Archives for PCcardsDirect

Global SSD Storage Authority

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Global SSD Storage Authority

With over 18 year experience www.PCcardsDirect.com… has offered companies  a complete offering of SSD storage solutions.  Specializing in commercial off-the-shelf solutions (COTS).

Beginning in the mid 1990’s as a Sandisk reseller and working with industrial firms to solve their memory storage needs, a relationship quickly developed as solution providers,  engineers and repair technicians were looking to solve the growing need of limited SSD storage.

As Sandisk introduced the PCMCIA card more industries began to integrate this form factor into their designs.  As the PCMCIA card began to find itself in aircraft, tanks and helicopters, mechanics struggled to keep up with the replacement of these storage cards.  When Sandisk discontinued production of PCMCIA cards users looked to other manufacturers to fulfill their requirements.  Companies such as SiliconSystems with their unique licensing agreement with Sandisk offered industrial PCMCIA cards in a variety of configurations.

SiliconSystems offered features such as SiDestroy and SiEarse.  These features would physically destroy the onboard controller and erase all data with no recovery, respectively.

After a few years SiliconSystems was acquired by Western Digital and the PCMCIA cards were discontinued after the acquisition.

It was getting very difficult for maintenance personnel to support their aircraft without these PCMCIA cards.

It is important to mention that with the advent of new technology and new higher capacities small capacity cards such as:

  • 16MB PCMCIA
  • 32MB PCMCIA
  • 64MB PCMCIA

these capacities were no longer produced and available for older equipment as replacement parts.  Older legacy equipment could not recognize newer larger capacity cards due to the limitation in the BIOS.

Recognizing this elimination in supply of smaller capacity PCMCIA Type II ATA PC cards, PCcardsDirect began to offer the a full line of PCMCIA cards from 16MB to 64GB capacities. See www.PCcardsDirect.com…   for a complete list of available PCMCIA cards on the market today and available for purchase.

For additional information e-mail sales at PCcardsDirect.com… or Post or leave your comment here for a reply.

 

Compact Flash cards for the Oil, Gas and Coal Industry

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Compact Flash cards for the Oil, Gas and Coal Industry

Why does the oil and gas industry require industrial flash memory cards rather than tradition memory cards?

These industries function in volatile environmental conditions.  Temperatures often fluctuate a great deal and cause computer data systems to fail.  Transitioning to industrial flash rated solid state memory storage cards you can insure your data receives the maximum protection available.

CompactFlash Cards are industrial temperature grade -40°C ~+85°C to fulfill various specialized applications in normal or harsh operating environments.

These SLC compact flash cards have greater read write cycles and offer wear leveling algorithms  for longer life and minimal downtime.

Offering the standard in durable removable flash, compact flash is the ideal size and offers the capacities available to safely and security store and transfer all of your key data from the field.

Compact flash is a 50 pin dual row card offering a minimum of 10,000 insertions, a shock rating of 2000G, vibration tested to 15G peak to peak and altitude rated to 50,000 feet.

Visit www.pccardsdirect.com/products/compflcards.php for a complete list of available industrial compact flash cards.

For additional information contact sales at PCcardsDirect.com… or post or comment here for a reply.

Where can I still find Sandisk PCMCIA Cards?

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Where can I still find Sandisk PCMCIA Cards?

There are 2 answers:

If you are looking to purchase new Sandisk PCMCIA cards, then the answer is Nowhere.

If you are looking to purchase used or pulls of the Sandisk PCMCIA cards, then you may locate them at www.pccardsdirect.com…

A better alternative we would like to suggest for a long term solution is to test and quality a PCcardsDirect industrial grade PCMCIA card.

www.PCcardsDirect.com… offers new industrial grade 16MB PCMCIA cards in high temperature grade ratings.  These cards are rated at -40C to +85C, shock rating of 1500G, Vibration tested to 20G peak to peak.

Capacities range from 16MB to 64GB PCMCIA cards with industrial grade and industrial temperature ratings.

Custom configurations are also available if  you require a fixed bit to boot from the card or UDMA setting for faster through-put.  You may contact www.pccardsdirect.com… for additional information or any question you my have on fixed and removable bit settings.

Legacy customers looking to replace older Sandisk, Kingston, Pretec or SiliconSystems cards are also urged to contact us to we can custom tailor a solution for you.  Many of these older cards used proprietary chipsets that are no longer available in market today.  Here at www.PCcardsDirect.com… we have recognized these hurdles and have built unique solutions for our customers.

With over 15 years experience in the flash memory industry PCcardsDirect.com… is confident we can tailor a solution for you.  Many of our customers with legacy equipment cannot upgrade or transition to other formats due to tooling or CAP-X costs.  We understand these constraints and make available all the technology in market today to build a compatible solution.

For additional information on Sandisk PCMCIA cards contact sales at PCcardsDirect.com…

Please post you comments and questions here for a reply.

 

Where to find SLC flash memory and support

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16GB PCMCIA Card

16GB SSD-P PCMCIA Card

As many traditional suppliers are transitioning to MLC flash from SLC flash memory how can you be sure you are getting industrial grade flash memory products?

Consider this before buying any SLC flash memory:

NOT ALL FLASH MEMORY IS CREATED EQUAL

Though MLC flash memory may be more cost effective to you it is not more reliable that SLC manufactured memory.  SLC flash memory includes advanced wear leveling algorithms for better durability and longevity.

Industrial flash cards are temperature rated at -40C to +85C  operating temperature.  Additional specifications include shock ratings of 1500G and vibration tested to 20G.

Companies looking to replace older flash memory such as Sandisk, Kingston or SiliconSystems, will need to consider the proper level of support in addition to the correct flash hardware component.

Older cards having used the latest chips and BIOS of their time will be difficult to replace.  Transitioning to a newer chipset with a new BIOS capable of addressing larger capacities will allow for the transition of legacy hardware to available flash products on the market today.

The search engines will return a plethora of potential hardware suppliers.  However you must consider the post support available after you have purchased.  Pre & Post support are critical to a smooth transition of hardware components.

One such partner to consider is www.SSDsDirect.com….  Armed with a new interactive website, product reviews, comments and questions related to SLC flash memory offers you the level of support you need to determine the right amount of support needed to complete you project in a successful and timely manner.

Ask your supplier is they offer samples and offer post technical support on the product as it relates to your installation.  With you over 15 years of flash memory experience www.PCcardsDirect.com… and its affiliates offers a high level of support no available to most online e-Tail, retail and VAR.

Contact sales at PCcardsDirect.com… for additional information regarding this article.

 

Sandisk 8MB PCMCIA card are they still available?

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8MB PCMCIA Card

Sandisk 8MB PCMCIA

Are you looking for old Sandisk PCMCIA cards?  This can be one of the most frustrating jobs.  As a manufacturer of industrial flash we still receive requests for the old Sandisk SDP3BI cards.  These PCMCIA cards offer by Sandisk in the late 90s and early 2000 was a very popular standard for software engineers to base their designs around.

The Sandisk 8MB PCMCIA card was one of the first cards used in industrial systems.  Legacy equipment today still requires this card due to the unique controller used in production.  Due to the high cost of reprogramming and tooling involved to adapt this equipment to the new BIOS in modern PCMCIA cards, older Sandisk PCMCIA cards are the only option.

For this reason we have located stock on the following Sandisk PCMCIA cards no longer available:

Sandisk 8MB PCMCIA Card

Sandisk 10MB PCMCIA Card

Sandisk 48MB PCMCIA Card

Sandisk 110MB PCMCIA Card

Sandisk 220MB PCMCIA Card

Sandisk 1.2G PCMCIA Card

Many integrators and system builders have come across this same situation where only a very specific hardware product is compliant with the host system.  For this reason specific legacy memory cards such as the Sandisk PCMCIA cards still are in demand in the market today.  You may visit www.pccardsdirect.com… for a list of available cards.

For additional information contact sales@PCcardsDirect.com…

 

 

TFD4S-PCDATA002G-H Industrial 2GB PCMCIA Card for Sikorsky Aircraft

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Industrial grade, industrial temperature, shock and vibration tested 2GB PCMCIA cards available for military aircraft.  Using a custom chip configuration these cards are designed to operate in harsh environmental conditions.

Larger capacities are also available.  Contact sales@PCcardsDirect.com… additional information

Quick Access Recorder 512MB PCcardsDirect Industrial Card

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Quick Access Recorder has accepted the PCcardsDirect 512MB industrial flash card part number #PCDATA512MBI.

Please contact sales@PCcardsDirect.com… for additional information.   Higher capacities also available.

Alice 4 polysomnograph PCMCIA Memory card

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Alice 4 polysomnograph has accepted the 512MB industrial flash PCMCIA card part number #PCDATA512MBI.

For additional information contact sales@PCcardsDirect.com…

PCMCIA Memory What to know before you buy

Posted on by in APRO Flash Memory Cards, PCcardsDirect, Sandisk, SiliconSystems | Leave a comment

Before microSD, SD, MMC and Compact Flash the removable flash standard was PCMCIA cards.  All laptops came equipment with a PCMCIA slot to accept a PCMCIA ATA type II card.

Still used today by the military and industrial equipment PCMCIA cards are available in different builds, know the difference before you buy.

Like other types of flash memory, PCMCIA cards are available in both MLC and SLC chipsets.  those unfamiliar with these standards, the most may be familiar is MLC (Multi Level Cell).  Cards built using this method are typically consumer grade and hold a temperature rating of 0C to +70C.

PCMCIA Cards built with SLC chipset are rated at -40C to +85C and typically include some type of error correction and or wear leveling technology as well.

So depending on your environment you will want to choose the appropriate card for your equipment’s needs.

In addition to the temperature and wear leveling technology PCMCIA cards are available in a plastic and metal housing.  In a majority of the cases the plastic housings are more affordable and readily available.  The metal housing cards have a longer lead time and are more rigid.  The specifications such as temperature, vibration and shock are rated the same for both housings.

One additional option that is not usually mentioned are the coatings that may be applied to the components on the cards.  One type is acrylic and the other is silicon based.  Both are used when additional vibration and shock ratings are needed in order for the cards to meet certain specifications.  Keep in mind that when ordering these cards you will void the warranty as no warranty repairs can be performed on the cards after these coatings have been applied.

For additional information visit www.PCcardsDirect.com… or contact a sales rep at sales@PCcardsDirect.com…

Top 7 Reasons why SiliconSystems PCMCIA and CF Cards are hard to find

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1.  Western Digital purchased SiliconSystems.

2.  After the acquisition Western Digital discontinued production of the PCMCIA ATA Cards.  They still continue to offer compact flash cards…For now..

3.   The old “-3012” series SiliconSystems cards are no longer available.  The new series is the 4000 series.  Typically a 6-8 week lead time when purchased in quantities of 60 or more.

4.  Why off the shelf cards are not compatible  as drop in replacements?  SiliconSystems used a proprietary combination of flash and controller to assemble their cards and drives.  Many solution providers ensured that their hardware required only SiliconSystems cards to operate.

5. Are any of their options such as SiPurge, SiDestroy still available?  There other drives on the market that offer these features.  However, they are very expensive and typically cost prohibitive to anyone except the military.

6. Can I make any changes to adapt to these new cards?  Yes, typically it was the software that was configured to look for certain sectors on the SiliconSystems card.  If you have access to the code you can change it to write to any sector of a card.

7.  As the market for flash memory decreases the cost associated to develop, manufacture and promote these products continue to increase.  In a shrinking market it is difficult for companies to spend millions of dollars and operate in the black.  As a result we will continue to see legacy products disappear from the marketplace.

What options are available to continue to service and maintain legacy hardware still in operation today?  In the past five years we have had PCMCIA cards make a resurgence.  Specially industrial grade high temperature rated PCMCIA cards.  Older voice PBX  systems, routers and large scale locomotives all still require this form factor.  In all of these sectors it is not cost effective to upgrade the hardware to accommodate a card with a modern chip configuration.

PCcardsDirect has assembled a compatible PCMCIA ATA PC Card with an enhanced controller for better compatibility with older SiliconSystems cards.  Before you scrap your old hardware you will want to test a this new card.  Available from 64MB to 16GB capacities at: www.pccardsdirect.com…

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