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usb experts - could use some help

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tony.silveira:

Have you considered redesiging this portion of your cab? This kind of setup can be better served with more suitable communication methods. Gut anything USB that goes beyond 15' and install ethernet cabling in it's place. Ethernet is better suited for longer distances. Switching to Ethernet may restrict your USB options but opens up a whole range of well established and well tested hardware options to achieve your goals. It also broadens your flexibility, especially if you install wireless cababilities.
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would you mean the usb over cat-5 per my other post?  all i need downstairs is my 360 controller, keyboard and mouse.

also, for the other poster who mentioned having enough power, i believe i read on another post that the power supply should have .5V per port on the hub, is that correct (that was from memory)?

thank you all for the input!

MonMotha:

There are commercial solutions for running USB long distances using CAT5 as the media, rather than standard USB cables.  The CAT5 run is non-standard (different implmentations may not even be compatible) and cannot be plugged directly in to a USB device, but it can go much longer distances than the USB standard allows.  Basically, you need a translator on each end.  They tend to come bundled in packs with an upstream and downstream end.

Performance varies, but I've had better luck with these USB over CAT5 solutions than so-called "powered extenders".

Regarding power, a full draw on a port is 500mA (0.5A) at 5V.  So your wall-wart for the hub should be rated at 0.5A*<number of ports> in order to allow each port to draw the maximum.  Make sure you use the brick that comes with the hub (and therefore buy a hub with a correctly rated brick) as the hub may assume it has a brick with certain ratings when making power decisions.

tony.silveira:

thanks for the info monmotha.

i just checked my 4 port hub downstairs and it's rated at 2.2a so it should be all right.

next step fo me is to replace that extender and get a usb over cat-5 solution as you mentioned (with power at the receiving end).

in a previous post i pointed to one that has a 4 port hub at the receiving end with a power supply, i think i'll give that one a go.

thank you all for being a sanity check for me :)

tony.silveira:

hi all,

i'm posting my results just in case anyone else wants the info.

i installed the usb over cat-5 any the thing woks like a charm!  it has a 4 port usb at the receiving end which helps tremendously.

i took it one step further and built an end table downstairs.  in the end table, i installed a belkin 4 port hub.  it's the kind you'll see in office conference room tables.  drill a 2" hole in your surface, install in the hole and it's flush with the surface.

i appreciate the feedback from you all and hope this might help someone else.

tony

Turnarcades:

This is alot of power you have being drawn from the PC. I would be very dubious about having so much sucking on that teat in case I fry my PC or start a fire.

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