622/722 External HDDs now movable between boxes ?

[kstuart]

I've also played with the Eagle Consus N-Series currently on sale for $10:
Eaglebit.com - EAGLE Consus N-Series ET-CSNSU2-BK 3.5 inch USB 2.0 to SATA External Enclosure - Retail

This one uses a different USB chip (I've got it written down at home). Tried some back/forth experiments and it seemed ok. But again, I didn't test it extensively.

Has anyone else tried this box ?

I bought two of those and a hard driive from EagleBit.com, since the shipping is roughly the same for all 3 items as for just one external enclosure (the free shipping doesn't kick in unless you buy $200 in one order).
I had filled up my previous ext HD, so I mounted the new hard drive in the Consus N. I should mention that the build quality is excellent - solid metal parts, USB and power jacks have a smooth, snug grip on the plugs, rather than the loose wobble you find with cheap jacks.

Note that any problems or glitches could have been due to the hard drive or even the 622's USB port (many otherwise quality PCs and laptops have had glitchy USB ports).

First thing is that the N ext HD always takes a long time to turn on - rough guess 30-60 seconds before the popup happens. (In fact, at first I thought it wasn't working.)

Second thing is that the "remaining time" for the first few transfers would jump to a much larger figure (like from 10 minutes to 70 minutes). Each time I canceled out. Then I turned the N ext HD on and off. Since then, it has never recurred, and all transfers and playbacks have been smooth.

Again, these may not related to the N, but rather to the HD or the 622. If the Consus W comes on sale, I'll probably get one and move the HD to that one and see if anything is different...

 

[David_Levin]

kStuart,
Thanks for the update. I agree that the build quality is very good (much better then I'd expect for the price).

I've put some more hours on my Consus N-Series. Have a WD 750GB about 1/2 full without any problems. I've played back a couple of movies. I need to get a few more playback hours for 100% confidence.

I noticed that the drive spun down after being left inactive. The drive spun up fine when I went back the the "manage" screen on the 722 (no unplug/replug required).

I've also tried a Western Digital 1TB GP series drive in the box and if saw the drive and formatted fine (if I remember -> 920 gig).

I don't pay much attention to box speed anymore (I tend to do my transfers overnight or when I'm at work). I'm much more concerned about stability.

 

[kstuart]

Further Update:

I bought the Thermaltake "BlacX" enclosure-less SATA hard drive interface for USB 2.0 (see thread in main Dish Forum).

It's mid-to-high price ($30 to $40 at discount), but Thermaltake is usually high quality.

I found that the BlacX works significantly more reliably than the Eagle Consus N-series. The hard drive popup occurs within a few seconds every time, and there is no lag in the 622's Ext HD menus. The file transfers go at the expected USB 2.0 transfer speed every time.

This was the same Seagate SATA internal hard drive that I used in the N-series which gave the glitches reported in my previous post above. So, the hard drive is fine, and I would advise against the N-series for 622/722 use.

So, I think that Thermaltake uses a high quality USB interface chip (perhaps the same one as the W-series ??), and I think that the USB interface chip is probably the crucial factor in how well an "external" hard drive works with the 622/722.

The big advantage of the BlacX is that it always remains as the USB interface, and I only need to buy the more discounted internal hard drives.

One needs to be a "DIY" person to use it...