How do you make something that can read/use/recognize the PCMCIA interface?

[junthin]

I was curious, does anyone know (or of a site that shows you) how to make basically a PCMCIA slot (like on a notebook) that can read/use/recognize PCMCIA cards? As in, what's the background technology behind it, and the circuitry? I'm looking for something that can read Type I and Type II cards. (Is there a TypeIII? If so, anyway of making something to read that as well? )

Thanks in advance.

 

[Peter]

You need an ISA bus slot, or a PCI slot and a mainboard SERIRQ header, and either an ISA-to-PCCard16 controller chip
(obsolete) or a PCI-to-CardBus bridge. Add some infrastructure (voltage regulators, CardBus slot), design and build a
PCI card around all this, write a driver set for it and there you go.

Type I, II, III is just about physical thickness of the card. Electrically there's PCCard16 (resembling ISA) and CardBus
(hot plug PCI essentially).

regards, Peter

 

[bizmark]

I don't really know why you'd want to make one. They sell them for about $40. first thing I found on pricewatch. Note that it appears as though this card works only with 16-bit PCMCIA cards, although I'm not sure (confusing website, or maybe I'm just tired). There are others that are brand-specific and designed to be compatible with certain wireless network cards. They cost about the same.

this page has some useful info, including that the only difference between Type I, II, and III PCMCIA cards is the phsical thickness of the cards. The pinouts are the same. Type I - 3.3mm, II - 5.0mm, III - 10.5mm.

Anyway, sorry for not answering your real question, but it seems to me like this would be something fairly simple if the PCI-PCMCIA adapters are that cheap. Although I think there's still a chip on them ("PCMCIA Host Bridge"), something that controls the card somehow, i.e. it's not simply a matter of connecting the right pins. You may be able to pull a Bridge out of an old laptop or something and make your own PCB, I don't know, that's too complicated for me!

[edit]: erg, Peter edged me out! Take his word over mine! He actually knows what he's talking about!

 

[junthin]

The reason I was asking was I was considering working on a standalone PCMCIA slot reader just for a side project. <shrug>

That's all.