Vampire 500,1200 V2 IDE

• Also known as PATA.
• This is a 44-pin IDE Interface.
• 44-pin IDE devices, such as 2.5-inch IDE hard disks, can be connected directly using a cable.
• 50-pin (JAE) IDE devices, such as laptop ATAPI CD/DVD drives, can be connected using an appropriate cable adapter.
• CompactFlash (CF) cards can be connected using a CF-to-IDE adapter. Please see Vampire-compatible CF adapters and cards.
• SATA devices can be connected using a SATA-to-IDE adapter. There are adapters for various SATA connector types.
• For devices with a standard SATA connector, this adapter is known to work well.
• For devices with an M.2 SATA connector, this adapter is known to work well.
• SD cards can be connected using an SD-to-IDE adapter.
• For a MicroSD card, this adapter is known to work well.
• For an SD card, this adapter and this adapter are known to work well.
• The board supplies a voltage of 5V through this interface.
• The supplied voltage is not sufficient for devices that require more than 5V. Those would typically be 3.5-inch hard disks and desktop CD/DVD drives (either SATA or 40-pin IDE), which require 12V. If you need to use such a device with the Vampire, then, not only do you need to find an appropriate adapter, but you also need to feed extra power into the device from an outside power source. In such a situation, setting up the necessary connections can be dangerous if done incorrectly, so we do not recommend attempting it. If you really must, then we recommend the help of a professional.
• Even though most laptop CD/DVD drives require only 5V and don't need an outside power source to supply any extra voltage, they still consume a lot of power. It's common to see these drives draw 4A of current. If you want to connect such a drive to the Vampire, then, in order to avoid a power deficiency, you would want to make sure that your computer's power adapter is able to output more than 4A. However, there is still a risk of electrical problems, because Vampire boards are not designed to handle such high levels of current (like 4A) going through them. Therefore, we do not recommend connecting CD/DVD drives to the Vampire. If you really must, then please find a CD/DVD drive with the lowest possible power consumption, and do not connect any other peripherals that could consume a lot of power. Or you might choose to feed power into the drive from an outside power source, but we recommend the help of a professional in this case.
• This interface supports “Fast IDE”, with PIO modes from 0 (slowest) to 6 (fastest).
• Most storage devices are certified to support up to PIO mode 4, but many CF cards are certified to support up to PIO modes 5 and 6. Therefore, fast CF cards enable the maximum possible speed on this interface.
• If you can't use a CF card, you might still be able to reach PIO modes 5 and 6 using another type of fast storage device, in case it unofficially supports those modes as a side effect of its high DMA speed.
• If you attach multiple devices to a single IDE cable, the slowest device will dictate the maximum speed on this interface. For example, if you have a CF card that supports PIO mode 6, its speed would be hampered by a hard disk which only supports PIO mode 4.
• To enable “Fast IDE”, please see VControl IDESPEED.
• When connecting or disconnecting a device on this interface, make sure that the Amiga / Vampire is powered off. Also, disconnect all devices that have their own power connection, such as Digital Video, Ethernet and USB-Blaster cables, to prevent power backfeed into the Vampire.
• Be very careful when connecting a device to this interface. If you shift your connector to either side of this interface (meaning that you don't cover all pins), you can cause a short circuit and destroy the Vampire.
• Use shortest possible ribbon cable in order to get best performance. It is known that long ribbon cables could cause timing problems and data loss.