[LAU] firewire-thunderbolt adapter?

[David Kastrup]

david <gnome-4S9g3957RhF54TAoqtyWWQ at public.gmane.org> writes:

> On 10/08/2017 06:05 PM, david wrote:
>> On 10/06/2017 11:06 PM, David Kastrup wrote:
>>> "David W. Jones" <gnome-4S9g3957RhF54TAoqtyWWQ at public.gmane.org> writes:
>>>
>>>> I have a System76 laptop. There's no Expresscard port on it.
>>>
>>> On their current baseline "Lemur" model I see
>>>
>>> Expansion: USB 3.1 Type-C, USB 3.0 Type-A, USB 2.0 Type-A, SD Card Reader
>>>
>>> That's sort-of "ugh" for connecting Firewire devices.  Concerning the
>>> bandwidth, I think you'd need USB 3 (USB 2.0 nominally has 480mbps over
>>> Firewire's 400mbps but reserves less for synchronous transfers and there
>>> are other problems IIRC).
>>
>>> I don't know about reliable adapters, but I haven't looked.
>>
>> I've got to try some. The only other option I would have would be to
>> use it on one of my desktop systems, which aren't exactly very
>> portable!
>
> I've been poking around on Amazon. The consensus of reviewers seems to
> that USB-C to Firewire adapters don't work and simply cannot
> work. Including a review by an electrical engineer.
>
> I found this USB<>ExpressCard adaptor:
>
> https://www.amazon.com/SIIG-USB-to-ExpressCard-JU-EP0012-S1/dp/B001KUOW9O/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&qid=1507524480&sr=8-29&keywords=firewire+to+usb+adapter

Don't bother.  "Add support for USB-based ExpressCard devices to any USB
equipped computer" is actually a lot more explicit than many of those
cards bother telling, and it means that they work fine for WWAN cards
(UMTS Modem and such), Smartcard readers and reasonably cheap (all but
the fastest) flash device reader cards.  An Expresscard slot provides
both a PCIx lane and a USB connection.  This adapter will only provide
the USB connection.  That's not sufficient for a Firewire adapter.

> IIRC, the original poster had a Firewire ExpressCard and was looking
> for a laptop with an ExpressCard port. Maybe this would work for them?

Nope.

-- 
David Kastrup