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GETTING TO KNOW YOUR MTC-2021
©Vecow MTC-2021 User Manual
2.3.4 CN23 mSATA Connector
Both mSATA and Mini PCIe share the same form-factor and similar electrical
pinout assignments on their connectors. There was no clear mechanism to
distinguish if a mSATA drive or a Mini PCIe device is plugged into the socket
until recently that SATA I/O issued an ECN change (ECN #045) to re-define
Pin 43 on mSATA connector as “no connect” instead of “return current path” (or
GND).
When an mSATA drive is inserted, its pin 43 is “no connect”, and the respective
pin on the socket is being pulled-up to logic 1. When a Mini PCIe device is
inserted, its pin 43 forces the respective pin on the socket to ground, or logic 0.
