I just bought a new COMPAQ and can not use my 860 AIRCARD as the MOST
new models have a EXPRESS CARD slot not the traditional PCI size slot.
I was told by SIERRA WIRELESS that there is a AFTER MARKET adaptor for
this that will let me use my standard size card until SIERRA statrs to
make the EXPRESS size. Can any help me on this? I have no idea where
to look for this as the SIERRA TECH could not tell or recommend a
brand/company?
Jamie wrote:
> I just bought a new COMPAQ and can not use my 860 AIRCARD as the MOST
> new models have a EXPRESS CARD slot not the traditional PCI size slot.
> I was told by SIERRA WIRELESS that there is a AFTER MARKET adaptor for
> this that will let me use my standard size card until SIERRA statrs to
> make the EXPRESS size. Can any help me on this? I have no idea where
> to look for this as the SIERRA TECH could not tell or recommend a
> brand/company?
There is no such animal that I've found, and I've looked a lot!
The two slots are very different, not only physically, but in terms of
the interface.
Sierra Wireless may have been referring to
"http://www.elandigitalsystems.com/usb/u132.php" (also sold as the
Quatech PCD-X/U132-E). See
"http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/detail~dpno~7116294.asp"
Check to see if this will work with your specific card.
These are in short supply, and they cost $200.
I would return the new notebook, and buy one that has a CardBus (PC
Card) slot. You can still get notebooks with CardBus slots. It's not
only the Aircard, there are many devices that need a CardBus slot. It's
a real PITA to not have a CardBus slot.
For example, professional video producers are livid over the loss of the
PC Card slot on Apple notebooks. This is because the high end
professional digital camcorders use a CardBus size card for storage.
Without a CardBus slot, the users are forced to purchase a $2200 adapter
from Panasonic
(http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=413448&is=REG)
to read the memory cards. And of course they have to carry the damn
thing, and have AC power to plug it into.
I also just checked CINGULAR's forum and someone else has the same
question. I think this'll be a pain in the future for someone....
SMS wrote:
> Jamie wrote:
> > I just bought a new COMPAQ and can not use my 860 AIRCARD as the MOST
> > new models have a EXPRESS CARD slot not the traditional PCI size slot.
> > I was told by SIERRA WIRELESS that there is a AFTER MARKET adaptor for
> > this that will let me use my standard size card until SIERRA statrs to
> > make the EXPRESS size. Can any help me on this? I have no idea where
> > to look for this as the SIERRA TECH could not tell or recommend a
> > brand/company?
>
> There is no such animal that I've found, and I've looked a lot!
>
> The two slots are very different, not only physically, but in terms of
> the interface.
>
> Sierra Wireless may have been referring to
> "http://www.elandigitalsystems.com/usb/u132.php" (also sold as the
> Quatech PCD-X/U132-E). See
> "http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/detail~dpno~7116294.asp"
>
> Check to see if this will work with your specific card.
>
> These are in short supply, and they cost $200.
>
> I would return the new notebook, and buy one that has a CardBus (PC
> Card) slot. You can still get notebooks with CardBus slots. It's not
> only the Aircard, there are many devices that need a CardBus slot. It's
> a real PITA to not have a CardBus slot.
>
> For example, professional video producers are livid over the loss of the
> PC Card slot on Apple notebooks. This is because the high end
> professional digital camcorders use a CardBus size card for storage.
> Without a CardBus slot, the users are forced to purchase a $2200 adapter
> from Panasonic
> (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=413448&is=REG)
> to read the memory cards. And of course they have to carry the damn
> thing, and have AC power to plug it into.
Jamie wrote:
> Great info thanks.........
>
> I also just checked CINGULAR's forum and someone else has the same
> question. I think this'll be a pain in the future for someone....
I'm disappointed that Compaq/HP would drop the CardBus slot. My nephew,
who's a movie producer, ran into the problem of no CardBus slot with his
new Apple notebook. He was using FinalCut Pro on a movie, an his older
Apple notebook got stolen, and he replaced it with an Intel based model
that lacked the CardBus slot. He didn't realize that there is basically
no such thing as USB to CardBus slot adapter, other than some
specialized devices such as the Elan/Quatech device (which only works
with a few CardBus cellular modems).
A lot of the on-set editors that use FinalCut Pro are now running OSx on
the Sony VAIO PCG-TR3A, which has a CardBus slot. However it's slow.
Unfortunately OSx hasn't been ported to a lot of notebooks.
SMS wrote:
> Jamie wrote:
>> I just bought a new COMPAQ and can not use my 860 AIRCARD as the MOST
>> new models have a EXPRESS CARD slot not the traditional PCI size slot.
>> I was told by SIERRA WIRELESS that there is a AFTER MARKET adaptor for
>> this that will let me use my standard size card until SIERRA statrs to
>> make the EXPRESS size. Can any help me on this? I have no idea where
>> to look for this as the SIERRA TECH could not tell or recommend a
>> brand/company?
>
> There is no such animal that I've found, and I've looked a lot!
I found several links about a month ago, but I didn't pursue them as my
Compaq is mounted in my truck and uses wide area WiFi, and I only use my
HP laptop in the field which does support the Cingular PCMCIA cards.
SMS wrote:
> Jamie wrote:
>
>> Great info thanks.........
>>
>> I also just checked CINGULAR's forum and someone else has the same
>> question. I think this'll be a pain in the future for someone....
>
>
> I'm disappointed that Compaq/HP would drop the CardBus slot. My nephew,
> who's a movie producer, ran into the problem of no CardBus slot with his
> new Apple notebook. He was using FinalCut Pro on a movie, an his older
> Apple notebook got stolen, and he replaced it with an Intel based model
> that lacked the CardBus slot. He didn't realize that there is basically
> no such thing as USB to CardBus slot adapter, other than some
> specialized devices such as the Elan/Quatech device (which only works
> with a few CardBus cellular modems).
>
> A lot of the on-set editors that use FinalCut Pro are now running OSx on
> the Sony VAIO PCG-TR3A, which has a CardBus slot. However it's slow.
> Unfortunately OSx hasn't been ported to a lot of notebooks.
OSX running on Sony is a hack as far as I can tell. It's definitely not supported by Apple.
Cardbus->Express is somewhat like ISA->PCI. Eventually there will be lots of Express cards
available. Express is thinner, faster, and lighter than Cardbus:
>>For example, professional video producers are livid over the loss of the
>>PC Card slot on Apple notebooks. This is because the high end
>>professional digital camcorders use a CardBus size card for storage.
>>Without a CardBus slot, the users are forced to purchase a $2200 adapter
>>from Panasonic
>>(http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=413448&is=REG)
>>to read the memory cards. And of course they have to carry the damn
>>thing, and have AC power to plug it into.
To be fair, that Panasonic device has 5 PC Card slots.
Jamie <lisaandjamiemiller@gmail.com> wrote:
> I just bought a new COMPAQ and can not use my 860 AIRCARD as the MOST
> new models have a EXPRESS CARD slot not the traditional PCI size slot.
Amazing, that...
A co-worker bought a new Dell, and it also has Card Express and no Cardbus.
His Wifi card didn't fit, so it's a good thing that the new laptop has
built in WiFi.
How did Dell and HP decide to just stop selling Cardbus with an inadequate
supply of Card Express options? Maybe you should return it and get
something else. I once complained to Dell about the loss of some features
on a new box, and said I was going to return the system. They gave me the
missing options.
For GPRS, he is using Bluetooth to a v3 Razr. The Razr in particular is
not as fast as a card, but at least the built in Bluetooth means loss of
the slot doesn't add any new pieces to carry.
--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5
> OSX running on Sony is a hack as far as I can tell. It's definitely not
> supported by Apple.
Correct. It's a desperation move by these editors. If they're using
Final Cut Pro, they have to run an OSx platform. If they want to do
on-site editing, without having to stop production to connect the camera
directly to the computer, then they have to have a way to read the
memory card off-line. To read the memory card off-line, they must have a
notebook with a PC Card slot, or buy the expensive and bulky Panasonic
AJ-PCD10, which isn't even USB powered, an AC adapter is needed.
A lot of the producers are simply going back to something like AVID,
which runs on Windows (or OSx) so they can use a notebook with a CardBus
slot. The ones that are committed to Final Cut Pro, are using something
like the VAIO, at least in the field. Back in the office, they use a
desktop Mac with Final Cut Pro.
> Cardbus->Express is somewhat like ISA->PCI. Eventually there will be
> lots of Express cards available. Express is thinner, faster, and
> lighter than Cardbus:
Actually it isn't. PCMCIA is like ISA. CardBus is like PCI. Express Card
is nominally like PCI Express.
What would be great is if Final Cut Pro were ported to Windows. Or if
someone came out with an external CardBus adapter that worked with all
CardBus cards.
user@domain.invalid wrote:
> Jamie wrote:
>
>>> For example, professional video producers are livid over the loss of the
>>> PC Card slot on Apple notebooks. This is because the high end
>>> professional digital camcorders use a CardBus size card for storage.
>>> Without a CardBus slot, the users are forced to purchase a $2200 adapter
>>> from Panasonic
>>> (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=413448&is=REG)
>>>
>>> to read the memory cards. And of course they have to carry the damn
>>> thing, and have AC power to plug it into.
>
> To be fair, that Panasonic device has 5 PC Card slots.
It's a great device to use back at the studio, but it's a PITA to carry
it around, along with the adapter. The digital editing business isn't
like most people think. It's usually done by just a couple of people,
often working as contract employees. This is especially true for
advertising videos and commercials. $2200 for the card reader is a major
expense, especially since not all studios have gone the digital HD
camera route.
dold@XReXXXEXPR.usenet.us.com wrote:
> Jamie <lisaandjamiemiller@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I just bought a new COMPAQ and can not use my 860 AIRCARD as the MOST
>> new models have a EXPRESS CARD slot not the traditional PCI size slot.
>
> Amazing, that...
> A co-worker bought a new Dell, and it also has Card Express and no Cardbus.
> His Wifi card didn't fit, so it's a good thing that the new laptop has
> built in WiFi.
>
> How did Dell and HP decide to just stop selling Cardbus with an inadequate
> supply of Card Express options?
They know what's best, or think they do.
I still use a lot of CardBus devices. I have built in WiFi, but I still
use a high-power wireless adapter on occasion, available only in CardBus
(or USB but it requires an external AC adapter). I use a Compact Flash
CardBus adapter a lot. I have a CardBus GPS adapter. It's very nice to
not have a bunch of wires and AC adapters to carry around.
"EXPRESS CARD" SLOT 
Linear Mode
