mSATA to SATA/USB converter

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multiplexer
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2011 4:11 am

mSATA to SATA/USB converter

Post by multiplexer » Fri Sep 28, 2012 6:41 am

Recently, somebody on the Dutch forum I frequent said that it was pretty hard to source mSATA to SATA and/or USB boards. As you might know mSATA ports are increasingly being used in laptops and small form factor PC motherboards for SSDs.

However, such an mSATA port does cost you a normal SATA port on such a motherboard, i.e. a chipset with nominally 4 SATA ports will only expose 3 on the motherboard itself and one, electrically, in the mSATA/mPCIe slot. So you're out of luck if you want to attach 4 'normal' SATA disks. There is obviously a solution for this, it's a small board which simply routes the SATA lines to a standard SATA plug. Problem is: they're freaking expensive.

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This one is $30/pc wholesale, usually between 60 and 80 USD in stores. There are others, but I haven't been able to find one for under $30 shipped. So I decided to fix this and one-up it by also including an option to plug in a USB stick:

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The USB option is nice to put the OS on in e.g. ESXi systems. This way the USB stick doesn't stick out one of the back USB ports.

Another difference between my version and other competitors is that mine can fit in both full-size and half-size mSATA slots

Now this just started as helping out somebody, but I'm thinking this might be a commercially interesting thing to sell. I am not outfitted to sell directly to customers; I have no webshop, no experience selling non-wholesale. But maybe somebody here on SPCR is interested in selling this board? I am able to produce these things and sell them wholesale. Wholesale pricing depends very much on volume and location.
Last edited by multiplexer on Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

psych
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2008 2:35 am
Location: london, uk

Re: mSATA to SATA/USB converter

Post by psych » Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:46 pm

multiplexer wrote: Another difference between my version and other competitors is that mine can fit in both full-size and
Full-size and what?

multiplexer
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2011 4:11 am

Re: mSATA to SATA/USB converter

Post by multiplexer » Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:50 am

LOL... well, that was an obvious copy-paste...

I corrected the post, it was meant to say half-size and full-size mSATA slots.

NyteOwl
Posts: 536
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

Re: mSATA to SATA/USB converter

Post by NyteOwl » Sat Oct 27, 2012 8:55 pm

Boy could I use one of those!

joepadilla
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 11:59 am

Re: mSATA to SATA/USB converter

Post by joepadilla » Mon Mar 18, 2013 12:05 pm

Hello multiplexer,

Are you still interested in making these adapters. I would like to purchase some but with the USB connected at a right angle if possible.

Please let me know.

Thanks

Joe

mgutt
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:19 pm

Re: mSATA to SATA/USB converter

Post by mgutt » Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:31 pm

I would by some, too. But I need only USB 2.0 and it should be positioned through a flat flex cable.

This is because some Notebooks don't have USB 2.0, but it is important for mini receivers like Bluetooth or Logitech peripherals as USB 3.0 cause interferences:
http://www.usb.org/developers/whitepapers/327216.pdf

Angelodip
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2014 5:02 am

Re: mSATA to SATA/USB converter

Post by Angelodip » Tue Nov 25, 2014 5:11 am

Hi, I'm new of this forum.
Is possibile have one or more of The version with usb port??

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