Panasonic MKE CD-ROM interface

[Navin]

Ok, guys I'm gonna take you back a few years...

Anyone know what I'm talking about in the subject? Remember, your Panasonic cdrom hooked up to your Soundblaster 16 card via the proprietary "Panasonic interface" called "MKE" via a cable that looks just like an IDE cable but it's not?

Well, if any of you remember, I am in dire need of one of these "MKE" cables. I have a Panasonic CR-563-B cdrom and a Soundblaster 16 with a Panasonic interface on it and I need the cable to hook the two together.

If anyone knows where I can get one, I'd be in great debt.

Thanks for the help.

P.S. Socalgal/Mntsnow - If I'm in the wrong forum, just beam me out...

[bdunn]

If I'm not mistaken you can use an ordinary IDE cable in place of an MKE cable but not the reverse. The difference I think is that the MKE cable had a few pin blocks the connector so it could not be inserted backwards.

[otheos]

The idea is that the two raws of pins (or holes) are inverted if I remember well. Try with a normal ide but put pin1 to pin40. If that doesn't work it means the MKE (Matsu****a-Kotobuki-Electronics) is the mirror of the IDE. I got a cable but believe it or not I still use this CDROM on my Linux box (from which I am currently writing this.)

[Navin]

Ok, so you mean to try putting Pin 1 to Pin 40 on both the cdrom interface and the soundblaster interface, or just one of them?

[otheos]

erm... a dumb suggestion but try all possible combinations.

[Navin]

otheos

You the man. I inserted the IDE cable backwards on the soundblaster and normally on the MKE cdrom and it works perfectly.

Thanks again. Where'd you hear about that?

Thanks also to you bdunn! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif


[This message has been edited by Navin (edited 11-23-2000).]

[otheos]

I'm glad it worked for you. Like I said I got the same CDROM/SBPRO and the original cable is long gone, so I had to do it myself (about a year ago).

[eagle1]

Hey guys! Is there a way that I can use the cd drive in a computer without a SB16? I have tried but.. no success. The computer stops when it's detecting the drives in the BIOS.

[otheos]

No, no way sorry.
Eventhough the connector is same the drive uses a proprietary interface, different to IDE. Back then ATAPI (IDE) CD-Rom's were not around yet, and to make CD specifications work in a computer, SCSI and proprietary interfaces were used (but maily SCSI and because CD-ROM techonology was designed around SCSI and it hasn't change much since then, even today CD-ROMs and CDR/W's work troublefree in SCSI).

You can find Sound Blaster PRO's with the interface on (they all have it -Value lines were not invented yet) for dirt cheap if you look around.

[eagle1]

Ohh.. OK. I just leave it lying around then! Thanks,.