PCMCIA bus extender card for PCMCIA system development

An extender card suitable for use with a personal computing system having a casing and a PCMCIA port disposed within the casing, the PCMCIA port being accessible through an opening in the casing and being spaced apart from the opening sufficiently to be capable of receiving a PCMCIA logic board therebetween, the extender card comprising:

• a generally elongated member;
• a PCMCIA header coupled to a first end of the elongated member for engaging the PCMCIA port of the personal computing system, the PCMCIA header and the first end of the elongated member being sized to fit through the casing opening associated with the PCMCIA port of the personal computing system, the PCMCIA header including a plurality of connectors;
• a plurality of conductors electrically coupled to respective ones of the connectors;
• a plurality of wirewrap pins coupled to the elongated member and electrically coupled to respective ones of the plurality of conductors;
• and
• wherein the elongated member is sufficiently long so that when the extender card is plugged into the PCMCIA port, the wirewrap pins will be positioned outside of the casing.

An apparatus suitable for use with a personal computing system having a casing and a port disposed within the casing, the port being accessible through an opening in the casing and being spaced apart from the opening sufficiently to be capable of receiving a logic board therebetween, the apparatus comprising:

• an extender card;
• a first bus connector coupled to a first end of the extender card for engaging the port of the personal computing system, the first bus connector and the first end of the extender card being sized to fit within the casing opening associated with the port of the personal computing system;
• a second bus connector coupled to a second end of the extender card;
• a plurality of wirewrap pins coupled to the extender card substantially near the second end;
• and
• a plurality of conductors coupled to the extender card and the electrically coupling the first and second bus connectors and the plurality of wirewrap pins;
• wherein the elongated member is sufficiently long so that when the extender card is inserted into the opening in the casing with the first bus connector plugged into the port of the personal computing system, the second bus connector and the wirewrap pins will be positioned outside of the casing.

A method of coupling a development board to a notebook computer having a PCMCIA receptacle and an opening providing access thereto, the method comprising the steps of:

• inserting a first end of an extender card through the opening and into electrical connection with the PCMCIA receptacle;
• coupling the development board to a second end of the extender card which extends out the opening from the notebook computer;
• and
• wrapping first end of selected wires about selected pins of the development board and second ends of the selected wires about selected pins of the extender card, to couple bus conductors of a circuit on the development board to a PCMCIA bus of the notebook computer via conductors of the extender card.

An extender card suitable for use with a personal computing system having a casing and a port disposed within the casing, the extender card comprising:

• a generally elongated member;
• a header coupled to a first end of the elongated member for engaging the port of the personal computing system, the header including a plurality of connectors;
• a plurality of conductors electrically coupled to respective ones of the connectors;
• and
• a plurality of wirewrap pins coupled to the elongated member and electrically coupled to respective ones of the plurality of conductors;
• and
• wherein the elongated member is sufficiently long so that when the extender card is plugged into the port, the wirewrap pins will be positioned outside of the casing.

An extender card suitable for use with a personal computing system having a casing and a PCMCIA port disposed within the casing, the PCMCIA port being accessible through an opening in the casing and being spaced apart from the opening sufficiently to be capable of receiving a PCMCIA logic board therebetween, the extender card providing a development environment for peripheral devices to be connected to a PCMCIA port, the extender card comprising:

• a generally elongated member having a plurality of small diameter holes passing therethrough;
• a PCMCIA header coupled to a first end of the elongated member for engaging the PCMCIA port of the personal computing system, the PCMCIA header and the first end of the elongated member being sized to fit through the casing opening associated with the PCMCIA port of the personal computing system;
• a PCMCIA receptacle coupled to a second end of the elongated member;
• a plurality of conductors electrically coupling the PCMCIA header to the PCMCIA receptacle;
• and
• a plurality of pins coupled to the elongated member such that each pin passes through an associated one of said small diameter holes, each pin being connected to an associate one of the conductors and extending transversely from the plane of the elongated member, each pin also configured to serve as a connector for external electrical components.
• wherein the elongated member is sufficiently long so that when the extender card is plugged into the PCMCIA port, the pins will be positioned outside of the casing for connection to external electrical conductors.