Author Topic: WD SLC SD cards out of stock - alternatives for MB RPI  (Read 586 times)

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Offline galfert

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WD SLC SD cards out of stock - alternatives for MB RPI
« on: February 22, 2021, 01:19:04 PM »
This is a cross site post:
https://forum.meteohub.de/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=15568

Situation:
Meteobridge software image on Raspberry Pi requires special SLC SD cards and the popular SLC SD choice is out of stock.

Out of all of the supported SLC SD cards the WD SDSDQED model (in various storage capacity sizes) seems to be the best option based on price for any given size and also among the best in speed performance. Unfortunately it seems that the 8 GB and 16 GB sizes are out of stock from both Mouser and Arrow. I don't know of any other places to order these. The backorder indicates several months until inventory is replenished (May 2021).

Alternatives to use:
I'm starting this thread so that we can share alternative 2nd best options that users may find. I feel that 16 GB is the optimum size if 1 minute data logging is to be turned on. If you are not doing 1 minute data logging then a smaller size would be okay. Therefore the focus I think is in finding the best 16 GB size.

For now instead of waiting months and you really want the WD, then you could just pay more and get the 32 GB size which is showing plenty of stock. The WD 32 GB size is model SDSDQED-032G-XI.

Another possible option is to get the 16 GB size from Greenliant model GLS93MP016G1-I-BZ801, but that is almost the cost of the WD 32 GB. There is an 8 GB size for the Greenliant also but again we are focusing on 16 GB for fair amount of 1 minute data logging capability. At least these are some alternative options.

By the way both Mouser and Arrow ship world wide. There is no reason to complain that you can't find the SLC SD cards locally. Interestingly I was helping a user in Europe place an order when the WD 16 GB was still in stock and even though it was priced higher it had lower shipping cost than opting for the 8 GB size and the entire order ended up being less for the 16 GB than if they had ordered the 8 GB.

Another solution is to just temporarily use any SD card, although do realize that the Meteobridge will detect if you are not running a supported SLC SD card and it will disable the data logging capability. Therefore if you opt to use any regular SD card you will only be able to upload data and not use any of the extra features that require data logging. With a regular SD card it will basically operate like a Meteobridge on TP-Link hardware.

You can wait or order an alternative. These WD cards have only recently hit the market in late 2020 and their price point per size compared to other SLC brands is impressive, which I feel has proven to have been a popular option and their supply has been depleted because of obvious demand for these.

If anyone locates any other options that they feel is worthy of mention please share. I also want to say that I stand 100% behind the decision to enforce the use of SLC SD cards. There are several SLC SD card options available. The decision to only support SLC SD cards was made before the existence of these new wonderful WD cards. Therefore the current situation is not at a point of despair. If you come here to gripe, nobody is going to care, so don't.

The complete list of supported SLC SD cards is available from this link:
https://www.meteobridge.com/wiki/index.php/Hardware#Raspberry_Pi_Model_3B.2C_3B.2B.2C_4B
« Last Edit: February 22, 2021, 03:14:25 PM by galfert »
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Offline Gyvate

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Re: WD SLC SD cards out of stock - alternatives for MB RPI
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2021, 09:25:35 AM »
in the follow-up of this post in
https://forum.meteohub.de/viewtopic.php?p=38438#p38438
I have suggested to make it possible by the developer - for the transition period until the WD SLC 16 GB microSD cards will be available again - to allow the database to be located on an external USB device (i.e. an external SSD or normal HDD) to mitigate the risk of SD card failure due to too many write operations.
This option is a standard option for a Meteobridge Pro.
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