Ward: The card (OrangeLink Firewire Cardbus Card -- 400, not 800), which you sold me, does not _require_ external power to work with all Firewire devices. However, _some_ Firewire devices do require what is called (I think) "bus power" and the PC slot Firewire card does not provide that. The external adaptor, which did not come with the PC Card (I got it at Radio Shack) does provide that power.
The built-in Firewire port on my PB G4 also supplies that bus power, but my port is not working correctly (which is why I'm using the PC Card). Specifically, my PB's Firewire port appears to provide _only_ bus power (for example, my iPod recharges when connected to that port) but does not properly communicate with devices (I can't copy anything to or from my iPod when connected to that port). An example of when I have to use the PC Card's external power adaptor: I have a small external 20 GB Firewire hard drive that does not have a power adaptor for the drive itself, so if I connect it to one of the PC Card Firewire ports without connecting the adaptor to the PC Card, the drive doesn't spin up and therefore the computer can't recognize it. Once I plug the external adaptor into the PC Card, the drive spins up and is recognized. I have another external drive that has its own power supply and I can plug it into the PC card Firewire port without using the adaptor. I'm giving this much detail in hopes that someone out there will understand this better than me and will explain it more clearly. Even better would be if they could tell me how to fix my built-in Firewire port short of replacing the motherboard. I have read a lot of reports of dead or defective Firewire ports on Powerbooks; apparently they are very easy to damage by plugging things in in the wrong order, or not unplugging them correctly. On Dec 28, 2003, at 2:47 PM, Ward Oldham wrote: > Hey Dan, > > It?s news to me that any pcmcia card would require an external adapter > for power, including the card you reference. > > Very strange. > Ward > > Ward Oldham, MacDude > MacTown > 1041 Bardstown Road > Louisville, KY ?40204 > 502-485-1243 > ward at mactown.us > http://www.mactown.us > > > > From:Dan Crutcher <dcrutcher at loumag.com> > Reply-To:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu > Date:Sun, 28 Dec 2003 14:42:40 -0500 > To:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu > Subject:MacGroup: AC Adaptor for Firewire card > > For the electrically savvy MacGroupers: > > I have an OrangeLink Firewire PC Card that I use with a Powerbook G4 > that has a dead Firewire port. In order to connect some devices that > require Firewire power, I must connect an AC adaptor to this card. The > manual says that I need an adaptor that meets the following specs: > > Output 12V - 30V, 1 amp, positive tip. > > I have an adaptor that would fit the adaptor port on the Firewiire > card, but its specs are: > > Output 12VDC, 1200 mA. > > There is also a symbol representing polarity that looks something like: > ???_ ????????????_ ????????????_ > ( - )-------( o -------( + ) > > (The two outside symbols are circles, the left one has a minus sign, > the right one a positive sign. The middle symbol is a semicircle, with > the right side missing.) > > My question: Would this adaptor work with my Firewire card? The only > difference seems to be that this adaptor is 1200 mA rather than 1 amp. > (I'm assuming that 1 amp = 1000mA.) I'm guessing that the symbols mean > that the polarity is positive. > > What say ye? Would using a 1200 mA adaptor on a device that calls for > 1000 mA work? Would it fry the device if I tried it? > > > > > | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will > | be January 27. The LCS Web page is<http://www.kymac.org>. > | This list's page is<http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup>. > > | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will | be January 27. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. | This list's page is <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup>.
