Oyen Digital USB3.0 to 2.5-inch HDD connection cable Review

Oyen Digital cable out of the packet ready to be connected to the HDD

Like many frustrated computer users, I find that hard drives, plugs, ports and software are in a constant state of flux.
Improvements spurred on by a marketing department somewhere might claim these changes benefit the users, but a lot of the time changes are mostly driven by the desire for a constant turnover. 

Plus, these improvements, if there are any, don't necessarily improve in the same direction that we are travelling in - often they just put us in a position where we are obliged to buy more stuff to keep our old stuff operating. 

I have two reliable Western Digital Firewire 800 portable hard drives for my Mac. These have accompanied me all over the globe on my travels. However,  since I upgraded my Apple MacBook Pro, those drives have become obsolete, going the way of the Dodo - every port on the new Mac is USB-C - a good design but frustrating if you have legacy equipment (read a previous post about the cost of keeping up with a new computer).

Ironically I bought this Firewire drive from B and H Photo Video store in NYC when it was on special - and to get it back operating with my new Mac, I found the Oyen connection cable - on B and H's website while surfing for something else...

Although it's possible to convert USB 3.0 ports to USB-C, it's expensive to convert Firewire to the same - this would involve my buying another $80+ USB-C hub with Firewire ports - I'd have to plug my hub into another hub. 

Why not just get online and buy a cheap HDD case - there must be about a million online... 

I tried researching this but the SATA hard drives in the Firewire units are fractionally thicker than regular SATA drives, and considerably thicker than an SSD. There are a few cases about that can take 'fatter' drives but they are expensive, starting around $80+.  

I might have to buy one of these if I need to take the (ex) Firewire drive travelling, but for the moment it's staying on my desktop.

One answer appeared as I was surfing the 'net in this brilliant little gizmo - essentially the Oyen Digital USB3.0 to 2.5-inch HDD connection cable enables me to plug any 2.5-inch drive directly into a USB 3.0 port (I'd already removed the drives from their aluminium casings).

I was nervous about doing this but actually it couldn't have been easier. Finding  finding a TORX screwdriver small enough to open the casing proved more of a hassle and involved a lot of internet searching, plus a trip to Bunnings (never a bad thing to do on a wet afternoon).

With the casing unscrewed, all that's needed is to carefully slide the drive out of its Firewire interface, and pop the Oyen cable in the same position over the terminals. You can't get it wrong because the connector will only fit one way. Plug it into a USB port and it immediately reads the drive - although I had to format the original drive using Apple's Disk Utility first, which took three minutes, then it was ready to go.

For a cost of $11, I thought this was a great buy - the main disadvantage is that you have a 'naked' hard drive that's not protected suitably for the rigours of travel, but until I can find an affordable drive case that will hold the thicker form factor, it'll work fine on my desktop. At least it has been saved from becoming yet more technological landfill.

Now that I understand what it is I'm looking at, I have seen several models of similar connection cables on offer through Aussie companies - but as I was ordering other stuff from the USA, it made sense to not have to pay another delivery fee...