for item no. 250282951083

Cheers !

madkat · #2 Post by **madkat** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:52 am

yes, i've seen their kind

they are ok, with nothing sticking out from the pcmcia ports
wanting to get one, but no luck yet...

slaz · #3 Post by **slaz** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:19 pm

Just order it from China. I was bit dubious at first - but thought what the hell - its less than 10ukp ... took a week to arrive, but sure enough it was exactly as described. Just need to see if its gets replaced OK now :-/

virge · #4 Post by **virge** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:25 pm

These cards were mentioned in another posting somewhere in the X2* forum. I bought one for my X24 and it works okay. The only problem I have is that the USB plug is a tight fit. E.g. when I try to to remove a UBS flash drive the whole PCMCIA card tends to get yanked out. I solved this by opening up the X24 and ran a piece of tape over the top of the PCMCIA cage. This tapes the card and cage together so the problem is solved.

Other than that minor issue, its a real slick addition!

slaz · #5 Post by **slaz** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:47 pm

Yup - I found the USB plugs real tight too ... I suspect those little Chinamen have fudged the mechanical PCMCIA/Cardbus spec to make it "work". I was thinking more along the lines of prising open the top/bottom of the card metal skin by a tiny amount - a few microns should do it really ....

madkat · #6 Post by **madkat** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 11:52 am

ok, ordered one of these things from ebay
keep you posted how it works - once it arrives

Radioguy · #7 Post by **Radioguy** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 4:49 pm

DealExtreme has one as well. There some support threads about there too. Just search for "2-Port USB 2.0 PCMCIA Expansion Card for Laptops" or better: sku.14848.

kerozene · #8 Post by **kerozene** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 12:03 pm

I just ordered one from Ebay too today, $11 and change shipped. I'll keep you posted when it arrives from Hong Kong.

awong · #9 Post by **awong** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 3:30 pm

I just bought one, but I seem to have some issues, does it have to have to use the power cable? It seems my bluetooth adapter and my card reader need the power adapter to be able to use them, if not it doesnt seem to work

edit: Well it seems when I use my virtualbox, and have a usb device plugged in without the power cord it works. But in ubuntu its not working without the powr cord

TTA · #10 Post by **TTA** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 10:27 pm

WOW great find, my a31p will now have USB 2.0 Thanks!!!!

Radioguy · #11 Post by **Radioguy** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 6:35 am

Think this would be supported on an old 760?

TTA · #12 Post by **TTA** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:39 am

Radioguy wrote:Think this would be supported on an old 760?

No, been there done that. You need a cardbus PCMCIA slot to support USB.

edited to add:
according to this a 760E has cardbus.

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/CardBus_slot
let me pull out one and try it.

Radioguy · #13 Post by **Radioguy** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:07 am

Well, an XD would be ideal, but if an E works...

kerozene · #14 Post by **kerozene** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 4:10 pm

kerozene wrote: I just ordered one from Ebay too today, $11 and change shipped. I'll keep you posted when it arrives from Hong Kong.

Just got it. Plugged right in one of the PCMCIA slots and was recognized by WinXP Pro without any problems.

I installed the "enhanced" drivers that came with it and rebooted.

Anything I plugged into it was recognized. All plugs fit properly and snug.

One word of caution, the two sockets on the card only support 100mA each. My portable drive would not sppin up/start, lights on but nobody home situation until I plugged the power cord that came with it into one of the existing USB port of my T23.

Once I did that, the HDD spun up and was there of the OS to use.

I could not be happier. Oh, by the way, what a difference it makes to dump a Gig or two from a stick to the hard drive...

much faster as it should be.

Radioguy · #15 Post by **Radioguy** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 6:54 pm

Sounds like an A/C adapter would be required for most 2.5" HDD enclosures,

lifrancis · #16 Post by **lifrancis** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 7:34 pm

After using this for a couple of months in my T30, I am quite happy with it. Yes, there is not enough power to drive an external HDD, it requires to use of secondary cable to take power from another USB port. That is not too much of a problem.

The PCMCIA card is not recognised until Windows is loaded, this means I cannot use this card to boot up my USB Boot key. I have to go back to USB 1.1 to do this, and it is sooooo slow.

Radioguy · #17 Post by **Radioguy** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:07 pm

lifrancis wrote:After using this for a couple of months in my T30, I am quite happy with it. Yes, there is not enough power to drive an external HDD, it requires to use of secondary cable to take power from another USB port. That is not too much of a problem.

But wouldn't it be, if the only other usb port were the second one in the card? If there's only 100mAH per port (assuming that's not both combined), then wouldn't some drives still not run?

virge · #18 Post by **virge** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 2:12 am

Radioguy wrote:
lifrancis wrote:After using this for a couple of months in my T30, I am quite happy with it. Yes, there is not enough power to drive an external HDD, it requires to use of secondary cable to take power from another USB port. That is not too much of a problem.
But wouldn't it be, if the only other usb port were the second one in the card? If there's only 100mAH per port (assuming that's not both combined), then wouldn't some drives still not run?

I have an older external USB drive from when laptops only had one USB connector and it uses a PS2 plug to draw extra power. I think I have a couple of PS2 to USB power plug cables somewhere, so that might be the solution.

Another point.... did any Cardbus capable Thinkpads come without USB?

Radioguy · #19 Post by **Radioguy** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 4:37 am

virge wrote:I have an older external USB drive from when laptops only had one USB connector and it uses a PS2 plug to draw extra power. I think I have a couple of PS2 to USB power plug cables somewhere, so that might be the solution.

Well, I don't know how much voltage a 760's PS/2 port puts out. (Hard to imagine that it's enough) That is a nice item to have though.

virge wrote:Another point.... did any Cardbus capable Thinkpads come without USB?

Going by a previous post, at least the 760's.

Radioguy · #20 Post by **Radioguy** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 4:38 am

Double-post.

x3ss · #21 Post by **x3ss** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:42 am

I have an USB add-on card like this: an USB 2.0 NEC chipset with 4 ports.
The speed is fine compared to my T23 usb 1.1 and had the issues with external hdd and powered from the T23 ports to work ok.

I can say for sure it works in the TP 760ED as i've used it to test a number of usb devices in that machine like wi-fi dongle, numerous usb sticks and ext.hdd.
For all this i had to install each driver for windows 98SE for the respective device and the NEC controller.

Radioguy · #22 Post by **Radioguy** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 6:16 am

Thanks for that. (Love the userbar

)

Yet, how did the ext. HDD function on the 760ED? With using both ports in the card, or an external power source?

moronoxyd · #23 Post by **moronoxyd** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 5:03 am

x3ss was talking about his 4-port NEC card, not the hide-inside cards.
And he wrote that he was using power from the onboard ports of his T23.

I own one of those hide-inside cards with USB 2.0 and Bluetooth for my 240X.
Works like a charm.

madkat · #24 Post by **madkat** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 1:23 am

just got the usb hideaway pcmcia thingie

fits nicely - tighter than "normal" pcmcia cards - and the usb's feel a little tight
xp sp2 saw it immediately - and the speed is ok - normal USB2
chipset was recognized by windoze as NEC - and is a little faster than the bulky 4-port VIA chipset USB i have

Just an FYI - "hide-inside" cardbus USB2 adapters

Just an FYI - "hide-inside" cardbus USB2 adapters

nec usb 2.0 on TP 760 ED

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