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    Toughbook CF-29 - Firewire?

    Discussion in 'Panasonic' started by Mr.Tough, May 15, 2011.

  1. Mr.Tough

    Mr.Tough Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello!

    I just received my first Toughbook a couple of days ago :D
    (It's a SCB 1,4ghz laptop, mk3).

    The thing is that I have a couple of firewire harddrives that I would like to connect to it. The only problem is that the Toughbook doesn't seem to have the ports, so my only possibility is probably through the pcmcia bay. It is here I get my problem, many firewire pcmcia cards are quite big and I would like to have the possibility to close the cover to the bay.

    What I would like is a firewire card similar to the BC168 usb2 card, which has all the ports on the side of it. Another possibility could be an upside down pcmcia firewire card, since the toughbook has some extra space below the bay.

    (My upper bay has a ericsson GC83 card in it).

    Have anyone seen any pcmcia card that might fulfill my request?
     
    Mr.Tough, May 15, 2011
    #1
  2. theoak2

    theoak2 Notebook Evangelist

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    theoak2, May 15, 2011
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  3. TopCop1988

    TopCop1988 Toughbook Aficionado

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    TopCop1988, May 15, 2011
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  4. toughasnails

    toughasnails Toughbook Moderator Moderator

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    toughasnails, May 15, 2011
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  5. TopCop1988

    TopCop1988 Toughbook Aficionado

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    Thanks: my link works now that I've corrected my typo. :eek:

    Adaptec has been a connectivity leader for decades!

    I used their SCSI controllers exclusively for my SCSI device connectivity.

    And unlike USB, you don't need a hub to "daisy chain" devices.

    You can, however, "daisy chain" Firewire devices.
     
    TopCop1988, May 15, 2011
    #5
  6. canuckcam

    canuckcam Notebook Evangelist

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    The Toughbooks have an IEEE1384 port, 4pins. Technically "Firewire" is an Apple/TI term and it includes the 5v lines as a 6 or 9 pin port.

    If you can power your HDs externally then you're good to go with a 4 to 6 pin firewire cable. Otherwise, you can try to get out the soldering iron and insert a 5v line from the USB ports. That said, Firewire has a higher current limit than USB (500mA) so caveat - you may blow a fuse on the MB if the Firewire device draws too much current.
     
    canuckcam, May 16, 2011
    #6
  7. Pinecone

    Pinecone Notebook Consultant

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    Sorry to pick on technicalities, but it's actually IEEE1394 :)
     
    Pinecone, May 17, 2011
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  8. canuckcam

    canuckcam Notebook Evangelist

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    hahah whoops. There's 1284 for parallel ports.... hmmm.. :)
     
    canuckcam, May 17, 2011
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  9. denrosten

    denrosten Notebook Evangelist

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    Very interesting, where do i find this IEEE1394 port inside ?

     
    denrosten, May 18, 2011
    #9
  10. canuckcam

    canuckcam Notebook Evangelist

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    Acckk.. so sorry, brain fart, the CF-29 doesn't have a Firewire connector of any sort.
     
    canuckcam, May 18, 2011
    #10