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Tom[_4_] Tom[_4_] is offline
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Default Max. size of USB flash-drive for car decks?

Mariachi wrote in
ups.com:

On Apr 21, 7:35 pm, Tom wrote:
What's the largest size of a USB flash-drive (aka thumb-drive) that
someone has used successfully in a car deck with a USB port? And what
was the make & model of deck & flash-drive?

I keep reading about device errors above 2GB to 4GB but I was hoping
to use 2X or 4X that capacity for MP3, WMA, etc.. An example would be
the A-DATA PD2 16GB model for $200. Specs on various head units say
a "USB mass storage device" w/USB 2.0 should be fully readable but I
don't know what to believe. Thanks for any info.

Tom


I used a 2 gigabyte SD card before... worked most of the time, but
some songs the head unit completely skipped over. When I plugged the
SD card in the computer, it worked perfectly. So it must have been
the head unit itself. But anyways, if you are going to buy a 16 GB
flash card for around 200 dollars, you might want to consider buying a
30 gig iPod for 225 dollars instead with a good aux in with the head
unit.


Something tells me an SD card is not as electronically-adept for this
purpose as a "thumb" drive but I have no evidence.

The iPod angle may seem practical but I don't want to worry about keeping
anything charged or deal with moving parts and finding a docking place.
Solid state is the main angle. I also want something tiny that I can hide
in the car. I like USB decks with rear cables so you don't have the flash-
drive sticking out of the face. They could recess a front USB port so the
stick barely protrudes.

I'm not understanding why larger flash drives are harder to read, or why
manufacturers remain vague about max. storage size (e.g.
www.kenwood.com/usb/). FAT 16 & FAT 32 issues have been mentioned, but that
Kenwood link doesn't list them as size limitations. With 2GB flash-drive
prices under $35 it could be economical to get a handful vs. one larger
stick. Surely someone has tested at least an 8GB flash-drive?

Tom