Pro NVMe adapter Does not fit ! ?

[PineFan]

Has anyone received the "updated" kit  ?
**  So far the method of cutting the adapter board to 'clear' the touch pad seems to 'work', but cable ties and or tape are needed to secure the module to the adapter ?

I am curious about this as well.

I did not order the Pine store's NVMe SD Interface Adapter with the initial Pro purchase but ordered after the fact and after a fix was being discussed and reportedly in the works.  The adapter received a week or two ago did not include the fix. 

I was not surprised as after I had ordered the adapter, I received an answer from customer support to the question of whether they would be shipping the "fixed" adapter hardware.

The response was the following "We still ship the new screw the hold the eMMC card to the first batch buyer. The new screw been trim and give enough clearance for NVMe card installation."

So a few questions to clarify:

1.  Is there a completed solution for the adapter/trackpad interference problem available yet and if so is it shipping yet and if not when will it ship?
2.  What does the "fixed" adapter kit look like?  Photos?
3.  Others have asked but will ask again:
Has any one found a source for other non-Pine NVMe compatible adapters with cable that could plausibly be made to work?  This would sure be useful for those that are faced with extended wait times due to possibly protracted order fulfillment and slow international shipping from Hong Kong.

Maybe I've missed an update somewhere and if so my apologies but any official guidance on this would be appreciated and thanks for all the great effort being made by everyone on this project.

[c6Q$!]

Has anyone received the "updated" kit  ?
**  So far the method of cutting the adapter board to 'clear' the touch pad seems to 'work', but cable ties and or tape are needed to secure the module to the adapter ?

I am curious about this as well.

So a few questions to clarify:

1.  Is there a completed solution for the adapter/trackpad interference problem available yet and if so is it shipping yet and if not when will it ship?
2.  What does the "fixed" adapter kit look like?  Photos?
3.  Others have asked but will ask again:
Has any one found a source for other non-Pine NVMe compatible adapters with cable that could plausibly be made to work?  This would sure be useful for those that are faced with extended wait times due to possibly protracted order fulfillment and slow international shipping from Hong Kong.

I have exactly the same questions. It's not clear as I write this (14 December) whether revised adapter hardware has started shipping, how this hardware differs from previous versions and what users can expect when it is delivered. Please, some *photos* would be great.

The initial SSD adapter is a disappointing peripheral for the following reasons:

1. No installation instructions. Yes, I know the PBP is aimed at developers and technical hobbyists but not everyone has electronics experience;
   
2. Adapter dimensions (early batch) does not match the final design of the PBP creating problems with the trackpad;
   
3. Silver screw intended to secure the SSD in place is not long enough to allow the thread to penetrate both the standoff and SSD.
   

I hope these design flaws can be fixed in subsequent batches.

Can we please get an update on this from Pine64?

Thanks to everyone who is working on this problem.

[Wizzard]

I fixed that by cutting the adapter and using a small 2242 NVMe

[zaius]

No installation instructions. Yes, I know the PBP is aimed at developers and technical hobbyists but not everyone has electronics experience;

Can we please get an update on this from Pine64?

Thanks to everyone who is working on this problem.

I brought this up back in July.  Honestly, it doesn't seem like anyone tried to install it, since it would have been obvious it doesn't fit and interferes with the trackpad.  I will write up installation instructions once I have a working adapter.

There was an announcement that Pine will ship a repair kit, but as far as I know, it is not shipping and there has been no announcement when it will ship.  I also do not have any information that the adapter currently being sold in the store is the revised working version.

[Arwen]

<wishful thinking>I think I will wait for version 3 or later of the NVMe adapter. The one with voltage regulator / DC-DC converter, and super cap. So at low battery, the NVMe still works.</wishful thinking>

On to reality, the price of 512GB SD cards from name brand manufacturers has come down. Mine only cost $80 USD. The SoC SD card interface is not one of the higher performance ones, so it's still slower than the eMMC, or any NVMe SSD. But, quite enough storage for me, with the bonus of being removable. The 1TB SD cards are still a bit pricey, (more than 4 times the 512GB SD card prices).

[zaius]

<wishful thinking>I think I will wait for version 3 or later of the NVMe adapter. The one with voltage regulator / DC-DC converter, and super cap. So at low battery, the NVMe still works.</wishful thinking>

By "super cap" do you mean an energy storage capacitor?

[Arwen]

<wishful thinking>I think I will wait for version 3 or later of the NVMe adapter. The one with voltage regulator / DC-DC converter, and super cap. So at low battery, the NVMe still works.</wishful thinking>

By "super cap" do you mean an energy storage capacitor?

Yes. It would not have to be a very big one, (size or farad), just enough to stabilize the power to the NVMe drive. (Of course, my low level computer engineering days never included power supply design. We simply purchased pre-qualified units from major parts suppliers. So it may be totally unnecessary.)

[zaius]

Yes. It would not have to be a very big one, (size or farad), just enough to stabilize the power to the NVMe drive. (Of course, my low level computer engineering days never included power supply design. We simply purchased pre-qualified units from major parts suppliers. So it may be totally unnecessary.)

OK, so more of an integrator.  Generally speaking, if it is too small it won't be able to hold a voltage against load, if it is too big it could have too much in rush current or not filter properly (electrolytic caps are far from an ideal capacitor).  Regardless, there is no free lunch.  Capacitors can only store power.  They can't produce power.

[sunsmoke]

Could someone who has folded the cable properly/safely for the v2.1-2019-0809 board and 2019-07-30 cable please post a picture of it on the wiki? I know there's a really short video of it somewhere, but a still image would be better, and best of all would be a still pic of the flat cable with lines marked on it where the folds should be.

I'm also not really clear if there's going to be a repair/fix kit for this version of the NVMe kit. It would be nice to get an updated answer on that. v2.1 seems to be a fix for at least some of the issues that people have brought up on the forum, but I have a hard time imagining that it's a great idea to put the sharp folds in the cable that are needed to get it to fit correctly.

[bcnaz]

@sunsmoke
   Danielt has some great pictures, and a very detailed description of how he installed his NVMe SSD.
         >>  (Makes no sense to copy his work into this post,  Though maybe someone should move or add that to the wiki ? )

The only differences I have seen in the adapter, (my observation anyhow) The 'nut/post' that secures the NVMe to the adapter card is slightly shorter.
          >>       (I bought a NVMe adapter kit in September,  and ordered another with my recent ANSI PBP
BUT 'I do Not think the shorter nut/post is of much help, it is still too tall......

I have not yet held the two ribbon cables up against each other to see if they are different.  (Sept.2019 vs Jan 2020)

   But,  Several Forum members have made these kits 'work'

IF you follow Danielt's directions the shorter nut/post will not be used anyhow.

I really wanted to add the NVMe to mine,  but there are more issues besides making it 'fit'  There are also software issues...

IF you move the boot software to the NVMe, it will be more complex to swap the OS,  yeah you can,  but, one can of worms after another.
      >( I still may use my adapter, but, I decided to wait and see how many more problems erupt, and how and if they can be fixed)

    IF  you leave the boot software on the eMMC,  you will need power to both SSD's

AND the BIG issue for me is how much it decreases the times between needing to recharge your battery.

**  SO MAKING IT FIT IS NOT THE ONLY ISSUE.   BUT there are tons of Previous posts discussing this exact issue, many were solved.

(Addition) :
Wizzards Post above #73
Shows one way a forum member has succeeded in mounting a 40mm NVMe SSD into their PBP....notice he has no sharp bends in his ribbon cable.
DanielT :
Also shows mounting an 80mm NVMe SSD successfully mounting his drive, very nicely without any very sharp bends... In another thread.

*** One should take note of how the post/nut secures the NVMe SSD to the adapter, another poster above states the screw is 'Not Long enough' but obviously it is long enough
when used as shown.