Peter "Bobricius" Misenko's MicroSD Card Module Breaks Out the Signals and Hosts an XTX XTSD Chip

Peter "Bobricius" Misenko has released a carrier board for XTX' unusual XTSD SD card-emulating flash memory chip, which doubles as a handy tool for easier access to a device's microSD slot signals.

The gadget is built around an XTX XTSD chip, a novel type of NAND flash memory which is designed to operate in exactly the same way as an SD card — except without the card. When the XTSD chip, available in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB capacities at the time of writing, is soldered in place, the board acts like a microSD card — albeit one which sticks out quite some distance from the microSD slot in which it's placed.

For those experimenting with the chips, though, the carrier has another trick up its sleeve: 2.54mm (0.1") pin headers which provides an easy way to access the SPI signals which would normally be sent to the microSD slot — monitoring them, modifying them, or even bringing them out to a separate device entirely.

The board's third trick is similar, but in reverse: leave the XTSD footprint unpopulated and you can use the board as a simple passive breakout. Pop it into a microSD slot and the pin headers will give you access to the SPI bus, allowing you to use an external device to emulate an SD card with whatever payload or modifications you desire.

Misenko has released design files for the board, which is based on an earlier breakout board designed for the XTSD chips by Adafruit, on Hackaday.io under an unspecified open source license.