New Deck, Need HDD housing

[StereoInstaller1]

http://www.kenwoodusa.com/products/ListProduct.aspx?k1=2&k2=46&k3=172&pr=2357

Hey guys, I get a new deck tomorrow. It has a USB 2.0 connector on the back, at the end of a 3' cable. I spoke with a tech at Kenwood who was just dumb as fuck (waddaya want for $8/hr?) but he got me linked to a page that said as long as I had an external HDD that made the drive look like a "Mass Storage Class" device, I can hold up to 500 folders and 15,000 files.

http://www.kenwood.com/usb/english.html

I figure 40GB should do fine. I have a couple of 40GB's laying around.

I should be able to power the hard drive box with a 12V source, or I will figuree out something.

The question is this: What manufacturer of exteral drive housings uses "Mass Storage Class" protocol? Who makes a cheap one? Does anyone make a "hot swappable" type of thing?

Suggestions?

Luke

[browntown]

I have no idea about putting a hdd in a car. I'd find one that is super stable, and won't mind the vibrations. I think IBM made one once upon a time that was able to be thrown around and keep on ticking. You'd want an enclosure that has fans. Dunno. Found this discussion:

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7811-0.html?forumID=78&threadID=173279&messageID=2034041

[Van Westervelt]

similar but i dont know if they make any that big that are flash drives as opposed to discs. The discs are just less reliable.

[parkerbink]

I'd just go with a 512 or higher USB drive, no muss no fuss no power no fans. I got one in February, a Kingston at Frys for under 30.00 with a 17.00 rebate 512mb for13.00BABY!

[netcsk]

any modern hard drive should work in your case. They all show up in windows as mass storage devices. Just like flash drives and everything else. I wouldn't worry about the vibration and stuff and getting a different drive for it. If you really want to, you can get a laptop drive, but I don't think it's necessary. And not really a need for fans either...

[StereoInstaller1]

Thanks Chris. I am gonna pick up a cheap ass housing next time I am at Frys.

20GB of music or die!

Luke

[Tuanies]

Hey StereoInstaller1, you might want to stick with a 2.5" hard drive enclosure as they can draw power from USB. I'm assuming the power from the USB port is regulated. I just don't advise running a hard drive off the car power if the power isn't regulated. The fluctuating voltage will kill the drive. Power regulators are pricey too :-\

http://store.mp3car.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=PWR%2D003

[e304me]

so have you used this yet? how is the navigation? I like how my current mp3 player has buttons to scroll between folders and a nice knob for scrolling through tracks, but i would really like your feedback on this unit. can it go from track to track instantly on the harddrive?

TIA

[AndrewBird]

I saw this in a popular science mag the other day:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/drives/7948/

Pricey and a bit overkill, but you'd never kill it.

[e304me]

you could just buy like 10 regular drives

[StereoInstaller1]

you could just buy like 10 regular drives

Up at Frys' the other day, the manager of the computer parts department was seriously considering my offer of $1 each for 10GB hard drives...she has about 25 in stock, they need to go.

10GB would be plenty of HD space in .WMA...that is like 300 CDs or more, lossless.

UPDATE: Still waiting on the deck...

Luke

[netcsk]

Hey StereoInstaller1, you might want to stick with a 2.5" hard drive enclosure as they can draw power from USB. I'm assuming the power from the USB port is regulated. I just don't advise running a hard drive off the car power if the power isn't regulated. The fluctuating voltage will kill the drive. Power regulators are pricey too :-\

http://store.mp3car.com/ProductDetai...Code=PWR%2D003

Good point. The problem is that (in my reading) that many of the current USB players don't output the voltage needed to drive hard drives. It seems to be taking manufactures forever to get some good ones out. I've been waiting patiently for quite some time now...

[jht3]

i second the recommendation on a laptop harddrive (2.5"). they use the usb power to spin up and i have yet to use a laptop that doesn't put out enough power. i dunno if that headunit outputs enough voltage though, you'd have to try it and find out.

[StereoInstaller1]

Well, I planned on using the USB for data only, with a 12V power supply to run the HDD.

I wanna find a carrier that is either really easy to take out or is hot swappable.

I wonder how much power it would take to keep it powered up on a seperate battery...would a little gel-cell do it for a couple of days?

Obviously not on a converter, but through a regulated PS.

Luke

[RobertK]

I would definately go with a 2.0 USB Thumb Drive.. if you must have more storage space you could probably modify an iPod to be seen as a mass storage device.

I've heard of people hacking an iPod so they can store just about anything they want on it like a portable HD and it's battery powered so all you need is an iPod in car docking station it keep it charged.