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LegacyProducts / ImportantNotesAboutCompactFlash

Important notes about compact flash

The DL1 (MK1 and MK2)/AX22 products can only use 32MB-2GB type I compact flash cards.

The larger and far less common type 2 cards do not fit!

Compact flash is ideal for use in data logging applications as it is robust, cheap and can hold lots of data on a small format. Race Technology has tested a wide variety of cards from various manufacturers and in different sizes - however we cannot guarantee that our products work with cards from all manufacturers and sizes, simply because some cards do not conform to the full compact flash standard. This is not a situation particular to Race Technology; digital camera and MP3 player manufacturers are faced with the same problem. Manufacturers that we have used ourselves include:

Kingston

PNY

Crucial

Integral

Viking Interworks

Memory Gold

If in doubt choose a card from a quality manufacturer that you have heard of, and avoid unbranded media.

There are a couple of other points that should be borne in mind when using compact flash in Race Technology Products:

  • DL1 SPORT data loggers can support either FAT formatting between 32MB-2GB cards, or FAT 32 formatting up to 64GB Compact Flash cards.
  • Because the DL1 (MK1 and MK2)/AX22 write data using the FAT16 file format only cards between 32MB-2GB can be used, cards outside of the range might not be recognised or may cause unexpected behaviour.
  • NEVER remove a file from compact flash card without reformatting the card. Race Technology products have to write the data to the CF card in real time and writing to a card that has had files deleted from it causes delays, which in turn can cause corrupted files and lost data. After deleting a file the card should be reformatted on the PC.
  • NEVER add your own files to the CF card. Again this can cause problems similar problems to those above.
  • NEVER eject the CF CARD whilst logging data, if you do then you will lose the file that is being written and quite possibly corrupt the entire card. If you do this the card must be reformatted even it appears to be intact.
  • Don't turn the DL1/AX22 off until you have stopped logging data to the CF card - if you do there is a risk the data will be corrupted or lost. In this situation there is nothing we can do to recover it.
  • We have had problems with compact flash cards losing data or getting corrupted when exposed to temperature extremes or x-rays. The susceptibility of the cards to these problems should be documented by the card manufacture, but you should be aware it can cause occasional problems.

Reading data compact flash cards

There are many card readers commercially available, the "best" or most suitable depends on your application and computer specification. At the Race Technology offices we tend to use external USB2 readers for desktop use and "PC card" adapters for use with laptops. In either case they are very reasonably priced from your local computer store. Please note that Race Technology doesn't support any card readers, if you have problems installing or using them then please contact the reader manufacturer - not us!

Page last modified on June 24, 2015, at 06:25 AM