Hi, longtime listener, first time caller. I recently bought an LTO-6 FC drive off ebay for a steal/gamble. I knew I was in for something new because Fiber Channel, but when I got the drive, I was disappointed to see that it uses a non-standard power connector. It was likely meant to be in a rack or auto-loader, and the connector is a 10-pin doubles-sided PCB (20 pins total). I did some perfunctory research and other people have gotten around this by simply taking off the shell which exposes a normal power connector.
Well, not this time. I removed the shell and it leads to a 5pin non-molex, non-sata-power connector. Other forums have said that this unit can be pulled off the back of the drive, but I am certain this is not possible here, I must find a way to power the drive using the connector (and cable).
My plan is to cut the cable and solder it to a standard power supply ATX. I see from the PCB that the 2 inner pins are bonded, so are most likely ground. But my question is, does anyone have an idea of what voltages go on the outer pins? the PCB (from the “shell”) does contain at least one 3.3v regulator chip, but I don’t have the tools or knowledge to go much further, so I wanted to stop here in hopes that someone who is familiar with this hardware can offer their advice.
I totally know I’m driving off the beaten path here and there is a good chance I’ll either let the smoke out or just get nowhere. That’s fine with me, I’m in it for the fun. Also there are more of these $160 LTO-6 drives on eBay so if I can get it working I’ll let you know how I did it.
