I read in other forums somewhere that the portable MP3 player Nomad MuVo2 4GB uses a Hitachi Microdrive for its storage.

So I plunked down $299.99 to buy the MuVo (instead of $499.99 for the 4GB MD), got it today, did an emergency surgery, and extracted the microdrive from the MP3 player. Then I put it in my 10D, formatted the card, and happily saw the frame counter went up to 647 for RAW images!!!!! Not bad at all.

Hey man now that is cool ! Great work , how tough was it to get open?

J

Not tough at all. Ground yourself before opening the electronics. Use a micro screwdriver (eyeglass repair type) to open a total of 8 tiny screws, 4 for the exterior cover and 4 mounting screws. Gently lift the pcb using a flathead screwdriver, flip to other side, and carefully pry the pins from the microdrive. Get a replacement microdrive and reverse the entire process. That's it. Even I can do it.

rsoemarsono wrote:
Not tough at all. Ground yourself before opening the electronics. Use a micro screwdriver (eyeglass repair type) to open a total of 8 tiny screws, 4 for the exterior cover and 4 mounting screws. Gently lift the pcb using a flathead screwdriver, flip to other side, and carefully pry the pins from the microdrive. Get a replacement microdrive and reverse the entire process. That's it. Even I can do it.


thanks Ray , I have a D100 , I gotta see if this drive is supported , but this seems like a great idea

J

I've been tempted to do this as well and just sell my X-Drive. I may just wait for the mini iPod since I believe it uses the same drive.

I checked on this last night, Ed, and the mini iPod does use the same drive, and it costs only $249 instead of $299. Hasn't been released yet, though.

That's great news! I think I would buy the mini iPod, and swap the 4gb with a 1gb or 512. The build and design of the iPod is great...

I wonder if the iPod would work with my 1gb CF card ?

J

Not sure about that John... might work but first you need to figure out how to xfer the firmware to the new storage...

oeyvind wrote:
Not sure about that John... might work but first you need to figure out how to xfer the firmware to the new storage...


Tim

you know the odds of getting something like that from anything made by Apple , oh and I can say that with my G4 sitting here in my face


J

Dear Ray,

Where did you buy the MuVo2? Is it possible whit this company to ship to Europe where i live? (Like B&H does).


Best regards Rob

jmcfadden wrote:

you know the odds of getting something like that from anything made by Apple , oh and I can say that with my G4 sitting here in my face

J

Would it be possible to copy it over from the 4gb card to a new cf card?

edtang

edtang wrote:
jmcfadden wrote:

you know the odds of getting something like that from anything made by Apple , oh and I can say that with my G4 sitting here in my face

J

Would it be possible to copy it over from the 4gb card to a new cf card?

edtang


that is the question of the day , I am no geek but I bet there is one around when we need him

J

jmcfadden wrote:
edtang wrote:
jmcfadden wrote:

you know the odds of getting something like that from anything made by Apple , oh and I can say that with my G4 sitting here in my face

J

Would it be possible to copy it over from the 4gb card to a new cf card?

edtang


that is the question of the day , I am no geek but I bet there is one around when we need him

J

Won't work.. It's been tried before :-)

Rob

Creative labs has an online store for Europe. You can buy the MuVo2 directly from them at http://uk.europe.creative.com/estore/category.asp?cate=10

It costs about £279, however, so it is a LOT more expensive in Europe than in the USA

Thank you AirMatix,

I was hoping for an reliable postorderadress in the US (like B&H) but this is a start although it is almost at the same price as a single Hitachi 4Gb disk.


Rob

hornbill,

you can also get it in europe, instead of ordering from states. dont know in holland, but here in germany unfortunately around 340eur. Well, considering the euro-dollar rates now, still cheaper to get from US, even with the import tax. I just bought some lenses from adorama, even with import tax i still save around 500eur.

Is the data transfer rate on these microdrives really low compared to the high-speed compactflash cards?
If not then I see no reason why everyone doesn't do this...

Mark

That is sweet Ray! Quick question though... will the muvo work with a solid state CF card. I ask this because I don't have a backup microdrive to insert in the Muvo.

My CF storage is 64Mb Memorex CF, 128MB Viking CF, 512Mb Ultra II Sandisk CF. But I would like to put a 64 or 128 in the MuVo for a small Mp3 player.

Augie

I'm sure it would work with CF, as long as you reinstall the firmware.