FireWire Depot Introduces Repeater, Two HD Enclosures

FireWire Depot has introduced a new optical repeater, the FireNEX800-SX (US$1,950), as well as two new hard drive enclosures, a 3.5-inch FireXpress FireWire 800/USB 2.0 combo enclosure ($119.99) and a 3.5-inch two bay FireXpress Dual Combo enclosure ($149.99). The FireNEX800-SX, which FireWire Depot bills as the worldis first 1394b (also known as FireWire 800) optical repeater, is slightly larger than a deck of cards and can send signals across a single mode optical fiber cable up to 10,000 meters (approximately 32,808 feet) long. The company asks for a one-week lead time to build and deliver the product.

The FireXpress, which will ship on May 30, features two FireWire 800 ports and one USB 2.0 ports, with support for one 3.5-inch IDA/ATAPI hard drive. Mac OS X v10.2 or higher is required. The FireXpress Dual Combo can accommodate two 3.5-inch IDE drives in a RAID 0 configuration. It will also ship on May 30.