Switching a 40-pin IDE cable

[dogg_fred]

For what its worth Rube......

The chip you were searching might be the OP AMP......

........If I understand you......

I too am trying to Externally switch between multiple IDE's without using USB.....

I have different 5 Volume Sizes....so I wonder about Just switching the Power.....But I will try it......

If it works I'll build a rack with cooling and monitoring leds......And a Common Selector Switch....

For safety I'll series a Momentary Closed held open.....DEAD MANS SWITCH....Or something on that line of thought......

[rube the noob]

hey dogg_fred,

I kind of got distracted from the circuit, since I have been playing with Ubuntu Linux the last several days. (woo hoo...the master/slave switch works nicely!)

I am still curious about the circuit, though. Are there ic's that have a bunch of opamps on them that would be suitable for this purpose? There are 40 switches that need to be switched. (actually some of them are grounds, I bet, so a few less than 40) But that would be a lot of components if you needed one opamp per pin.

I really would have thought this kind of IC would be a dime-a-dozen. It sounds so simple and necessary. Maybe it is ubiquitous, and I just don't know where to look.

I have an old mechanical parallel port switch. A big nasty thing from the "olden days", circa 1990. It doesnt have enough poles, though.

Keep me posted on your progress!!!

[Unregistered]

Yeah Rube.....They are a dime a dozen.....well pretty close.....

They are the Building Blocks of All electronics.....First it was the Transistor and Now it is Op Amps.....

I don't think you could find a chip with fewer than 4 (quad OpAmp).....

But I was reading up and stumbled across the Old Rotary Switch.....

I want to make a Video Bank....or Rack.....8 HDD....with various sizes....

Some people say you only have to switch the Red and Yellow Power Supply wires and can leave the 2 blacks Common in the array....

I don't think I'll take that chance unless someone here agrees with this....

So I was looking at an 4-Pole 8-throw Rotary switch and keep the grounds attached.....don't know if I should break the grounds (looping effects)...or not....

Well I came across a Guitar Repair Company that sells a 4-Pole 6-throw for $16.00 and the old VCR case I'm gonna gut.... only holds 6 HDD and fans anyway.....

So I think I'm gonna go the Old fashion way if someone here Rubber Stamps it as a Solid Viable Venture and not just a Pipe Dream.....

I'm not certain you can actually have more than 2 external HDD with the communications hooked up and ALL assigned as Masters....and then be able to Select each one specifically through control power ONLY at boot up....

I sure Hope I can....But if ANYONE can answer me on this.....one way or another.....I would appreciate it and I could Report back.....

So Rube.....let me know if my idea is anywhere near what you had in mind..... but on a larger scale.....and if you need any info on stores and parts places.....

I found All the parts....I'm just not Clear on whether this thing would FLY.....

[Dogg_fred]

Sorry......forgot to sign that post.........

Dogg_fred......

[rube the noob]

I was thinking of having the whole thing in one package, like this (I think)

http://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/FS%2FFST16211.pdf

A couple of these might do the job for switching the ide cables. Maybe I am reading the specs wrong, though. I am fairly content with my setup now, so I am on to the next project, but I might revisit it sometime.

I am curious about how yours turns out, so if you don't mind, post the results.

Rube

[dogg_fred]

I was thinking of having the whole thing in one package, like this (I think)

http://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/FS%2FFST16211.pdf

A couple of these might do the job for switching the ide cables. Maybe I am reading the specs wrong, though. I am fairly content with my setup now, so I am on to the next project, but I might revisit it sometime.

I am curious about how yours turns out, so if you don't mind, post the results.

Rube

Thanx Rube.....

That switch info Will Really help....

I write you below to explain a little better where I'm going with this.....and it Will be possible now.... mostly because of you.....

I will post....but my health is slowing my work way down.....
I have scheduled hospital stays for the next couple of months....startinf in 2 days....
I had an unscheduled visit lasy Saturday and again this morning for kidney stones.....

So I'm trying desperately right now to gather INFO.....order parts....draw prints.....and the put it all together in time for Christmas.....

So the assembly probably won't happen for another month....

Thanx again and I will post pics and prints.....that's what it is ALL about....

*****************************
This is my situation--here's a little more detail....excuse any redundancy.....
*****************************

I am interested in making an external storage device that would expand TIVO or similar....

I am thinking about gutting an old VCR and using the case to house 6 HDD's.....ALL of which are set to Master....IDE's of diferent volume sizes......to create a Massive External IDE Media Storage Device.....

The practicle application here....was to increase storage space for a Linux based TIVO(similar)....by using their existing IDE port where their SOLE HDD is now connected.....and replace it with a BANK of HDD's yielding TB's...via 40-pin IDE cable and Rotary Switch for power.....to store and play ALL Media Formats....Audio...Video...Slide Show....Etc...and look good sandwiched between the TV and TIVO.....

This would be a completely different animal that would melt right into your existing Sat equipment and go pretty much unnoticed.
The System I'm trying to Leech Off of supports 1 TB IDE.
So later down the road it would be possible to select something to listen to, or watch, from a library of 6TB's.

I think it would be nice to be completely FREE of All TV Providers and totally independent.
Other than the Local News and Weather, or an occasionally D/L Movie, this System could Replace your Local cable Company.

Well, that is yet to be seen. But it does have the potential to do it.


My media recording system, requires mpeg-2 format in a Linux environment.
Their hardware supports one and only one internal HDD.
Their is little choice of "backdoors" to use in order to exploit their system.
They have a Very slow, 61Mhz Processor.
They have one HDD that uses a 40-pin IDE Cable.
They have a 12v and a 5v power cable.
There is NO SOFTWARE whatsoever.
There is NO SUPPORT whatsoever.
You have a slow processor and an old IDE HDD port and that's about it.

Now I want to expand that Recorder and turn it into basically, a Player.
I want to have 6 months of Audio Video Media stored, yet easily accessed.
Basically I want to build My Very own Private Cable Broardcasting Station with my house: serving All my household Video equipment.

USB is the way to go, but it is not Supported.
The Very O.S. is Not a Standard Linux.
These are All very well kept secrets and Not shared anywhere.


There seems to be a growing awareness for such devices and an 8-rack USB sells for $140.00 right now with a towering ATA Form Factor....But My system ONLY has the IDE Port available ......and I want to exploit it.....if possible...

It was implied from other forums that with 2 HDD's ....BOTH set as MASTER......and the data cables attached to Both HDD's that you could select the particular HDD (safely with System Power Off ) by switching ONLY the 5v and 12v ( red and yellow ) Power connections.

First off.....is ANY of this true......
And if so......can I do the same thing with more than 2 HDD's.....
Say 6 HDD's with a 4-Pole 6-Throw Rotary Switch and an additional Safety Switch to ensure the System Power is Off before initiating switching....

I am seeking answers for whether or not multiple IDE HDD's can be externally selected by merely supplying the Power to ONE particular HDD....While ALL HDD's keep their Data Cables attached.....

With the System Powered Down....can you simply move the power connector from the first HDD in a stack....to the fourth HDD....if ALL HDD's are set to "MASTER"....and Might have diferent Volume size.... and yet....SEE (access ) only one HDD....even though they are ALL on the SAME Buss......

Thanx


RESTRICTIONS:
With the System I will be using it in.....I am stuck using IDE 40-pin ribbon cable.....and ONLY allowed to use "SEE" one HDD at a time....

Hope you have the answer........

Thanx again .........

[Markus from Sweden]

REGARDING IDE switch

Hi,
not sure if this is still an issue, but here's an attempt to help out anyway:
I've only just started searching for this (I live in Sweden, making it more complicated to import from, e.g., the U.S.)

The only solution I've found so far is called IDEX 350 IDE and can be found via the site www.industechnologies.com - click the link 'IDEX IDE switches'.

It's on the expensive side (starting from US$ 1.800) but looks solid and may be worth a try if you need this solution badly enough...

Finally (and quite off-topic): Why do you Americans insist on calling real football 'soccer' while referring to American Rules Rugby as 'football'?
Now, that's a REAL problem to solve for ya!
/Markus

[Markus from Sweden]

On the expensive side indeed...

Well, I just want to correct myself: (as I guess everyone intelligent enough to be on this forum has already figured out) the price should be US$ 180 (not 1.800)!

[J_Player]

Here is the simple inexpensive solution I have been using for years. I have a tray that allows you to remove the hard disk and replace it with another. There is a drawer that accepts a HD and will slide into a female tray with connectors at the back that make contact when the locking lever is lowered. But there is no connection to the motherboard until the electronic key is turned to enable the drive (front of drawer lock). These are available in SATA or PATA formats. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...9422&CatId=285
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...6207&CatId=285

I originally used this method with 2 HDs in a single PC box. Either could be turned on/off or removed and replaced with other HDs. It will work with 1 removable drive tray and 2 slide in drawers if you don't mind switching HD drawers when you want to change a single HD. You could also put a whole stack of removable HD trays with installed HDs and use the front panel keys to enable one or more that you want active. This works to enable/disable master and slave drives.

This is not as convenient as a switch, but It is cheap and easy. There are several brands available. I found the metal versions are more durable than all plastic drawers. Most have a tiny fan at the back which is good for keeping your HD from overheating. These fans burn out after a few years, so I installed a large PC fan with some cardboard ducting to create a draft through all the removable HD trays.

Hope that helps,
J_P