I have an R2 Pro that I purchased with the official case on the Ali Express store, and I’m trying to use a SATA SSD with it.
Unfortunately the included cables are of no use because of the male SATA headers on the board. I’ve tried many different angled adapters, extensions, and gender changers, but I can’t find anything that works and still fits inside the closed case. I’ve been testing with the SSD plugged directly into the header, sticking straight up, but obviously that’s not a good permanent solution.
I looked on the AliExpress store and didn’t see anything that looked suitable, either.
Is anyone on the forum successfully using the official case with a SATA drive attached? If so, what did you use to make it work?
If not, can @sinovoip recommend an adapter/cable that will work, or make one available that works with the R2Pro and official case? Thanks!
I picked up a nearly identical cable to the one in that link and there wasn’t anywhere near enough vertical clearance in the case.
It seems like the ideal solution would involve a tight right-angle adapter for the header.
Something like this perhaps:
But due to the tightness of the case, the same issue of clearance before the 90 degree bend is present at the drive connection (the cables need to bend tightly upward to clear the front of the case).
So in terms of what I’m aware of that should fit and work, it would involve the cable you linked, plus two of the right angle adapters that I linked (an up and a down variant). Seems a little crazy at twice the price of the case just to get a connection to a SATA drive.
I’m wary of picking up the 90 degree adapters I linked because reviews on a lot of them indicate the angle is tighter than 90 degrees, so they might not even work once I try it.
I went ahead and got one of each and it did the job.
For anyone else who might come across this later, the two adapters plus an extension liked the one mentioned above work well.
The extension cable I have is 30 cm and I had to put in a loop to allow it to fit inside the case. Hopefully the RF noise from the antenna doesn’t interfere in any big way with the SATA cable loop.
Notes:
20 cm length would be ideal, maybe even 15cm if it can be found.
The fit is still tight, and the connection to the drive blocks the IR receiver.
The cables must make an immediate bend coming off of the 90 degree adapter to the SATA drive in order to fit under the top of the case.
It’s not possible to mount the drive on the other side without interfering with the reset and power buttons.
The adapters I purchased didn’t have easily removable covers, however the plastic was very soft and I trimmed them down with a razor knife for a better fit.
) and it fits perfectly.