Has anyone built a USB Hard drive

[Wynand]

I've been wanting to build my own external hard drive for a while now, but haven't been able to find anything easy enough to build.

I've got access to AVR mcu's ftdi usb chips and would really appreciate it if someone could share a design or point me in the right direction.

Thanks.
Wynand

 

[theAnonymous1]

I understand this is a DIY site, but why would you want to built a USB HDD controller when you can buy them for dirt cheap? I would guess it would cost 2-3 times as much to build one on your own, not to mention the time and effort involved.

Here's examples of how cheaply they can be purchased for......

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-2-0-2-5-3-5...6QQihZ004QQcategoryZ41911QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-5-3-5-USB-IDE...4QQihZ003QQcategoryZ41911QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[dangus]

I've bought them new from vendors in the Richmond Night Market or the Terminal flea market for about $15 Canadian. That's for a 2.5" drive case with USB interface. For a couple bucks more I got a cable doodad with 2.5" and 3.5" connectors and a separate power supply for powering 3.5" drives.