Hack@Home: 16GB mSATA SSD to Amiga IDE - for about £10

[Steve T]

What a great guide, I'm not that happy with the CF cards, starting to get quite a bit of work piling up on them now, and filling them up to capacity. Seems like this is a better solution, better tech, and a lot more storage space for the cost - will have to remember this as a project for the near future.

[TroyWilkins]

I'm expecting the parts I ordered for this to arrive in the next week or so, so I'll be responding here when they're all here with how it goes for me along with pictures if anyone wants to see.

[Havie]

Originally Posted by Zetr0

@Havie

Sure post is fine - just hit me up in PM my friend =)

I would humbly suggest that you check out the motherboard however - a small terminal flat headed screwdriver is perfect for bending the tabs in the metal shield up (vertical) - from that its quite easy to remove the top shield. Be gentle and take your time =)

PM sent.

[Zetr0]

@zerohour1974

Hello there, the mSATA port only outputs 3.3v (as well as 1.6v) - so all mSATA modules will be 3.3volts compatible. Thats not to say all SSD solutions will be 3.3v in fact - I suspect that the SSD hard disks that connect to regular SATA and 4 pin Molex will have an internal low voltage drop-out regulator that converts +5v into +3.3v.

When starting this project I was surprised to find a 44pin 3.3v IDE adaptor - up until that point with the exception of some very obscure "thin clients" - that usually use DOM or 3.3v MicroDrives had 44pin 3.3v IDE.

Personally you can easily check the specifications on-line with a 2 minute Google search, having a quick bit of research always pays off - unless like me you want to get two modules (one 3.3v and one 5v)

[Zetr0]

Originally Posted by TroyWilkins

I'm expecting the parts I ordered for this to arrive in the next week or so, so I'll be responding here when they're all here with how it goes for me along with pictures if anyone wants to see.

I would love to see this build - but it will deserve (and righteously so) its own thread - that way you can add all those other delightful things you cannot wait to do with your build my friend =)

A link back to this one wouldn't hurt LOL - but I am truly humbled that you found this article useful

Originally Posted by Havie

PM sent.

And, in about 15 seconds I will reply =D

[Havie]

Have removed the rf shield and had a look - apart from a bit of dust, it all looks ok to me. No obvious leakage?

Anyway, here are some picutres of board for the more knowledgable of you to pass opinion.






Thanks for having a look.

[frost242]

\o/ just got my three SSD, thanks for this tip Zetro !

[Zetr0]

@Havie

Thanks for the pictures - I have noted some problems however -

C459 : leaked & fractured / dry solder joint
C21: Possible small leak
C821 : Leaked
C303/C304 : Capacitor leads are dull, electrolyte has aspirated from unit.
C324 : Poorly soldered - possible or future dry solder joint
C303 and C304 (Audio Filters): Have leaked - Replace with monolithic capacitors

Sounds like I am the bearer of bad news - sorry about that, but I will say that generally the motherboard looks in really good shape =)

[Zetr0]

@frost242

Originally Posted by frost242

\o/ just got my three SSD, thanks for this tip Zetro !

C'est génial!

Il est tout au sujet de ce qui en fait le vôtre!
Rappelez-vous, ses photos ou il n'a pas eu lieu


@Thread
I have to admit, it was fun having a little gamble on this project but for me the pay off is this, seeing others make it their own - puts a big smile on my face I must admit =)

[Havie]

Originally Posted by Zetr0

@Havie

Thanks for the pictures - I have noted some problems however -

C459 : leaked & fractured / dry solder joint
C21: Possible small leak
C821 : Leaked
C303/C304 : Capacitor leads are dull, electrolyte has aspirated from unit.
C324 : Poorly soldered - possible or future dry solder joint
C303 and C304 (Audio Filters): Have leaked - Replace with monolithic capacitors

Sounds like I am the bearer of bad news - sorry about that, but I will say that generally the motherboard looks in really good shape =)

My poor baby -she's not well (at least she still works). Will need to see if I can get the caps replaced locally. Should I stop using her until this is sorted?

[Zetr0]

Originally Posted by Havie

My poor baby -she's not well (at least she still works). Will need to see if I can get the caps replaced locally. Should I stop using her until this is sorted?

@Havie

I truly sorry my friend, but I really wouldn't recommend it. The more you use it the more the capacitors will will leak if there is any electrolyte left, however this is not the only problem. Also active electrical currents will most likely expedite the copper -> alkali (Sodium Hydroxide / Peroxide) reaction.

I would humbly suggest cleaning what you can and replacing at least those I mentioned - if you are struggling to find a local engineer - then I would humbly suggest having a chat with Bebek, mjnurney, Hikey on www.AmiBay.com - they offer a re-capping service and I, as well as others have seen and rate their work quite highly.

Also I think AmigaKit might offer a recapping service - have a chat with them I am sure they can help either way.

[xraynorm]

@Zetr0

Thanks for your post. I have set this up and its working fine.

Did you get a chance to look into the led activity issue?

[Zetr0]

@xraynorm

I am very pleased this is working for you - I have had a brief look and I believe its correctable with a wire from one of the transistors.

From a brief look at the pair of transistors they are in a "Darlington" configuration which just needs a small correction to bring the power back up to 5v when there is no activity - at the moment it is always in a low state - which allows the LED to stay on.

[frost242]

Originally Posted by Zetr0

@frost242
C'est génial!

Il est tout au sujet de ce qui en fait le vôtre!
Rappelez-vous, ses photos ou il n'a pas eu lieu

Just installing one flash drive on ... my Falcon 030 ! Works flawlessly too !

[dirkies]

seems the seller jacked up the price of the 16GB SSD with 50% due to popularity. (see eBay item history, was originally 6.97, then 8.23 and now 12.25)
Suddenly the 32GB version becomes more interesting (15.45)

[Havie]

My board has gone to Bebek for a change of caps so hopefully I will have more luck when it comes back.

Also, hopedully Zetr0 has my ssd now and we can find out if it was my Amiga or the ssd that was the problem.

One other thought, as I stripped my Amiga down to send of the board I noted that I have 1D4 revision and I did read that some people have had trouble running hds and cd-roms of this revision. Maybe the motherboards revision is a factor? Just a thought!

[Zetr0]

@Havie

Pleased to read the board is now being repaired - an astute move indeed =)

Sorry I missed your PM my friend, yes a small parcel arrived, my plan is to attack this tomorrow (Sunday) - I have a 1D4 (recapped) and a 2B (recapped) A1200 motherboard here to test it on - alongside a 2D and 1.3 A600 as well.

[Zetr0]

Originally Posted by frost242

Just installing one flash drive on ... my Falcon 030 ! Works flawlessly too !

Fantastique mon ami!

Le temps de partager quelques photos?

[Havie]

Originally Posted by Zetr0

@Havie

Pleased to read the board is now being repaired - an astute move indeed =)

Sorry I missed your PM my friend, yes a small parcel arrived, my plan is to attack this tomorrow (Sunday) - I have a 1D4 (recapped) and a 2B (recapped) A1200 motherboard here to test it on - alongside a 2D and 1.3 A600 as well.

Glad it has arrived safely. Looking forward to the results.

Thanks for the guidance on getting the repair done.

[Zetr0]

@Havie

Got a little bit of news with your mSATA adaptor / SSD.

I tested it on the A600's and I couldn't get it to present the SSD to the Amiga in early boot menu. I then replaced your mSATA adaptor with the one I have here and it works every time on both boards (2D and 1.3)

I then used my SSD on your adaptor and sadly it wouldn't show up in the early boot menu - at all, several boots, several times each motherboard.

I then used your adaptor and my SSD on my PC with Win7 - sadly this locked up WinUAE when selecting the drive. I used "diskpart" in console mode - and while it can see the device - it couldn't select it.

I swapped out the mSATA adaptor to my one, and it worked perfectly on UAE.

so I am happy to say your 16GB SSD is fine, had it loaded on both the Amiga's (although set patch / IDEFix had a fit ) and via WinUAE - but sadly I think your mSATA adaptor is at fault my friend - sadly I cannot see anything obvious that would be at fault.