ZittopVirtuabotix SD Card Reader/Writer for Arduino and other Microcontrollers

The top critical review of this product stated that the card felt loose, but this type of socket can feel that way because it's not held completely motionless with respect to the board. It uses a floating connector inside the socket with much more robust edge-pin connections than the cheaper no-push variety. Definitely not something one would expect at this price point. If you want your project to have a professional feel and operation, this is the one to get.The metal socket frame also extends about 3.5 mm past the edge of the card, so when I cut my panel slot in my project for the SD socket, it will have a secure fit into the panel, and will not merely have to "line up" with the slot like any of the other choices would.It arrived wrapped in full and proper anti-static envelope, unlike some of these other low cost DIY devices. It came with no documentation, but what was in the ad was enough to get it running within 5 minutes of wrapping.The redundant row of the 16 pin DIP header with redundant grounds at both ends was a curiosity in the light of current connector designs for devices of this type, but I see it as nice touch. You can hook it up with an Arduino style 7 pin SIP socket if you like, but the redundant grounds probably provides superior noise immunity for longer cables. The DIP header also takes me back to the days when you could just cut a 0.05" per conductor ribbon cable to any length and width you liked, clip on a couple of press-fit connectors, and you're done with a smart looking setup. Miss those days.While it's true that this unit uses current limiting resistors for overvoltage (all SD readers are 3.3 volts or less at their core) rather than a level converting chip like Adafruit's does, it works perfectly well, and the complete robust construction and build quality plus much lower price make this a worthwhile purchase.

Product was received on time and undamaged. The device functions with any microcontroller, not just the ones stated on the description. If the MCU can communicate using SPI, then it can use this device. The device contains a push-in-to-eject switch that will keep the media card in place while in use and when time for removal, the user pushes the media inwards slightly until it clicks and unlocks the card, then the internal spring ejects the card. This is comparable to the same type of push-to-ejects found on Laptops. If you are looking for a device that will not lose the media card once inserted, this device will fit that need. If used only as a READ device, it will run on 3v power. If the card is also to be a WRITE media, both the 3v AND 5v power pins should be used, since Write Functions require additional power and current then Reads. Although tested in only 3v for both Reads/Writes, the tests showed some data loss and device resets during Writes. With both 3v and 5v power applied, the device performs flawlessly for Reads and Writes. Both an ESP32 and an STM32 MCUs were used for testing of the device. -- Acigan International, Research and Development

Product arrived quickly. Comes with a single-sided instruction sheet showing how to make connections to Arduino and where to find sample code within the Arduino IDE. Takes just a few minutes to connect via the instructions and I was writing test data to SD card with sample code immediately after that. Very easy for anyone with even basic Arduino knowledge to use. There's a number of code samples showing different methods of using the SD card that comes with the IDE.Slot that holds SD card feels just a bit loose to me... it's hard to tell when the SD card is inserted properly. Many SD card slots have a definite click upon insertion and holds the card well. This one grabs the card upon insertion but you can just slightly pull the card and it lets go. A minor complaint really, but one that should be noted.

Bought this to read the CID information off an old SD card I had so that I could try to identify the manufacturer. Set this up with an Arduino Uno and it works fine (see attached schematic).The card retention mechanism is solid and feels like a normal SD card reader.

Great product. Easy project installation. Worked as advertised.