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!


[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,.