ISO internal SCSI2SD mount for Mac SE with easy access to the SD card

[Scribe]

Apologies if this has been addressed. I've searched through the posts and didn't find a solution to my particular issue…

I am looking for a way to mount a SCSI2SD (v5.1) against the front of an SE so that the SD card can be swapped in and out easily without opening the case. Most of the solutions I've seen have the board mounted too far back or facing backwards. I know that there is a mount which uses the expansion slot in the back, but I already have an ethernet card in that slot.

I assume the access would have to be through one of the floppy slots in the front.

 

[Dude.JediKnight]

I can't remember where I saw it (somewhere on YouTube, but I can’t remember which channel or find it in a search at the moment), but there are SD extension adapters that exist (search “SD card extender”). It’s basically a male SD card that connects via ribbon cable to another female SD card slot that you can place in a more convenient location. I swear I remember seeing someone route one of those extenders either out the back or through one of the side vents of a similar compact Mac.

Searching online, I found instances of people having trouble with some of those extenders in a similar situation. Even found a couple forum posts here as well, having similar issues with certain extenders.

If I figure out the video in question, I will let you know. Hopefully it says what specific extender worked for them. Otherwise, someone else will have to provide a specific working extender or working solution for you.

 

[Scribe]

I can't remember where I saw it (somewhere on YouTube, but I can’t remember which channel or find it in a search at the moment), but there are SD extension adapters that exist (search “SD card extender”). It’s basically a male SD card that connects via ribbon cable to another female SD card slot that you can place in a more convenient location. I swear I remember seeing someone route one of those extenders either out the back or through one of the side vents of a similar compact Mac.

Searching online, I found instances of people having trouble with some of those extenders in a similar situation. Even found a couple forum posts here as well, having similar issues with certain extenders.

If I figure out the video in question, I will let you know. Hopefully it says what specific extender worked for them. Otherwise, someone else will have to provide a specific working extender or working solution for you.

Thanks for the info. I didn't know that such a thing existed.

I did find a bracket on Thingiverse that claims to place the SCSI2SD right up against the floppy port so that the SD card is accessible. I am having it 3D printed now and will report back when I get it.

If that doesn't work, I will look into extenders.

…or maybe I will just give up on my internally-mounted dreams and get a 3D printed external enclosure for the SCSI2SD.

 

[Dude.JediKnight]

I believe I actually found the video I was thinking of, though it wasn’t quite what my memory told me.

Tech Tangents on YouTube did a video (“Vintage External Virtual SCSI Enclosure Build”) where he installed a SCDI2SD in an old SCSI drive enclosure he wanted to use with an old music keyboard, and he routed the extender out through the bottom grill to make it externally accessible. He also used the newer SCSI2SD (V6) that can access the SD card over USB, and routed out a cable for that through the old SCSI ID selector since it was no longer needed.

The extender seemed to work just fine in that case, though not sure it would work the same in a classic Mac.

He made it sound like the USB stuff was just with the new V6 and not the 5.x version you mentioned, so short of buying the new one, the USB method does not apply for you.

 

[mg.man]

I didn't know that such a thing existed.

I believe you're referring to this sort of thing?

I've seen them on the 'Bay (from China, of course) but they might also be available via AMZ or a more "local" supplier. Not used one myself, but have been considering...

 

[Crutch]

I use one. Works great. You can route them right through the security slot, so I just stuck my SD card “reader” end to the rear outside of my SE/30 with a Velcro dot.

 

[Crutch]

I have this one specifically, which it looks like is currently sold out but I’m sure the other available options are equivalent.

LANMU 48CM SD Card to SD Card Extension Extender Cable SDHC 4 8 16 32 GB Compatible with SanDisk SDXC/Raspberry Pi/Arduino GPS TV SDXC https://a.co/d/fEYJy89

 

[pax]

I have used a similar extender in my SE/30 and have had good luck. I don't know the brand unfortunately. They can also be used to "change the size of the SD card", i.e. if you want to you can get a micro SD to full-size SD extender. There are many of them on Amazon.

 

[Juror22]

I'm glad that someone asked this and that the situation has changed, because when I first looked into this (at least 4 years back) the situation was exactly as Dude.JediKnight described, where there was an issue that prevented the extenders from working successfully with SCSI to SD replacement solutions in compact Macs. I had bought a couple and attempted it at the time and it did not work. I'm a little curious what has changed (I'm sure there have been firmware, etc, upgrades and also some different hardware), so I am going to trot out my old extender cables and see if they work now.

 

[Scribe]

I finally got the 3D print that claimed to solve my problem but I didn't try putting it into the SE yet.
The mount is <https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4220601>
The screw holes are pretty wide and look like they require nuts on the bottom to secure everything. It also looks like the SCSI2SD is supposed to sit flush on the mount... Unless there are supposed to be 2 nuts for each screw -- one under the mount and one over the mount and under the SCSI2SD. I added a comment to the page on Thingiverse to try to get clarity from the designer.