Microdrive-CF-Card-Reader

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Microdrive-CF-Card-Reader

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Simple CF card reader designed for microdrives based on either GL834 or JM20337

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최종 버전 다운로드 (.zip)

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# Microdrive-CF-Card-Reader
A small **USB reader + transparent case** for 1" **CompactFlash Microdrives**, designed to be used **with the Microdrive opened** (cover removed) so you can *see the mechanism while it runs* — Because it is cool.

![_DSC0804](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0664fec1-e88e-4db8-980d-a84828ff39d9)

This repo includes **two CF/Microdrive reader chipset options**:

- **GL834 (Genesys Logic)** — a dedicated USB 2.0 memory card reader controller that natively supports CF cards, and is explicitly **crystal-less**. In this project it’s the “simpler build”: no external 12 MHz crystal/oscillator, and the pinout/routes map more directly to a CF connector so the PCB layout can stay cleaner.  
  * [Interactive BOM](https://htmlpreview.github.io/?https://github.com/will127534/Microdrive-CF-Card-Reader/blob/main/GL834_PCB/bom/ibom.html) [(provided by InteractiveHtmlBom)
](https://github.com/openscopeproject/InteractiveHtmlBom)

- **JM20337 (JMicron)** — a USB 2.0 bridge aimed at ATA/ATAPI (PATA/SATA) storage, which works well as a CF/Microdrive reader when the device is used in **IDE/ATA mode**. Compared to GL834, it’s more general-purpose and typically **requires a 12 MHz external crystal/oscillator**, so the design/layout is a bit less “CF-connector-native.” Note that although I'm using JM20337 naming here, the actuall chip is labeled as USB-IDE/SATA with is(?) JM20337 in smaller package. (See more down below in the notes section.)
  * [Interactive BOM](https://htmlpreview.github.io/?https://github.com/will127534/Microdrive-CF-Card-Reader/blob/main/JM20337_PCB/bom/ibom.html) [(provided by InteractiveHtmlBom)
](https://github.com/openscopeproject/InteractiveHtmlBom)

> Remember to use 1.2mm thickness for the PCBs.

> ⚠️ **Running a Microdrive open is risky but manageable**  
> Low capacity old hard drives like these can be opened and even use in open air for some time, so you just need to make sure you assemble this in a low dust environments so no visible dust is on the disk. Clean room level isn't really required, but still it is somewhat risky.

---

## Repository layout

- `Case_STEP/` — Transparent case CAD (STEP) + Laser cut panel drawings (DXF)
- `GL834_PCB/` — GL834-based CF USB reader
- `JM20337_PCB/` — JM20337-based CF USB reader
- `documents/` — Datasheets + reverse-engineering photos for the USB to PATA/SATA adaptor(JM20337) and CF card reader (GL834)
---

## Random notes

Originally I design the board with JM20337 which is very common in those cheap USB 2.0 to PATA/SATA bridge because I thought it can read the S.M.A.R.T health data from microdrives, but it turns out it doesn't. Additionally if you got those cheap USB to PATA/SATA bridge, you can see the label on the chip looks something like USB-IDE/SATA instead of JM20337. The difference is the chip package, in JM20337 datasheet it is labeled as 10x10mm LQFP64 0.5mm pitch, but these "USB-IDE/SATA" is actually using 7x7mm LQFP64 0.4mm pitch.  
  
![_DSC0679-2](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/a299ab3c-2447-4aa7-bc67-95c8f919e183)  
  
So while I have to redesign the board for JM20337, I've also looked in to GL834 bceause this chip is specifically designed for CF card reader in which the package is optimized for CF card connectors and it doesn't need additional pullup/pulldown resistors and even crystal-less. The only small issue is the datasheet doesn't tells you how to connect the chip to the card but because it is a quite simple design it is not that hard to do reverse engineering on those cheap CF card reader boards.

<img width="2550" height="1012" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/092262e6-1188-49b3-a6c3-b5996716933e" />  
  
Both cheap USB 2.0 to PATA/SATA bridge and cheap CF card reader boards photos are under documents, you can align them in photoshop like the image above to trace the signals directly.  
  
So at the end both design are working and thus I upload both of design here, but I highly recommend GL834 given that S.M.A.R.T health report is not working with JM20337. One last notes on the PCB is that all microdrive has the cover at the bottom of the card, so in order to see the disk I need to mount the CF card in reverse, however nowadays most available CF card connectors are designed to use with thinner flash based CF card type I, so the reverse mount options doesn't have enough space and thus I need to do a cut off for the microdrives + reverse mount CF card type I connector, but by coincidence 1.2mm thickness PCB perfectly matches the microdrives that it will flush with the PCBs so the bottom plate design is streight forward using laser cut panels.  
  
On the micro harddrive notes, there are quite a few manufactures for these 1" microdrives, I recommend you also checkout [hdtechdat](https://www.hjreggel.net/hdtechdat/) that documents the history, specs, testing and teardown of a wide variaty of 1" microdrives. When you select the microdrives for this project, remember to avoid Seagate's microdrives, and here is a teardown image to show you why:  
  
![_DSC0814](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/cc4764e6-7280-41d7-ab22-8d2ea6777bb5)
  
You can see from the above that Seagate design put the magnet for reader head VCM driver on the cover and the mechanism for parking head, on the Hitachi/IBM side you can see the top cover is just a thin metal plate, so the latter one it is easy to open it up and it will perform just fine. 
  
Lastly on the case note, I also have two case designs:  
  
![_DSC0808](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0742f0be-7799-4111-8e8c-5c293846bc29)
  
Top is CNC-Full-Frame, which is entirely made out of CNC acrylic top cover, and the bottom is CNC-Middle-Frame + Top plate (all the threads are in M2). The reason to do dual design is because by default CNC acrylic doesn't gives you good transparent out of the CNC machine directly, but with transparent polishing you can get very very close to optically transparent. I designed both just in case but it turns out pretty good, and by using CNC for the entire cover I can do fillet so the whole thing feels better on hand, so I think either option should be good to go and you can pick whatever you think is good.

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