From: "Tim" <tjp314@pacbell.net>

Date: April 9, 2009 4:24:51 PM MDT

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: USB to firewire?

--- In Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com, Milton Aupperle <milton@...> wrote:

Hi Tim;

On 9-Apr-09, at 3:41 PM, Tim wrote:

Hi folks:

Does anybody know if there's such a beast as a USB to Firewire  

adapter that would allow someone without a firewire port to run  

their firwire cameras?  albeit at lower data rates?  (not a big  

deal in the field for DSO imaging, where the frames are minutes long).

http://www.usbfirewire.com/uadapters.html

I have yet seen any reviews of it actually working under OS X on a Mac.

And...  if such a beast exists, would it work with Astro IIDC?

No it won't - that I can Guarantee. Astro IIDC looks at the actual  

hardware and find no Cameras on the FireWire Bus. That converter will  

only show up on the USB Bus - which Astro IIDC won't even see.

It actually won't even work on the Mac at all because it will not  

have USB Drivers either, which is why they talk about it working on  

VMWare or Windows on an Intel Mac.

Did you buy a MacBook Air or one of the none  FireWire MacBooks?

Milton Aupperle

Thanks for the info.  No, I didn't buy a non-firewire Macbook.  I was thinking of buying a Dell Mini 9 and installing OS X on it, though.

That plan would be to run the cameras and mounts I do have that will work with USB with an ultraportable for work in the field on DSOs, in addition to keeping my G4 laptop, intel Mini (tethered to my permanently mounted 9.25" where I'd like to keep it) and 7-yr old HP laptop that I use to run mounts and USB cameras outside my house when I'm too lazy to carry my G4 outside.

The other option would be to upgrade from both the G4 and HP laptops with a Macbook Pro with Parallels or Fusion and Windows and essentially replace them both with one computer (thus justifying the cost).

Still haven't figured out what I want to do, though.

-Tim.