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This unit runs on 4 AA batteries, and it comes with a wall plug power brick to recharge the batteries, correct?

What is the power output listed on the power brick? What are the input power requirements? Will it accept 110-220V and 50-60Hz? If so, then this unit could be used in international locations. Or will the power unit only accept US 110V 60Hz?

And according to the manual, what are the power input requirements of the HD80 unit itself?

If the unit will accept around 12 volts, then it should be simple to get a car plug adapter to provide the power needed to recharge the batteries in a car, or to power the unit in a car if the batteries are run down.
 
jdan said:
This unit runs on 4 AA batteries, and it comes with a wall plug
power brick to recharge the batteries, correct?
Click to expand...
Yes
jdan said:
What is the power output listed on the power brick? What are the
input power requirements? Will it accept 110-220V and 50-60Hz? If
so, then this unit could be used in international locations. Or
will the power unit only accept US 110V 60Hz?
Click to expand...
The AC adaptor provided is universal 100-240V 50-60 Hz auto switching and can be used anywhere in the world.
jdan said:
And according to the manual, what are the power input requirements
of the HD80 unit itself?
Click to expand...
The voltage input is 7V, 1.3A
jdan said:
If the unit will accept around 12 volts, then it should be simple
to get a car plug adapter to provide the power needed to recharge
the batteries in a car, or to power the unit in a car if the
batteries are run down.
Click to expand...
A car charger/adaptor is already provided in the package.
 
Fabulous news all around.

This device seems to be good news no matter which way you turn - universal power supply so only a plug adapter is required when visiting other countries, and a car adapter plug included to power or charge while on the road.

I've had to pay extra for both of these for my current device.

I have 2 concerns remaining.

1) I already have a storage device which claims to support a variety of memory cards. I use memory sticks, and my current device claims to support Memory Stick Pro cards. It will of course accept all my 128 MB (and smaller) normal Memory Stick cards (regardless of brand - Sony, Lexar and San Disk). And it will accept my 256 MB Memory Stick Pro cards (Sony brand), but it will not accept my 1 GB Memory Stick Pro Magic Gate cards (San Disk brand).

This has left me a bit leary of "Memory Stick Pro" compatibility claims. Are there any compatibility issues with any particular size or brand Memory Stick Pro cards?

2) I have read recently about upgrading the firmware, and some people have had bad experiences, rendering the device useless requiring a factory reset. The instructions and support personal have stated that the firmware upgrade must be done from a FAT16 formated Compact Flash memory card only, between 256 MB and 1 GB in size.

Since all I use are Memory Sticks, then this means that in order to ever upgrade the firmware, I must go and buy a 256 MB Compact Flash memory card only for the purpose of updating the firmware.

This is a bit disappointing, considering that this device comes with everything else included that one would want. Can you confirm that this is true, that it must be a Compact Flash card between 256 MB and 1 GB in size? Or can I use any size memory card of any physical kind (SD, MS, CF, etc), so long as it is formatted FAT16?

-Dan-
 
jdan said:
I have 2 concerns remaining.

1) I already have a storage device which claims to support a
variety of memory cards. I use memory sticks, and my current
device claims to support Memory Stick Pro cards. It will of course
accept all my 128 MB (and smaller) normal Memory Stick cards
(regardless of brand - Sony, Lexar and San Disk). And it will
accept my 256 MB Memory Stick Pro cards (Sony brand), but it will
not accept my 1 GB Memory Stick Pro Magic Gate cards (San Disk
brand).

This has left me a bit leary of "Memory Stick Pro" compatibility
claims. Are there any compatibility issues with any particular
size or brand Memory Stick Pro cards?
Click to expand...
Right from the start, we are aware of compatibility issues with high capacity SanDisk branded MS PRO cards. It appears that SanDisk made their MS PRO cards slightly different from Sony specifications which caused compatibility problems with some of the older card reader chipsets. There was even one Sony Camcorder that could not accept SanDisk branded MS PRO cards. Our earlier PD7X model had some compatibility issues with SanDisk MS PRO cards due to the chipset used.

However I assure everyone that the HyperDrive HD80 have addressed this issue and is 100% compatible with all Sony/Lexar/SanDisk branded MS & MS PRO cards and we will gladly give a full refund on any returns if there are any compatibility issues with such cards.
jdan said:
2) I have read recently about upgrading the firmware, and some
people have had bad experiences, rendering the device useless
requiring a factory reset. The instructions and support personal
have stated that the firmware upgrade must be done from a FAT16
formated Compact Flash memory card only, between 256 MB and 1 GB in
size.
Click to expand...
As long as the card (irregardless of type) is 256MB & above and you have successfully used the card before on the HD80, it is fine to use this card

Also the unit needs to be powered by AC power during firmware upgrade

The main reasons why firmware upgrades fail is because:
1) Users used FAT12 formatted cards (i.e. cards that are 128MB & below)
2) Users used battery power and did not use AC power
3) Power was interrupted halfway during upgrade

If the instructions are followed correctly, the firmware upgrade should be a fairly easy and fast process.

We will issue a official statement on this matter very soon on our website http://www.hyperdrive.com
 
HyperDrive said:
Glenn,

It's a smaller size version of the HD80, aptly named HyperDrive
Mini. The transfer speed is the same (if not slightly faster). The
size improvement is due to usage of 1.8" harddisk (currently max
out at 60GB) and "Nokia type" lithium ion battery (allows 30GB
transfers on a single charge). Oh and it also plays MP3 & WMA. It
should be out just before X'mas. And this is the product that is
due to win the CES 2006 Design and Innovation Award on 15 Nov.
Click to expand...
Will this one be sold with the drive or without? Do you have an estimate of the retail price yet?

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
I just picked up my unit at the post office this morning, having used my buddy's older model in the past. Unit shipped quick; about 3 days, as promised.

I'm at the office now so I can't check this for myself, but I'm wondering if the device is able to draw power from usb in order to charge the batteries. In other words, could I connect it to my laptop, turn the unit on (drawing battery power at this point), then copy my files, turn the unit off, and let it recharge the batteries from usb? Not a great big deal, but would be convenient at least for the way I tend to work. The manual indicates it cannot run directly from usb power, which isn't what I'm asking about here.

Thanks,
-sean
 
While we're at it, I also have a question for Hyperdrive as well.

Obviously, devices like the HD80 are only as reliable as the HD inside. I'm not sure if you are able to answer this or not, but what HD manufacturer would you recommend as being most reliable? Mostly for shock, bearings, etc. I'd hate for my HD to quit on me in the middle of my 4 week vacation in Europe.

Thanks in advance.
 
We have yet to encounter any complains from users about their hard disk failing/crashing and them losing all their data as a result. I believe hard disk technology have came a long way. I personally have seen more flash memory cards and recordable CD/DVDs fail than 2.5" hard disk, hence I am inclined to believe that hard disk are more reliable than flash or optical storage. However if you need my personal preference of brands, here they are in order: Hitachi, Toshiba, Samsung, Fujitsu, Seagate
chinner said:
While we're at it, I also have a question for Hyperdrive as well.

Obviously, devices like the HD80 are only as reliable as the HD
inside. I'm not sure if you are able to answer this or not, but
what HD manufacturer would you recommend as being most reliable?
Mostly for shock, bearings, etc. I'd hate for my HD to quit on me
in the middle of my 4 week vacation in Europe.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
 
I am quite impressed, and franky quite pleased, by your responsiveness to the tons of questions we are asking of you, and I for one really appreciate your attitude.
HyperDrive said:
Right from the start, we are aware of compatibility issues with
high capacity SanDisk branded MS PRO cards.
... we will gladly give a full refund on
any returns if there are any compatibility issues with such cards.
Click to expand...
This is quite reassuring. My current device acknowledges the precense of such cards, but all attempts to transfer data from them are ignored as if I had not even pressed the button - I get no errors, and the unit does not lock up - it just sits there waiting for me to do something. So your acknowledgement and understanding of the issue is comforting.
HyperDrive said:
As long as the card (irregardless of type) is 256MB & above and you
have successfully used the card before on the HD80, it is fine to
use this card
Click to expand...
By "... you have successfully used the card before on the HD80 ...", do you mean that I have successfully copied pictures from it to the HD80, or do you mean that I have upgraded the firmware from it before?

If you mean just that I have copied files from it, is this just so that I have proved that the HD80 can read such cards, or do you mean that once I have used a card in the HD80, that it has written something to the card so that it will be recognized next time?

I always write-protect my cards (slide the write protect tab over) before transfering the pictures from them to such devices in the hopes that my pictures will be protected against accidental deletion. I then write-enable the cards and in the camera either select and delete all pictures, or reformat in the camera to quickly delete them all.

Thanks again for your swiftness and your willingness to respond to what seem like dumb questions.
 
jdan said:
I am quite impressed, and franky quite pleased, by your
responsiveness to the tons of questions we are asking of you, and I
for one really appreciate your attitude.
Click to expand...
Thank you.
jdan said:
By "... you have successfully used the card before on the HD80
...", do you mean that I have successfully copied pictures from it
to the HD80, or do you mean that I have upgraded the firmware from
it before?
Click to expand...
Successfully copied pictures from it.
jdan said:
If you mean just that I have copied files from it, is this just so
that I have proved that the HD80 can read such cards, or do you
mean that once I have used a card in the HD80, that it has written
something to the card so that it will be recognized next time?
Click to expand...
The fact that the HD80 can backup your card indicates that it can recognise the card. The HD80 does not write any data to your card.
jdan said:
Thanks again for your swiftness and your willingness to respond to
what seem like dumb questions.
Click to expand...
You are most welcomed!
 
I just got my HD80 and so far everything works fine. I have a problem though in upgrading to firmware version 2.1.

When I download the zip.rar file, I don't get a FIRMPD70 file, I get a file named PD70X-Firmware-v2.1.
How do I open this to use it in the HD80?
Anxiously waiting,
Rick
 
creative edge said:
I just received my unit last weekend, does it come
with the latest firmware or do I have to update...
thanks,
Michael
Click to expand...
The HyperDrive HD80 you received already comes with the new 24-bit hardware based ECC copy verification function.

You can update to the latest HyperDrive HD80 firmware at
http://www.hyperdrive.com/shop/information.php?info_id=17
if you require the following functions:
  • Automatic copy function
  • Improved folder numbering
  • Custom folder names
  • Optimized usage of fragmented non-contiguous hard disk space
  • Compatibility with Windows Scandisk application
  • Improved Mac OS 9 compatibility, corrects Mac OS lowercase problem.
 
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