SP-303 - SmartMedia to USB converter

[Richard Gear]

Hello. I'm about to receive a Boss SP-303. I know it is possible to upload WAV files from the PC to the SmartMedia card. To do so, I guess I have to get a USB converter. There's a few SmartMedia to USB converters on ebay and I don't really know which one to choose. I don't want to spend money for nothing, but I don't want to get something that does not get the job done.
Any suggestion??

Thanks so much.

[gmeredith]

Mine is a Qpix USB multi card reader, one of its many slots is for smart media. I use it for exactly the same thing for my Electribe sampler, works a treat:

http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/pr ... /BCCRLMAI2

Cheers, Graham

[meatballfulton]

It's hard to go wrong with USB card readers, they are so simple. The idea for a universal card reader is a good one, most folks eventually end up with multiple flavors of cards over time (I use SM, xD, CF and SD myself).

Warning: never format the card in the computer, only in the SP.

[somebedroomdj]

New guy here, great website. Been lurking a long time, finally figured I'd join in.


I recently purchased one of these (same seller) for my ESX-1 and works wonderfully, despite being only $5 and change. Not the most heavy duty thing in the world, but it works great.

[cartesia]

not all smartmedia readers are the same...

some will work fine according to the computer but mess things up for certain other devices.. I had to buy 3 different ones before I found one that worked with my ES-1

[DisasterArea]

For what it's worth.. The SP-303 used an older (read: probably the oldest) version of smartmedia cards that were made, which means not only that the amount of memory must be small for compatibilty, but the voltage ratings are different... Therefore, those adapters that work with the electribe that are so abundant and have many testimonials (I could give another..) won't work with your SP-303. You would need to find one, if such a thing exists, that is specifically made for smartmedia cards that were beyond obsolete before the 90's were over.. They may very well exist... just be sure of the difference.

[meatballfulton]

disaster area is referring to 5V Smart Media which preceded the 3.3V kind. Many older Rolands use 5V Smart Media but the SP303 is not one of them, that's good news because all SM cards above 8MB are 3.3V.

The 303 will not read 128 MB cards, 8-64MB only. Card readers that accept SM cards should be fine with those.

[DisasterArea]

Duly noted and I stand corrected... For whatever reason I was getting it confused with the SP-202 which does utilize the 5V variety... sorry for the misinformation; glad someone was paying better attention than I