Sony MSAC-MCF1N Memory Stick Duo Adaptor for CompactFlash Slot

The Sony MSAC-MCF1N Memory Stick Duo Adapter for CompactFlash Slot is a CompactFlash Type I adapter that accepts a Memory Stick Duo in its body. A curved slot on the adapter's side allows you to insert a PRO, MagicGate, or a basic Memory Stick Duo storage card into it. The adapter turns the inserted Duo card into a CompactFlash for you to insert into a CompactFlash digital camera, PDA, or a memory card reader/writer.

The MSAC-MCF1N is difficult to find at your stores and it is out of stock everywhere online. It turned out that Sony is simply restricting its sales (see my "Shortage everywhere! Sony MSAC-MCF1N Memory Stick Duo Adaptor for CompactFlash Slot" article in the Related Links section). When I did receive one, it came in a clear plastic blister pack with Sony's design all over it. Inside the blister pack is the adapter itself, a CompactFlash sleeve to protect the adapter, and two instruction manuals.

The two instruction manuals are exactly the same, just in eighteen different languages. I read through the instruction carefully, but there is nothing in the instruction that your common sense wouldn't have already told you. One instruction worth noting, however, is

If you insert this unit into "Memory Stick Duo" compatible products when no "Memory Stick Duo" is inserted in, malfunctions may occur.

Although the instruction above doesn't make sense, it does imply something significant and worth spending a few minutes on. This instruction doesn't make sense, because the CompactFlash adapter could not be inserted into a Memory Stick Duo compatible product. I believe it is a mistake, because if you change the first occurrence of "Memory Stick Duo" to "CompactFlash", then you have a phrase that is worth noting. I don't know what will happen if you insert this adapter into a CompactFlash device without a Memory Stick Duo inserted into the adapter. And I'm not planning on finding it out.

Now that I have this adapter, and several cameras that use Memory Stick's and CompactFlash's, I will stop buying CompactFlash's and concentrate on buying Memory Stick Duo's in the future.

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Compatibility

I successfully tested all of my Memory Stick Duo (16 MB and 32 MB) and Memory Stick PRO Duo (256 MB and 512MB) cards with this adapter on my Canon EOS D30. One of the PRO Duo cards caused an error on the D30 but once the card was formatted on my Sony DSC-T11 digital camera, the error went away on my D30.

This adapter worked equally well in my Nikon Coolpix 950 digital camera.

I have also tested this adapter on my HP Jornada 680e and my LG Phenom Handheld PC's. The adapter worked find on both Handheld PC's in both CF and PCMCIA slots.

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Cool Tricks

With the Memory Stick Duo in the MSAC-MCF1N adapter, the adapter is effectively a CompactFlash card. A cool trick I found useful is that with this adapter I can access my Memory Stick PRO Duo in old memory card reader and writers. I have a Memorex Universal Card Reader that can only access CompactFlash Type I and Type II, SmartMedia, Secure Digital Card, MultiMediaCard, and Memory Stick. It would not read nor write to Memory Stick PRO. If I insert the Memory Stick PRO Duo into the basic supplied Memory Stick adapter, the card reader would fail to recognize the card. I found out that I could get around this limitation by inserting the Memory Stick PRO Duo into the MSAC-MCF1N adapter and inserting the adapter into the CompactFlash Type I slot. The card reader was able to read the Memory Stick PRO Duo as if it is a CompactFlash card.

Here is another cool trick. I found that Sony sells a MSAC-USM1 Multi-Slot Memory Stick Adaptor. The MSAC-USM1 is an USB memory card reader that has three card slots: Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, and CompactFlash Type I and Type II. With this device, you can transfer between a Memory Stick and a Memory Stick Duo, or between two Memory Stick Duo's. The cool trick is that with the MSAC-MCF1N adapter, you can copy between two Memory Stick Duos, or between a Memory Stick and a Memory Stick Duo, on any multi-function card reader. This trick had came in handy for me a few times and it spares me the extra cost of purchasing the Sony MSAC-USM1 Multi-Slot Memory Stick Adaptor.

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Specification

Interface:	PCMCIA / ATA interface compatible with CompactFlash Type I slot
Operating Voltage:	3.3 / 5.0 V
Power Consumption:	Max. 70 mA
External dimensions:	Approx. 42.8 x 36.4 x 3.3 mm 1-11/16 x 1-7/10 x 1/8 in.
Weight:	Approx. 7 g (0.25 oz)
Operating Environment:	0 - 60 degrees C (no condensation)

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