RME Hammerfall HDSP Laptop PCMCIA Interface
RME recently developed this world-exclusive PCMCIA type II card with Zero wait state CardBus Busmaster technology for the Hammerfall DSP System.
With up to 130 MB/s transfer rate in both directions, performance equals that of a desktop computer, with notebook convenience! The card offers the highest compatibility by being 100% Plug & Play-compatible under Windows and MacOS, and being able to share interrupts. The card itself will only use one interrupt (IRQ) for all functions (audio/MIDI.)
For some time now, laptops have become powerful enough for even ambitious hard disk recording thanks to high computing power and powerful hard drives. Up to now, a powerful interface was missing though. USB is neither offering the necessary bandwidth, nor the desired compatibility. Available PCMCIA solutions at the moment are nearly always designed as 16 bit PC Card and therefore only make use of the ISA bus.
The connection between CardBus card and I/O box is established using ordinary firewire cable (closed LAN to IEEE 1394.) The data transfer does not use Firewire protocol, but RME's own proprietary bus protocol. The supplied cable is 15 feet (4.5 m) long, a cable length up to 33 feet (10 m) has been successfully tested. A specially designed Repeater can be used to reach cable lengths of up to 66 feet (20 m). The CardBus card does not provide power to the attached I/O-box. Therefore a hi-tech switching power supply is included.
About RME
RME is a young German team of developers with a robust vision of creating innovative, user friendly, and high-quality digital audio solutions for less money. Founded in 1996, RME quickly earned their stripes as a premiere industry provider, expanding rapidly into mainstream international markets.
Each developer on the RME team is either a musician or sound engineer, besides being a specialist in hardware and software development. Additionally, to give their designs a persistent competitive edge in today's market, RME developers regularly network with other industry specialists to exchange knowledge and information, truly designing a line of products with superior quality, and affordable, mass-market appeal.
RME has had a consistent string of successful product releases, earning awards and accolades from the press and the public alike. The enthusiastic response and worldwide support the RME product line has generated ranks them one of the top audio device companies in the industry.
