MiSTer FPGA Forum

I've ordered one of these https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B085HLSD6P/ to use in a Checkmate A1500 Mini case. Are there any issues with using SD card extenders on the DE10-Nano? The standard location on the Checkmate seems to be in the back under the power supply but I kind of wish it were up front, maybe where the drive bay is. The regular A1500 Plus has a location in the front in the middle which seems perfect.

edit:

I wasn't clear why some A1500 Plus are shown with a SD card slot and two USB ports, is that an optional part or was it on prototypes?


One of the pictures of the White Garlic Pack show it with one of the SD card extenders (looks identical to the one I ordered) but it doesn't come with that. It does come with the mounting plate for it though. The picture doesn't show how the cable was routed.


I'm impressed with the quality of the A1500 Mini so far, brings back memories of real Amigas. I think it was well worth the price.

I'm using one of those with my setup, in a regular A1500 Plus case, though I designed & 3d-printed a mount for it to go in a slot-cover. I should upload it to printables so others can use it too.

I've not done any serious filesystem stress testing or anything, but it seems to work just fine.

I've been using a similar one for years, with the normal stacked mister set up.. i use it to avoid putting stress on the sdcard slot. never had any issues.

mparson wrote: ↑Thu Jul 21, 2022 6:32 pm I'm using one of those with my setup, in a regular A1500 Plus case, though I designed & 3d-printed a mount for it to go in a slot-cover. I should upload it to printables so others can use it too.

I've not done any serious filesystem stress testing or anything, but it seems to work just fine.

I'd love to check out your slot cover mount if possible! Did you try to find a filament to match the case color?

bazza_12 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 21, 2022 7:30 pm I've been using a similar one for years, with the normal stacked mister set up.. i use it to avoid putting stress on the sdcard slot. never had any issues.

Do you know the approximate length of yours? I have seen some information that says 25cm is more optimal, but the one I ordered is 48cm.

yeah I'm sure mine is about 25cm.. I can't vouch for the 48cm one, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

I use this one, isnt very long but works great!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09JZCSX86/

You don’t need to remove the sd card so why use an extender on it? Just use Ethernet or wi fi for file transfers.

C-R-T wrote: ↑Fri Jul 22, 2022 10:09 am You don’t need to remove the sd card so why use an extender on it? Just use Ethernet or wi fi for file transfers.

This assumes nothing will ever go wrong with it. I'm thinking of putting the Checkmate case in a position where it would be a huge pain to move it again to open it.

thisisamigaspeaking wrote: ↑Thu Jul 21, 2022 9:17 pm

mparson wrote: ↑Thu Jul 21, 2022 6:32 pm I'm using one of those with my setup, in a regular A1500 Plus case, though I designed & 3d-printed a mount for it to go in a slot-cover. I should upload it to printables so others can use it too.

I've not done any serious filesystem stress testing or anything, but it seems to work just fine.

I'd love to check out your slot cover mount if possible! Did you try to find a filament to match the case color?

Well, I have the black case, so, I used black filament.

I'm in the middle of moving my office from one side of the house to the other, things are a bit of a mess right now. Once I get things settled, I'll post the model & some pics of it and update this thread.

C-R-T wrote: ↑Fri Jul 22, 2022 10:09 am You don’t need to remove the sd card so why use an extender on it? Just use Ethernet or wi fi for file transfers.

i don't use either to update, i take the card out and put it in my pc.. each to their own

The 48cm one is working fine for me on the DE10-nano. I wish I had done one for the MT32-Pi as well, hopefully it won't need to be updated.

why are there no sd card extender to panel mounts out there?

never mind you can't actually buy one of those. I emailed them and this was there response "...sorry we sales only to companies."

OK, I've posted my model and pics of it in and out of the system on Printables:

https://www.printables.com/model/271301 ... over-mount

mparson wrote: ↑Sun Sep 04, 2022 8:10 pm OK, I've posted my model and pics of it in and out of the system on Printables:

https://www.printables.com/model/271301 ... over-mount

Nice, thanks for putting that up! I guess for some reason I thought you had made a drive bay cover.

I realized that with the MT32-pi and I/O board that totals 3 micro SD cards that might potentially need to be swapped. When I put my case together I discounted the need to access the optional SD slot and the one on the MT32-pi but looking at it now with a heavy monitor sitting on it, it might have been a good idea to put extenders for them too.

I'd thought about making a drive bay cover mount, might still do that. I thought he was going to publish models of those parts for us to use/modify for our needs, but if he has, I can't find any.

Maybe I've found something to work on this weekend...

OK, how's this look? I've not sent it off to print yet.
I have the original, full-sized case, do the A1500+ Mini & the original use the same drive bay covers?

Thanks for doing this!

I believe the mini has a single one of the same drive bay cover. I got the extra CD cover out of the box and it looks identical in proportions to what you have there, and considering the cost of injection molded plastic parts I would be very surprised if it weren't the same dimensions as on the full size case - or even a standard PC slot cover. It's ~148mm wide, ~43mm tall, and ~11mm deep at the shallowest part and shy of 19mm at the deepest part. Just off my cheap electronic caliper, haven't compared to metal dial caliper. I do see that this is (approximately) the width and height of a standard PC 5.25" cover.

Your design looks good. In my mind I had seen the slot as placed in the center at the farthest recessed point but perhaps your way would have better structural integrity? I am wondering if it wouldn't be possible to host two or even three extenders in the same drive bay (considering the need for 2-3 for a typical setup). I would be interested in "remixing" your model once you release it to try that out if you don't choose to do anything along those lines yourself.

Of course, with the built-in one, on a nano at least, an expansion card cover and single extender drive bay cover would do it. I was under the impression that the original case had an optional spot in the center of the lower vent to host one?

I checked the checkmate website and looked at both cases, it looks like they use the same covers.

I thought about putting it in the middle, but that would have required that I model in a base for the extender bit to be taped/glued to.

The hole is 35mm x 12mm, should be able to fit 4 of them across if you wanted.

I've done the modelling in FreeCAD, I'd be happy to share the CAD file with you if you're comfortable with that tool. Just promise not to make too much fun of my CAD work, I'm in no way a draftsman. My wife is and works with the AutoDesk suite, she kind of rolls her eyes at my CAD work.

I should have pictures of finished prints to post tomorrow if this storm that's brewing doesn't kill the power.

I generally use Blender. It can read STL files (or other standard file types). I can wait until you have tested it and published the design, no problem.

I was ill yesterday, didn't get around to publishing the models, but they are posted now.

https://www.printables.com/model/272145 ... a1500-plus

Great work, nice fit, thanks for your work.

I'll be moving more slowly than you on trying it out. Biggest hurdle is that the case is under my main 32" monitor and entrenched in wires, kind of a pain to move it (hence the need to have extenders). Also need to obtain appropriate filament. I'll take a look at the file in blender though.

has anyone successfully glued these sd card extenders? not sure if the housing is made of a difficult to bond plastic or not.

I used double-sided tape. Nothing fancy, the Scotch brand double-sided cellophane tape works find for this application.

JB Weld successfully bonded the plastic to a metal L bracket.