Reddit reviews Kingston G2 USB 2.0 microSDHC Flash Memory Card Reader FCR-MRG2 (Black)

BIOS and now UEFI are a bit of firmware designed to make it easy and convenient to boot typical computers with possibly removable storage on a vast array of different hardware and to be able to toggle and change different settings. They are both quite large and require an extra dedicated chip on the board which costs a small amount and takes up valuable real estate on the board (and larger boards cost more).

BIOS or UEFI firmware is required by x86/64 systems as the CPU is not able to bootstrap itself and so requires an external chip to do so.

The ARM chip in the PI however has its own internal firmware that bootstraps the CPU and rest of the system with out the need for an extra chip. This firmware is programmable but there is limited space for complex firmware like traditional BIOS and UEFI firmware. As such they tend to use simpler firmware that can boot from a single device in a set way with no way to configure this after boot most of the time. The pi chose to load from an SD card instead on some ROM chip on board to make it easy to install to and backup images on the device and be able to swap out the os by simply changing the SD card. It also moves the storage off the device reducing its stand along cost as you have to buy the storage separately.

Sd cards where likely chosen as they are cheaper the HDD or SSD which are far to large for a position typical use case, require more power and are much more bulky. Though I don't know their actual reasoning.

On the pi 3 they added experimental support for booting from a USB device which you have to enable explicitly (and cannot disable). This is a new addition to the onboard firmware and was likely harder to write and fit inside CPU which is likely another reason they started with SD cards.

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> I always lose that micro-to-full sized SD adapter too

If your laptop has a full sized SD card slot then just store the adaptor in there when not in use. Otherwise you can tape/bluetack it to your positive case or just store it inside the case or even on your PC/monitor.

You can also get SD card to usb adaptor like this and attach it to your keychain.

This is actually something I began last year and have only really posted a few teasers here and there. Well now that I've finally had time to clean it up and go back and add in the original cable I figured I'd share it with you all.

This "Stealth SD Mod" as I'm calling it, uses a MicroSD card and reader, however, you could just as easily use a small USB thumb drive in place of the MicroSD card and reader.

The way the stock USB cable connects to the inside of the controller actually presented itself as quite a problem, and not wanting to cut the cable, or destructively dremel away any of the controller (mainly due to my OCD) only made things harder. Fortunately, I was able to find a solution. Once assembled, this non destructive mod is Plug & Play.

This is actually an early prototype of something a little more advanced I'm working on.

Parts Required

• Nano Hub
  
• Micro USB Male to USB Female OTG Adapter Converter
  
• Micro USB Breakout Signals Board
  
• Kingston G2 USB 2.0 microSDHC Flash Memory Card Reader FCR-MRG2
  
• Heat Shrink Tubing (Optional, but recommended)
  
  You'll also need some wire, solder, a soldering iron and of course a Philips screwdriver (1.5x30mm works for me) to open the controller.
  
  Checkout this gallery for more images.
  
  

  F.A.Q.
  

  
  

• Question: Does the controller have to be connected to Port 2?
  
  Answer:
  >Currently yes it must be connected to Port 2 (Player 2). The reason for this is when connected to Port 1 the system doesn't recognize the controller. This is something I think we can fix in a future update.
  
  
  
• Question: Does the controller still function as a controller?
  
  Answer:
  >Yes, absolutely. Keep in mind however that the draw does exceed the allowed amount, so the USB Current Limit Mod is still required.
  
  
  
• Question: What about USB Brown-outs?
  
  Answer:
  >While the power draw on this is incredibly low you'll still need to perform the USB Current Limit Mod in order to use this (Or use a hub, but that sort of defeats the purpose).
  
  
  
• Question: Can you still use port 2 for other things like USB Thumb-drives, hubs etc?
  
  Answer:
  >Yes, absolutely.
  
  
  
• Question: Can I bring my modded controller to a friends and play on their system with it?
  
  Answer:
  >Only if they have a powered USB hub or have performed the USB Current Limit Mod
  
  
  
• Question: Does it throw off the balance of the controller at all?
  
  Answer:
  >The difference in weight is negligible (Stock 130g vs modded 136g).
  

If you look inside a rectangular USB key/port, you'll see four gold or silver stripes. Thats where the data/power goes, and the only parts that need to touch for a USB device to work. The metal 'box' around them is just to make it easier for us clumsy humans to plug in properly. You can actually get USB keys that have no box, like these micro-sd card ones that just wedge themselves between the 'tongue' of the usb port and the outer edge: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0028R3NCU/ref=psdc_430545031_t3_B001U7R1CM (not a BIFL recommendation btw; they're cute but break easily).
So, the box can be made of thick, strong metal in stead of very-conductive-but-pretty-weak metal, and survive for a long time.

They already are in some cases. I just expanded the storage on my Raspberry Pi media server on Monday, and rather than buy an SSD which would need its own power, and then going through a powered USB hub, I just bought a microSD card with a very small SD->USB reader which sits in there permanently, and therefore tripled my available storage space. So my Pi stays nice and compact and needs no extra power.

I often grab video while on vacation using an OTG like this and a small card reader like this, once I have the files on my phone (Note 3) I use AndroVid Pro. I think it is the best combination of function and usability, I feel like I have tried just about every possibility. I have had it crash a few time when putting a lot of clips together at once (10+) but I use it all the time and love it. I made this little clip while sitting on a beach in D.R.

I feel like if I'm going to carry a USB thumb drive that I need it to also be a Micro-SD card reader (so I can use it in my phone/camera in a pinch or when necessary) so I keep this one hidden inside this thing on my keychain.

A few things to look into:

Your SD card only needs the boot and root partitions. The other partitions from NOOBS are not necessary, so they can go. The boot will be FAT and the root ext4, typically.

To decrease the size of the ext4 FS, you can look into the resize2fs command and the -M option. This will allow you to shrink the filesystem to the minimum (decreases imaging copy times). Then you can use fdisk to manipulate the partitions.

When re-expanding the FS, you can use fdisk to resize the partitions, then reboot the system. After reboot, use resize2fs to expand the filesystem to fill the partition.

Personally, if you're novice, I'd recommend using gparted GUI utility. I would start with a separate Raspbian image on a 3rd card in the RPi 2.0. Install gparted (and any dependencies). Then place the "master" image in a USB to MicroSD adapter and insert into the RPi USB. Use gparted to analyze and understand the existing partitions. Once you understand what the partitions are, you can resize the partitions and filesystems from gparted. After resizing, you can insert the new SD card into a second USB adapter. You can then recreate and copy the partitions from one card to the other.

Let me know if you have any additional questions.

They do make these tiny slimline microsd readers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028R3NCU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That can be shoved into a standard otg cable without much at all sticking out (its about the length of a microsd card plus half and 3x as thick). You could then just put this thing and an incredibly tiny regular otg cable on a keychain and not need to do a custom cable at all or even a USB cable with a microsd jack on the other end.

this: https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Endurance-128GB-Performance-SDCE/dp/B07PGBYMVH/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=2DISZ55F39BR1&keywords=high+endurance+micro+sd&qid=1555948538&s=gateway&sprefix=high+endurance&sr=8-8

and this: https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-microSDHC-Memory-Reader-FCR-MRG2/dp/B0028R3NCU/ref=mp_s_a_1_71?crid=BNPX5ZSGOSLW&keywords=sd+card+usb+adapter&qid=1555948634&s=gateway&sprefix=sd+card+usb&sr=8-71

High endurance is pretty much a requirement!

Interesting project idea! I’m not sure you could get it down to that size without a custom PCB, but it’s definitely within the realm of possibility. You’d need a USB-A Out Breakout Board, a USB-A In Breakout Board, a small Micro SD Card Reader, a small USB Hub PCB, and a 3D printer. If you stuck to using breakout boards, you could still probably get something close to the size of an original PlayStation memory card.

1. SDCard reader/writer - In order to write OS images onto the SDcard you'll need a writer on a PC to copy any software onto the SDcard before moving it to the Pi to boot.
   
2. USB Power supply - The Pi Zero has low demands on power (random USB chargers may work) but it's a good idea to get a good power supply.
   
3. USB OTG adapter - The Pi0 only has one micro-USB port (the other one is power in only). If you want to plug a normal USB device in you'll need an adapter.
   
4. USB Hub - Since the Pi0 only has one USB port you'll need a USB 2.0 hub to plug in multiple USB devices, such as a keyboard, mouse and USB network dongle. If you plan on plugging in USB devices that need more power (like external USB harddrives) then you should get a powered USB hub.
   
5. USB Network Adapter - Speaking of which, if you want Internet on the Pi0 you'll need a USB Wifi adapter or a 100M Ethernet USB adapter.
   
   
   Or alternatively, you could use the Pi Zero's OTG Ethernet Gadget capabilities to connect your Pi0 directly to a PC/Mac using only a single USB cable: https://gist.github.com/gbaman/975e2db164b3ca2b51ae11e45e8fd40a
   

Thats still a pretty big reader to shove in there. Wouldnt something like this had been better if you only wanted microsd?: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028R3NCU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cool job getting it working, although id be seriously worried about the potential for shorting pins given the tight tolerances there.

Ever thought of getting something like this?. Of course you would need a card reader, but that you can keep on your keychain You'd get a hell of a lot more in the data/space department and still be able to keep everything separate, if that's why you have all of the different USBs.

I get a little nervous I might bump something like that.

I bought a couple of these and a couple of these, as I have a few microSD around.

for movies, I like this, though. fills up quick.

I've used https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0028R3NCU + https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074B4BFHJ for months without problem (other than Sentry Mode filling the card up!)

Can't tell you if it's guaranteed to work or not but using one of these https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-microSDHC-Memory-Reader-FCR-MRG2/dp/B0028R3NCU/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=micro+sd+to+usb+2.0&qid=1562551840&s=gateway&sr=8-3 and the normal method should work fine


Really no other way that isn't extremely overly complicated. I recommend just buying a 2.0 USB thumb drive off amazon

I use these babies