Weird stuff you discover during a lab tidy up - SD card Protocol analyzer! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 06:07:44 pm
content: I am in the process of tidying my electronics lab and delving into corners that have not been visited for years !It can be a bit like a voyage of discovery, or should that be re-discoveryOver the years I have bought an awful lot of test equipment and tools. Some were immediately put into service, whilst others were carefully stored in their boxes awaiting that day when they would be needed and prove useful. I think I got a bit carried away though....so many new multimeters and stacks of oscilloscopes !Whilst searching for some Bob Parker unbuilt ESR meter kits for a fellow forum member, I opened one anonymous box to find an equally anonymous box within , along with yet more multimeters and SVGA test signal generators.Upon investigation of the little box, I discovered an item that I barely remember buyingIt is an SD card protocol analyzerI am not a coder and cannot think why I bought this unit. It certainly seems to be very clever though. It is the SDPA1000 made by the now defunct Elan Digital Systems Ltd in the UK. The original cost was $5714 +VATThankfully my unit is complete with all leads and software. The unit was only released a year or two before Elan went into liquidation and this unit was for Demo to potential customers. There is a 'Loan unit' return shipping note from TOYO corporation in the box.I attach the data sheet and user manual for the unit. From the press reception that it received upon release, it appears to be a very useful bit of kit......to someone who develops apps or hardware that involve SD cards that is ! it apparently has limitless data capture capabilities. For over $5000 I would expect it to make me a cup of tea as wellThat's specialist test kit pricing for you.The question for me now is what the heck to do with it. I will not be doing any development work with SD cards any time soon, like in this lifetimeDoes anyone on this forum know about these SD card Analyzers and whether there is a demand for them these days ? I may sell it on ebay, or the selling section of this forum, and recover whatever its worth on the open market. If any forum members have a burning need for such an exotic device I am open to PM's from you to discuss re-homing.There is more to be discovered in the lab, I am just scratching the surface..... what weird and wonderful kit will emerge from the dark recesses of the storage cupboards and boxes I wonderI include some pictures of the SD Protocol Analyzer for your interest.Fraser

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 06:10:17 pm
content: More Pictures

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 06:29:57 pm
content: Might not work with more modern cards ( or ones over 1G in any case), as the SD card "standard" has changed a lot over the years.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 06:36:30 pm
content: Hi SeanB,That is what I was wondering and no chance of updated firmware or software as Elan is no more.The unit is circa 2011 and the datasheet stages that it supports SDHC which is something. Older kit did not know what to do with SDHC cards. With regard to card sizes, no idea but I suppose a designer can at least monitor the application behaviour with the SD card using a smaller card ?Fraser

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 06:45:13 pm
content: If it supports SDHC it will work with cards up to 32G, as that is what SDHC supports. Likely it will not work on anything other than XP though, so time to fire up a VM if you want to use the software. Hopefully XP and not Vista though......

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 07:27:18 pm
content: It is stated as using JAVA for PC/LINUX and MAC compatability. Not sure what that means for Win 7 et-al.It also supports both 32 and 64 bit OS'sI shall have to see if it works on my Win7 64bit boxesI also have piles of XP boxes. Always useful to have in the lab for legacy equipment that is too expensive to upgradeFraser

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 08:34:30 pm
content: It's one of those things that could be super-useful in a tiny number of situations, many of which could be worked around with logic analyzer for low-level stuff & software instrumentation & logging for anything at a higher level. Deep memory scopes were probably less common when that came out.Where it would probably be most useful is for developing SDIO devices, and things to be plugged into SD slots that aren't SD cards, where you don't necessarily have access to the host software .Could also be handy for diagnosing issues with dodgy fake cards.I'd stick it on ebay (with international shipping) , and at least initially start it at a moderately high price, as it's one of those things that if you really need one of these, you won't care of it costs £100 or 500, but there may only be one person that needs it that much.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 08:40:22 pm
content: Mike,My thoughts exactly. It is from a defunct manufacturer but complete. For the right person it may be invaluable. To me, it is just a curio and a paperweight. A pity to waste the usefulness of the device by sticking it back in the cupboard.Onto ebay it goes thenFraser

author: PA0PBZ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 08:49:07 pm
content: That looks like a real niche market overpriced puppy, but like you say if you can find the one person that needs it...Are you going to try to find out if it works? Would be interesting to see the software and the interaction with the card.And what is the BNC connector for, is it to connect a scope or something?

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 08:55:06 pm
content: BNC probably a trigger out.BTW can we have some internal pics before you flog it ?My guess would be an FPGA, maybe some memory, some level shifters and a USB interface

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 11:00:16 pm
content: BNC is an oscilloscope output for waveform monitoring. It was originally designed for the Elan USBScope50 that I also ownAs to opening the unit..... I do not expect anything exciting inside. The security seal is a decent frangible type. If I sell it on ebay for more than around £50 I think I would like to describe it to be used, but 'as new' with seals intact. I will open it if there is no serious interest from the marketplace.Fraser

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 21, 2016, 12:20:35 am
content: Not sure anyone would care ( or even know it was there in the first place), especially as warranty isn't going to be an issue.x-ray at least!

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 21, 2016, 12:39:53 am
content: Sounds like an interesting device but everytime I think I really need to write a SD card protocol analyser plugin for my logic analyser it turns out it isn't necessary.

author: marshallh
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 22, 2016, 05:01:14 am
content: Would've loved to have this unit last year while writing code to emulate a SD block device. I ended up making my own analysis/emulator board and software. The real value would be in compliance testing via software.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2016, 06:58:26 pm
content: Unit is now sold and is going to a good home where it will now serve a purpose. I am just pleased that it will get used.Fraser