For people stressed out on right/wrong SmartMedia cards (FAQ

[hageir]

You can find out if it's 3.3 volts by looking at the side with the golden chip.
Only 3.3v cards have the right corner cut off, the 5v ones are opposite!

F.A.Q. anyone?

[flux]

I think you might be talking about SD cards, CF cards dont have a corner cut off, they have a whole bunch of holes in the side as if it was an actual disk.

"They operate at 3.3 volts or 5 volts, and can be swapped from system to system." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompactFlash

CF
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... tFlash.jpg

SD
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... _Cards.JPG

hope this helps

[hageir]

nope, I'm talking about the SmartMedia cards, the ones in the SP-202 and SP-303;

SmartMedia cards came in two formats, 5 V and the more modern 3.3 V (sometimes marked 3 V), named for their main supply voltages. The packaging was nearly identical, except for the reversed placement of the notched corner. Many older SmartMedia devices only support 5V SmartMedia cards, whereas many newer devices only support 3.3V cards. In order to protect 3.3V cards from being damaged in 5V-only devices, the card reader should have some mechanical provision (such as detecting the type of notch) to disallow insertion of an unsupported type of card. Some low-cost, 5V-only card readers do not operate this way, and inserting a 3.3V card into such a 5V-only reader will result in permanent damage to the card. Dual-voltage card readers are highly recommended.

see the difference:
5v:


3.3v:


the corners are on the opposite sides

I was mostly thinking about this for people who'll maybe find a SmartMedia card at a goodwill shop and aren't sure about it..

[hageir]

and not all 3v SmartMedia cards have the "3V" tag on them:

[flux]

ah i see i am very confused.

dont mind me.