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USB hub recommendations

Starflyer

By Starflyer
in Discussions - Software

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Starflyer

Starflyer

Posted
Posted

Hi,

I'm after a powered USB hub, 4 - 7 ports I guess, and I know from reading here that not all hubs are created equally.

Any recommendations for a reliable, good quality one?  Doesn't need to be USB 3.0 but if all of my existing stuff will work with a USB 3.0 hub then I may as well go for one of those.  I'll be using it with; EQDIR, Atik FW2, cheap wireless joypad dongle, usb pen drives etc.  Main and guide cameras will go into the other two ports on the lappy.

Cheers,

Ian

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DougAtDallington

DougAtDallington

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Hi Ian,

I'm using an ORICO Aluminium 12V 7 Port USB 3.0 Hub with 2.5A Power Adapter that can work with peripherals drawing significant power, and it works fine for me. I've got it fixed on my mount so there's only one USB cable and one power lead to get snagged up on.

The only issue, and it's one that nearly all hubs have, is the blue LEDs that wreck your night vision at a glance. I'm in the process of finding a solution by replacing the blue LEDs with red ones, but it's not a like-for-like replacement and needs micro-surgical skill to do the soldering.

Hope you find a good solution that works for you.

Doug

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Horwig

Horwig

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I use these in both my fixed and portable rigs, they are metal cased and foolproof. They need external 12v power, in the portable rig, it's a 12v battery, as is all the kit, in the obsy, I use a 12v analogue psu.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003AVPUZG/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001H7AFO6&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=16J5QBA44J6Y13BDEZ4Y

Hope this helps

Huw

Edit: just googled Doug's recommendation of the ORICO hubs, they look good, and the price is MUCH less than the StarTech hubs I'm using :grin:

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ChrisLX200

ChrisLX200

Posted
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I use the same as Huw, and I can say that a few weeks ago my cover started to leak and water got inside the hub - quite a lot of water in fact - and it consequently failed. It was in use at the time it failed having a USB weatherstick plugged in and operating.. I ordered another in the expectation that there was no way it would ever work again, but in the meantime I disassembled and sprayed the inside with ACF50. A few days later it revived from the dead and it's outside once more (the cover has been re-water-proofed!). This is one tough piece of circuitry.

ChrisH

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Tinker1947

Tinker1947

Posted
Posted

While its not the type of hub you want, a Motherboard with 7 or more USB sockets on the back panel will save the dropouts that plagued me when i went the hub route....of course you will need the other parts of a PC and someplace to keep it, this make a good excuse for a Obby if you're not in one already.....

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rob0971

rob0971

Posted
Posted

I use these in both my fixed and portable rigs, they are metal cased and foolproof. They need external 12v power, in the portable rig, it's a 12v battery, as is all the kit, in the obsy, I use a 12v analogue psu.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003AVPUZG/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001H7AFO6&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=16J5QBA44J6Y13BDEZ4Y

Hope this helps

Huw

Edit: just googled Doug's recommendation of the ORICO hubs, they look good, and the price is MUCH less than the StarTech hubs I'm using :grin:

I also have one of these, but have mounted mine in a waterproof enclosure.

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DougAtDallington

DougAtDallington

Posted
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I have a solution for the blue-light problem: Black electrical-tape. Not pretty, but...well...?

Dave

Yes, this was my temporary solution as well - I tried black duct tape and black insulating tape. But the damp British nights degrade the adhesive after a while, the tape begins to peel off and the blue LED light sneaks out. :huh: 

FWIW: I'm told a single blue LED can be reliably replaced by two red LEDs in series. I'm going to try this, but need to practice micro-surgery first in order to replace single SMD blue LED with two SMD red LEDs. :smiley: 

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Starflyer

Starflyer

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Thanks for all the replies and suggestions guys, I went with the ORICO Aluminium version in the end.  I've tried it during daylight and everything seems solidly connected, I'll report back once it's had a couple of nights use.  I covered the blue LEDs with black tape and I can barely see them.

Cheers,

Ian

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r3i

r3i

Posted
Posted

I bought a StarTech 7 port industrial hub a couple of years ago and it has served me well.  At that time there didn't appear to be many options for USB hubs that had a 12V power input, so it's good to see that there are now a few more to choose from.

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Mav359

Mav359

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Posted

i use/ have three of these d-link 7 port hubs

http://www.amazon.co.uk/D-Link-DUB-H7-Port-USB-External/dp/B0002AFZVM/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1449512809&sr=1-1&keywords=dlink+usb+hub

&

one of these 3.0 hubs

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker%C2%AE-PowerIQ-Charging-Samsung-Motorola/dp/B00VE4UJD4/ref=sr_1_7?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1449512869&sr=1-7&keywords=usb+hub+3.0

They have been attached to the legs of my tripod for an age and in some pretty heavy weather and they have been great

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nightster

nightster

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Yes, this was my temporary solution as well - I tried black duct tape and black insulating tape. But the damp British nights degrade the adhesive after a while, the tape begins to peel off and the blue LED light sneaks out. :huh: 

FWIW: I'm told a single blue LED can be reliably replaced by two red LEDs in series. I'm going to try this, but need to practice micro-surgery first in order to replace single SMD blue LED with two SMD red LEDs. :smiley:

I've not tried this yet but thought that some 2 part epoxy mixed with some red ink dabbed onto an annoying LED may dim it down.

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Davey-T

Davey-T

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Dave, I'm surprised they don't work on Win10, USB has to be one of the few things that actually works on W10 .........?   :->

Michael (XP Fan)

They may well work on WIN10 but none of them claim to, perhaps they just haven't bothered to update the adverts.

Dave

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r3i

r3i

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They may well work on WIN10 but none of them claim to, perhaps they just haven't bothered to update the adverts.

Dave

That is probably the case.  Certainly the StarTech USB2 one that I have is working fine with Win10.

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Peje

Peje

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I bought this a few weeks ago, seems really good. The main reason I got it was on the strength of some Amazon reviews saying it was rock solid. I'm using it with Win 8.1 x64, the only issue I've had is that it showed up a minor error in 'device manager' because I've left it switched on since I bought it while the PC is switched on and off.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FR795WA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

I only use 3 of the ports but the PSU is capable of 5A @ 12v so that's enough for 7 slots pulling 1.5a each at 5v. It also has 1a & 2a charging ports if that's any use to you

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