Method and apparatus for providing a remotely located outrigger card electrically coupled to a control card

The present invention provides an adapter for utilizing a PCMCIA card in a desktop computer which has at least one card slot and one bay. The adapter includes a logic card configured to be inserted into the card slot of the computer. The logic card has logic thereon to convert PCMCIA bus architecture of the PCMCIA card to the bus architecture of the desktop computer in a bidirectional manner. There may be at least one PCMCIA card receiving slot on the logic card connected to the logic. A first set of external connectors on the logic card is connected to one end of a multi-conductor flexible cable. An outrigger card which includes at least one PCMCIA card is provided which is configured to be inserted into an externally accessible bay of the computer. A second set of connectors on the outrigger card is connected to the opposite end of the multi-conductor flexible cable. Conductors on the outrigger card connect the second set of connectors on the outrigger card to the PCMCIA card receiving slot(s) thereon. Capacitors are connected between at least some of the conductors and a plane maintained at a predetermined voltage on the outrigger card in order to reduce the distortion of the signals received from the flexible conductor at the outrigger card.