TF330, IDE SSD vs. CF Card

[Karl]

I just built myself a few TF330 accelerators. I think these accelerators are amazing! A very good-looking clean design and easy to build.

I've read that some people have had issues with bad CF Card adapters and/or cables, so I bought some different cards for testing.
I also bought some IDE SSDs just for fun. As it turns out, the IDE SSDs work great. Never had any issues at all with those. The CF Cards on the other hand are not that stable. I just ordered some different adapters that plugs directly into the IDE connector. Hopefully these will work better.

I haven't been able to find any information regarding IDE SSDs used in the Amiga.
Are there any known issues with using IDE SSDs for the TF330?

I have tested two Apacer model: 4GB IDE Flash Memory, HF. They are probably not new, but only cost $4 each.
There are also some 8GB and 16GB models available.

[supaduper]

I have built x100s of the TF330 and have given out x100s of the cheap chineesium blue and white 8gb cf cards with no problems so long as you get the VH.2 version of the compact flash to IDE adapter you will have no problems

[Karl]

I have the V.H2 version, but got too long cables, I think.

Have you tried adapters that plug in directly?

[supaduper]

I have stuck with CF cards because they give me no problems, no tried SSD or Plugin cards, and yes long IDE cables will give you problems , you must stick to a short IDE cables for trouble free operation

[Karl]

I think you are right. I went with 10cm cables because those make the card accessible from the outside. The CD32 boots but WHDLoad fails.

[supaduper]

Just for reference my IDE cables are 20cm so perhaps that extra 20cm is problematic for some, and anyway if you want longer cables you need to buffer the IDE, so that then entails trying one of the various buffer adapters that are available for Amigas..I have never tried one :)

[RokiS]

I use 26 cm cables with an adapter for two CFs without no problems.

7.JPG

[Karl]

Wow! So there might be some other issue then...

[PaulJ_2.0]

Wow! So there might be some other issue then...

Not all CF cards and Adapters are created equal. I have found that some combinations works superbly, where seemingly similar ones fail completely.
It's not usually anything to do with the card, using the internal IDE ports on Amigas give similarly puzzling results. My advice is work out which combination works best and use that.

[stephen_usher]

Indeed... Don't try IBM/Hitachi Microdrive CF cards in most adapters, unless you like a burnt up CF/IDE adapter, they can't handle the power draw and the tracks start to glow.