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PCMCIA to PCI Adaptor — Parallax Forums

PCMCIA to PCI Adaptor

skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
edited 2009-04-05 18:54 in General Discussion
I've searched all over the net to try to find an adaptor that can give a laptop PCI functionality, searching with google just brings up PCI to PCMCIA, I need it the other way round,·does such an adaptor exist?
Basically I need to connect an ADC/DAC PCI card to my laptop and presumed that a cardbus connection might exist as i cant imagine USB to be·capable enough to drive a PCI card not really understanding protocols and connections·involved, the card itself though is a breeze to use and is easy to control with Qbasic, just wondering now if Windows XP will support Qbasic? Oh well i'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Anyway thought i'd ask the clever people on this forum if they know of such a thing and if it is possible?

The laptop slot is Type II

Comments

  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
    edited 2009-04-03 23:32
    I have never seen anything like that. However, I have seen several OEM docking stations with PCI slots. (not the USB aftermarket style)

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    Andrew Williams
    WBA Consulting
    IT / Web / PCB / Audio
  • Old man EarlOld man Earl Posts: 46
    edited 2009-04-03 23:55
    Used in pc's to put laptop 802.11 wireless cards and stuff.
    check wlan parts or google wireless parts suppliers. Mikrotik comes to mind.
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2009-04-04 14:25
    My laptop is an Acer Aspire so i'll have a look on their site for a docking station with PCI
    Old Man I think those are the wrong way round to what im hoping for ie i want a type II card to plug into the Laptop to give me a PCI slot.
    Thanks for the replys guys
  • ForrestForrest Posts: 1,341
    edited 2009-04-04 16:10
    I'm not sure the device you want exists. The Acer Aspire does have a slot that's currently occupied by a 802.11g wireless card - but it's not accessible without disassembling the computer.

    You could attach a Labjack to the USB2 port - check here www.labjack.com/results.php?category=2
  • UghaUgha Posts: 543
    edited 2009-04-04 18:05
    Do you have a mini-PCI slot on your laptop? They are often used for wireless cards or the like... i believe there are adapters to go to/from mini-PCI to PCI
  • DufferDuffer Posts: 374
    edited 2009-04-04 18:40
    This may·be what you're looking for. The link is for a half-slot PCI card.·They also have a full-slot adapter and a 4-slot cage (pictures and links at the bottom of the page). The price(s) will probably give you a heart attack though.

    http://sewelldirect.com/magmacb1h.asp

    Duffer
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2009-04-04 19:57
    Thanks Forrest it looks a good device but the reason i want to reutilise the PCI card I have is because I have already written the Qbasic program for it and it worked perfectly for the job i'd intended

    Ugha I cant see a slot on the exterior and i'm a bit worried about opening up the laptop

    Duffer thats what i need but as you said the price has put me off, it looks like I may have to resort to putting it in an old desktop which wasnt the portable machine I was hoping for.
  • UghaUgha Posts: 543
    edited 2009-04-05 01:34
    skylight: If you post the make and model of your laptop, I'll see if I can find any other options for you.
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2009-04-05 01:45
    Skylight, you may want to look into an SBC or micro ITX motherboard with a PCI slot to build a small system. Google VIA technologies.
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2009-04-05 06:51
    The Laptop is an Acer Aspire model no 3660

    Lack of funds may make the option of building a small system prohibitive at the moment.

    But thanks for the ideas, much appreciated.
  • UghaUgha Posts: 543
    edited 2009-04-05 12:53
    I've found out a little info about your laptop...
    If you have the built-in wireless option, then your laptop supports a Mini-PCI card internally. This is bad... as it will take quite a bit of work to try and get into it. This will:
    A: void your warrenty
    B: take a good bit of skill at disassembling the entire laptop
    C: have a good chance of damaging the system if you make a mistake.

    As far as adapters, I've found some info about future PCIe cards for PCMCIA but I couldn't find any existing products.

    Could you perhaps use a different kind of device for what your trying to do? Maybe you could tell us what your end goal is and we can come up with something else that'll
    work and is cheap?
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2009-04-05 18:21
    Skylight, I am not certain about this, but I have a vague recollection of some article about building a USB to PCI converter to enable him (or her) to use an old PCI interface card with a new PC running XP.

    Maybe someone reading this post has a better memory than I do and can help.

    The only other thing I can think of doing is to repackage an old PC into as small a package as possible, or find an older laptop that has a mini PCI connector used to connect to a docking station.
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2009-04-05 18:48
    Ugha I was hoping to reutilise the card for the purpose of a Lighting Dimmer lineup utility but wanted to add other functionality to it , one idea is as a multi input/output logic analyser tool and even as a basic house burgler/fire alarm system, I have many other ideas stirring around in my brain that could use the card

    The card was expensive when bought £400+ if I remember so im loathe to just throw it away, besides that I spent so long writing and tweaking the software for it to get it just right and having spent time learning how to use the card I wouldn't want to spend more time learning that could be better spent building.

    Thanks for your research into my laptop as I think I would have got lost in the understanding of what the internals of it would or would not support

    Kwinn The route of buying an old cheap laptop with docking station may be the solution and I will take a look on ebay

    Again thanks very much guys for your time and help.




    Kwinn
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2009-04-05 18:54
    Ugha I was hoping to reutilise the card for the purpose of a Lighting Dimmer lineup utility but wanted to add other functionality to it , one idea is as a multi input/output logic analyser tool and even as a basic house burgler/fire alarm system, I have many other ideas stirring around in my brain that could use the card, the goal being a multifunctional device controlled from a startup menu.

    The card was expensive when bought £400+ if I remember so im loathe to just throw it away, besides that I spent so long writing and tweaking the software for it to get it just right and having spent time learning how to use the card I wouldn't want to spend more time learning that could be better spent building.

    Thanks for your research into my laptop as I think I would have got lost in the understanding of what the internals of it would or would not support

    Kwinn The route of buying an old cheap laptop with docking station may be the solution and I will take a look on ebay

    Again thanks very much guys for your time and help.

    Post Edited (skylight) : 4/5/2009 6:59:43 PM GMT
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