Memory Card Alternative To PCMCIA And SmartCards Serves Mass Storage Needs

Touted as a rugged, low-cost memory card alternative to PCMCIA and Smart Card technologies, Cyber Cards are based on SanDisk MMC (MultiMediaCard) flash chips with up to 8 Mbytes of memory. Augmenting the memory is an on-board intelligent controller that manages interface protocols and data storage and retrieval, as well as error correction code algorithms. The cards offer extended reliability and are rated for more than 50,000 insertion cycles.The memory cards are interfaced via a five-pin connection. The ground pin makes first and breaks last, which makes the cards suitable for hot insertion and removal. Data is transferred to and from the memory through a digital 3-wire serial interface using a simple yet secure protocol. A complete family of mating receptacles is available in a variety of configurations for mounting on printed-circuit boards and panels.