CompactDrive PD7X Review

 

 

In the Box:

Because this product seems incredibly fast and battery last so long, I bought one.
I had the chance to get the PD7X instead of the PD6X I order thanks to Daniel Chin from EastGear.com


The product comes with:

My item did not come with battery, car adapter or memory card.

The compact drive could handle those cards without adapter:

I eared about compatibility issue with some cards. Check the internet to see if yours is OK.

 


First Look:

The brushed aluminium case looks very good to me
Plastics on both sides are not very well finished but feel solid.
I noticed that the LCD display is covered with a thin plastic film that seems quite fragile (There is a thin empty space between this plastic film and the glass of the LCD so you could push the plastic film a little bit).

On the front panel, you have 4 buttons and the LCD screen.
The OK button is the one you are using very often. The LDC screen display current battery charge & voltage, number of files, amount of data and various icons.

On left side, you’ve got the power section including the external power connector and the AA battery trap. BEWARE OF THE BATTERY POLARITY. A mistake could damage your PD7X!

On the right side, you have the mechanical power switch, the USB connector, the Memory card slots and 3 LED that give you some useful information (Operating (Orange), Error (red), OK (green)).

 

 

HowTo:

This item is very simple. It does not have many features. Here how things works:


HowTo put a new HardDrive in the PD7X.
It’s quite easy.
There is 4 screws on the back, just unscrew them
Also unscrew the left Memory card panel (2 screws)
Pull out the little plastic bar so you can now insert the 2.5” HardDrive from the right.
Plug the HardDrive gently (HardDrive must be set as MASTER)
Put the plastic bar back
Screw the memory card panel and the aluminium panel back.

Connect the PD7X to your PC with the USB Cable (The PD7X is automatically detected)
Run Format.exe and format your new HardDrive.

Note #1: I tested my PD7X with 3 different HardDrives and never had a problem with installation.


HowTo Copy from a memory card to the HardDrive
Plug your memory card into the corresponding slot.
Switch on the PD7X (Switch set to the “Card” position, in the direction of the memory card you just plug)
Press the OK button and wait until it’s finished.

Note #1: As you copy your card, you see on the LDC the amount of data and the number of file currently copied. The Orange operating led blink

Note #2: You cannot abort a backup operation unless you switch off the unit. I found this could have been useful in my test (for example press for 5 or 10s the ok button)

Note #3: At the end of this copy operation, you should see a smiling face and the light should be green if everything is fine. On the other hand if something wrong happened, the angry face appears with an error number, plus the red light is on.

Note #4: This Item does not automatically switch off at the end of the backup. So don’t forget it in your bag!
It could be a drawback but on the other hand it’s a way to know if the last transfer has been successfully done or not. The HardDrive activity is stopped so batteries are not used so much in this standby situation… Perhaps they could have switch off the LCD display as the leds also give you this information.

HowTo Copy from/to the memory card to/from your PC (under winXP)
Plug a memory card
Plug the PD7X to your PC using the USB Cable
Switch on the PD7X (switch set to HDD) The PD7X is automatically detected
In WinXP, open the drive that correspond to your HardDrive and read or write your data.

HowTo Copy from/to the memory card to/from your PC (under winXP)
Plug the PD7X to your PC using the USB Cable (with or without card it does not matter)
Switch on the PD7X (switch set to HDD) The PD7X is automatically detected
In WinXP, open the drive that correspond to your HardDrive and read or write your data.

HowTo check how much free space is available on your HardDrive
Remove every cable or memory card
Switch on the PD7X (switch set to HDD or CARD)
PD7X scan your HardDrive and display how much free space is available.

HowTo Charge the 4 AA NI-MH Battery
Simply use the external universal AC adapter and plug it in the PSD
Wait for a least 12 Hours for the battery to be fully charged

Note #1: The PD7X could be use with this universal AC adapter with empty battery or without any battery inside.

Note #2: The PD7X came with an US socket adapter, as I’m living in France, I needed to use a socket adapter to use the supplied item.

 

The PD7X does not have many features but the operations are very easy to perform.

The PD7X also have a little browsing feature but I found it useless.
You cannot see the detail of each file, you are limited to the HardDrive root. You can check how much files are in a backup but I doubt it could be considered as a valid method to check if the memory card has been successfully backupped.
Also, you cannot delete any backup so YOU’D BETTER CHECK THE AMOUNT OF FREE SPACE BEFORE LEAVING YOUR COMPUTER FOR THE FIELD

 

 

How does this PD7X perform?

I tested this PD7X with:

 

 

IBM Travelstar / 10GB / 4200rpm / Buffer: 2MB / Model: 20GN (DJSA-210)


CF to PD7X Speed-Test:

CF Ridata 512Mb
156 Jpeg Files (510.945.187 Bytes)
2'07" : All the files are transferred but...
2'41" : The smiling face appear (34s of "waiting" time)
>>>>>>>> 3.02 MB/s

CF Ridata 512Mb
59 Raw Files (511.381.444 Bytes)
1'57" : All the files are transferred but...
2'32" : The smiling face appear (35s of "waiting" time)
>>>>>>>> 3.21 MB/s

CF Ridata 2GB 52x/Pro
800 Jpeg Files (2.017.917.899 Bytes)
8'00" : All the files are transferred but...
8'33" : The smiling face appear (33s of "waiting" time)
>>>>>>>> 3.75 MB/s

CF Ridata 2GB 52x/Pro
252 Raw Files (2.027.127.948 Bytes)
7'27" : All the files are transferred but...
8'01" : The smiling face appear (34s of "waiting" time)
>>>>>>>> 4.01 MB/s


PD7X to PC Speed-Test:

1208 Jpeg & Raw Files (4.555.991.034 Bytes)
14'20" : Transfer Finished
>>>>>>>> 5.05 MB/s


PSD AUTONOMY:

I did not run this test since 10GB is not enough to test this PSD.

NOTE on this HARDDRIVE: It seems obvious to me that this old drive is not properly supported. This very strange "Waiting Time" after each CF backup is very long and I doubt it is normal!

 

FUJITSU MHS / 60GB / 4200rpm / Buffer: 2MB / Model: MHS2060AT


CF to PD7X Speed-Test:

CF Ridata 512Mb
156 Jpeg Files (510.945.187 Bytes)
2'00" : All the files are transferred but...
2'05" : The smiling face appear (5s of waiting time)
>>>>>>>> 3.89 MB/s

CF Ridata 512Mb
59 Raw Files (511.381.444 Bytes)
1'51" : All the files are transferred but...
2'04" : The smiling face appear (13s of waiting time)
>>>>>>>> 3.93 MB/s

CF Ridata 2GB 52x/Pro
800 Jpeg Files (2.017.917.899 Bytes)
6'51" : All the files are transferred but...
7'03" : The smiling face appear (12s of waiting time)
>>>>>>>> 4.54 MB/s

CF Ridata 2GB 52x/Pro
252 Raw Files (2.027.127.948 Bytes)
6'35" : All the files are transferred but...
6'42" : The smiling face appear (7s of waiting time)
>>>>>>>> 4.80 MB/s

PD7X to PC Speed-Test:

756 Raw Files (6.081.383.844 Bytes)
17'12" : Transfer Finished
>>>>>>>> 5.62 MB/s


PD7X Autonomy

I choose to run my Autonomy Test with the best configuration so don't expect better result. Setup is 2GB CF full of 252 Raw Files) My AA batteries are Digital-Power 2400mAh

Day1: I transfer 8 CFs... No problem! (Voltage began at 5.5v and quickly drop at 4.8v)
Day2: I continue my test and succeed in transferring 12 more CF (Voltage drop at 4.5v on the very last successful transfer)

21st transfer failed. I got an error #06 after 54 Raw files transferred (402MB) (Voltage display Lo assuming that power drop below 4.5v)
22nd transfer failed. I got an error #06 after 1 Raw files (6.7MB)
23rd transfer failed. I got an error #06 after 2 Raw files (13.3MB)
24th transfer failed. I got an error #06 after 28 Raw files (202MB)

Transfer from 21 to 24 always failed with a noisy "clac" (I don't know it it's what we call "HardDrive Emergency Stop")

I check every raw file from transfer 18 to 24 and all the backupped files could be properly decoded.

The Result: 20 x 2.027.127.948B >> 40.542.558.960B (37.75GB)

 

HITACHI Travelstar / 60GB / 4200rpm / Buffer: 8MB / Model: 80GN (IC25N060ATMR04)


CF to PD7X Speed-Test:

CF Ridata 512Mb
156 Jpeg Files (510.945.187 Bytes)
1'50" : All the files are transferred
1'52" : The smiling face appear (2s of waiting time)
>>>>>>>> 4.35 MB/s

CF Ridata 512Mb
59 Raw Files (511.381.444 Bytes)
1'50" : All the files are transferred
1'51" : The smiling face appear (Roughtly 1s of waiting time)
>>>>>>>> 4.39 MB/s

CF Ridata 2GB 52x/Pro
800 Jpeg Files (2.017.917.899 Bytes)
6'37" : All the files are transferred
6'40" : The smiling face appear (3s of waiting time)
>>>>>>>> 4.81 MB/s

CF Ridata 2GB 52x/Pro
252 Raw Files (2.027.127.948 Bytes)
6'25" : All the files are transferred
6'26" : The smiling face appear (Roughtly 1s of waiting time)
>>>>>>>> 5.01 MB/s

I remember that I have an old Memory Stick from my very first Sony Camera so I decided to include this little test
 MS Sony 64MB
59 Files (63.090.463 Bytes)
1'05" : All the files are transferred
1'07" : The smiling face appear (Roughtly 2s of waiting time)
>>>>>>>> 0.90 MB/s


PD7X to PC Speed-Test:

756 Raw Files (6.081.383.844 Bytes)
17'06" : Transfer Finished
>>>>>>>> 5.65 MB/s


PD7X Autonomy

I choose to run my Autonomy Test with the best configuration so don't expect better result. Setup is 2GB CF full of 252 Raw Files) My AA batteries are Digital-Power 2400mAh
I run my test the same day!

19 CFs was successfully transferred...

20st transfer failed. I got an error #06 after 140 Raw files transferred (1002MB)
21st transfer failed. I got an error #06 after 31 Raw files transferred (210MB)
22nd transfer failed. I got an error #06 after 22 Raw files (141MB)
23rd transfer failed. I got an error #06 after 8 Raw files (46MB)

Transfer from 20 to 23 always failed with a noisy "clac" (I don't know if it's what we call "HardDrive Emergency Stop")

I check every raw file from transfer 15 to 23 and all the backupped files could be properly decoded.

The Result: 19 x 2.027.127.948B >> 38.515.431.012B (35.87GB)

 

As you can see:
- It is best to have very fast memory card (I know the 512MB CF is slower that the 2GB, also I assumed that my old Memory Stick is very very slow)
- The more file you have on your memory card, the longer it takes to copy them into the PD7X
- Speed result depends on the HardDrive Model.

 I had the best result with my new 60GB Hitachi 80GN (I took this HDrive since it is 4200 rpm (drain less current) and it has a 8MB buffer (I don’t known the impact of that feature))


Update on 13/11/2004: The mystery behind the "Waiting Time" solved today.
I had the answer from 3hdigital explaining this "strange" waiting time: After each backup, the PD7X duplicate the HardDrive File Allocation Table (FAT) for security reason. In case the first FAT failed, the PD7X could use the second one. This operation speed depends on the size of the FAT and the HardDrive specification.
I was told that HardDrive with big buffer shorten this delay (My test confirm that). Also, if you format the PD7X using the Format.exe tool from 3hdigital then the FAT will be smaller than if you use other tool.

 

 

 

Reliability & Polemic:

HardDrive Manufacturer has set the voltage limit of their 2.5é HardDrive to 5v (+- 5%) which mean that voltage should be in range from 4.75v min to 5.25v max.
If power does not match that range then, the manufacturer does not guaranty anything! The HardDrive may or may not work properly.
It's quite strange so see that the PD7X display voltage from 4.5v to 5.5v or even 5.7v sometime with my NI-MH battery. Those batteries are told to provide 1.2v each.
I did not test with fresh alkaline AA battery but we could assume that voltage could go even higher since each battery is told to provide 1.5v each.
This is clearly outside the manufacturers specifications and a little test show that this voltage is directly send to the HardDrive motor without any regulator at all.
We speak of HI Voltage here but LOW voltage is also a big issue. I'm not a PRO and would highly recommend you to read this post on DPReview Forum
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1023&message=10164896
Werner point out this problem and the manufacturer build a firmware update that enables each user to choose their own HI and LOW Voltage limit.
As soon as the power over jump over your limit, the PD7X stops every operation (But the HardDrive is still powered by the current voltage)

If I understand well and because the wires directly connect the AA battery and the HardDrive Motor, the problems that could occur is:
- Very Hi Voltage could burn the HardDrive motor. (Meaning you lost every photo since HardDrive Motor is dead)
- Very LOW Voltage could corrupt a write operation and corrupt all the data on the HDrive (Meaning you lost every photo since HD file structure may be corrupted)

NOTE #1: The 7v external power is regulated!

NOTE #2: The memory card and all the digital processors on both the HardDrive and the PD7X use 3.3V to operate. A voltage regulator provides the 3.3v.

NOTE #3: I did not install the new firmware since I think it does not bring so much security. I think I'm aware enough of this voltage problem and won’t use any alkaline batteries. Also I'll try to recharge the battery as soon as I see that voltage dropping below 4.7v (you could backup quite a lot of data before it happens) And I don't want the firmware do prevent me finishing a backup if I wanted to.

 

Update on 13/11/2004: The problem with microdrives.
I did not have any Microdrive myself but I was warned by Dennis Lathem a reliable user of DPReview Forum that the PD7X voltage situation is very problematic with Microdrive. Here what he told me, I think it's clear enough...

"The use of a microdrive in a PD7X draws considerable more current that solid state. The PD7X voltage situation is not ideal and the use of a microdrive makes a bad situation worse.
Battery run time is significantly shorter using a microdrive. If you have your PD7X firmware set up to shut down on low voltage situations the larger current draw of the microdrive and the larger voltage swings in induces may very well make it impossible to complete a transfer with a microdrive.
I did some battery run test when I first got my PD7X and I used a microdrive. The horrible noise that I now know is an emergency load/unload action was taking place on both the internal HDD in the PD7X and also on the microdrive. This situation is dangerous to both drives.
I simply will not put a microdrive in the PD7X unless the PD7X is connected to AC mains. The voltage situation is just too dangerous."

 

GOOD/BAD:

Good: Very Hi Speed.
Good: Big Autonomy.
Good: Good looking and quite solid Aluminium case.
Good: Easy to use.

Average: PD7X to PC Speed could have been better.

Bad: (Missing Regulator) The Low Voltage with empty AA batteries may corrupt the HardDrive. It may also corrupt a Microdrive..
Bad: (Missing Regulator) The Hi Voltage with fresh alkaline AA batteries may destroy the HardDrive.
Bad: Could not delete some backup.
Bad: Could not stop a running backup.
Bad: The USB connector and the power switch position. Accessing the power switch when the USB cable is connected is not user friendly.

 

 

Conclusion:

This unit is incredibly fast and that's very useful with nowadays huge memory card (2GB and over)
You could backup at least 30 GB of DATA without recharging the battery.
I did not experience any problem after my 90 days period of test. I tried to push the low voltage limit but I never get corrupted files.
I cross my finger and hope that my current Hitachi 80GN will be strong enough to support the provided voltage.

My advice if you choose the PD7X as your PSD is:
> Always use rechargeable NI-MH AA batteries (For the HI-Voltage problem)
> Stop using the PD7X as soon as voltage drop below 4.7v (For the LOW-Voltage problem)
> Do not use Microdrive in the PD7X unless you are using an external 7v power supply (Update on 13/11/2004 thanks to Dennis Lathem)