Archives for August 2013

Plastic or Metal frame memory cards?

Posted on by in Flash Memory | Leave a comment

Plastic or Metal frame memory cards?

Everyone is familiar with the typical plastic frame compact flash or PCMCIA memory cards.  But did you know that a more rugged metal frame card is also available.  APRO Co manufactures both plastic and metal framed compact flash and PCMCIA cards.  These metal cards have the same through-put specifications of the plastic framed cards but allow more rigidity for extreme conditions.  Such as:

  • Locomotive Train application
  • Geological expeditions
  • Harsh environmental conditions
  • Extreme heat and cold conditions
  • Extreme Shock and Vibration situations

Industrial temperature grade cards are rated at -40°C~+85°C.  Commercial temperature cards are rated at industrial temperature grade 0°C~+70°C.

The standard plastic casing 43.0 g / 1.52 oz and the Metal casing 60.0 g / 2.12 oz.  If weight is a consideration we recommend using the plastic casting.

In addition to the temperature ratings another factor is if you choose to have a conformal coating applied to the PCB of the memory card.  The coating can be either acrylic or silicon based an provides another layer of protection for the components on the card.  Military aircraft, and highly sensitive equipment typically are the only current demands for this coating to be applied.

Surveying companies in Alaska and Canada greatly benefit from the use of industrial temperature rated CF, SD and PCMCIA cards in the use of their surveying equipment.  As does the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) in their equipment.   Oil and Gas repair facilities also greatly benefit from using these industrial cards increasing the time between service calls and downtime.

For additional information visit www.PCcardsDirect.com

Or post your questions or comments here.

SiliconSystems SiDestroy feature is it still available?

Posted on by in SiliconSystems | Leave a comment
SSD-P SiliconSystem PCMCIA CArd

Industrial PCMCIA SiliconSystems Card

SiliconSystems created a very unique feature for their flash memory cards.  It was called “SiDestory” essentially the card would self destruct upon a software command sent to the controller rendering the card and the information on the card unrecoverable.

Since the purchase of SiliconSystems by Western Digital we have not seen the emergence of this technology.  As you can imagine there was no warranty offered on these cards and a mountain of paperwork to assure the buyer that no warranty or support would be available after purchase.

This technology still exist and is available on 1.8″ and 2.5″ SSD drives only.  PCMCIA and Compact Flash cards no longer offer this feature.  There have been some changes, instead of a software trigger it is now a hardware trigger that is wired to the drive.

Other features such as Si-Purge exist has S.M.A.R.T erase, secure erase and fast erase on certain types of cards.  Including PCMCIA and Compact Flash.

Industrial features such as -40°C~+85°C temperature rating and 1500G Shock and 20G Vibration testing are also available.

When creating a custom solution requiring these features as well as UDMA, PIO, fixed bit, removable bit or other modes work with a partner that has a long road map in to the life of the card or drive.  If the card or chipset are to be phased out check to see if there is a transitional part that is backwards compatible.  This will reduce the re-tooling and QC required by your company.

Post a message for additional information or questions regarding industrial flash cards drives.

Another source is www.PCcardsDirect.com/blog for information and consultation on flash memory solutions.