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Is there such a thing as a reliable USB hub?


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On 15/04/2018 at 09:44, LightBucket said:

Have you considered the Startech USB over Ethernet System, they are superb and will never let you down, and will work up to 60m distance, one small powered hub on your mount with four USB ports and another unit connected to your PC, and a CAT 6 Ethernet cable between, they are becoming very popular in the Astro imaging world...

+1 for this

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I've also had some issues with USB hubs and extenders.

Plan A was a USB hub connected to a separate USB/lan cable extender and then back to the PC.

I discovered that the PC could see a single USB device on the end of the extender but not a hub :-( So if you were going to go for extending USB over lan cable then go for the type where the extender is also a hub! However these aren't cheap and I didn't really want to spend that much. If I did then I'd probably think about a mini-pc instead with a wifi link.

Plan B was a USB hub but using an active USB extension dongle. This allowed be to extend an extra 7.5m (the longest USB extension cable I have). So the PC could then see the hub and also devices connected to it BUT as soon as I tried to do any serious data traffic, i.e. from the neximage, then it kept on disconnecting/reconnecting on the PC :-( I tried the same HUB but without the extension and the same issues. It looks like getting the cheapest USB hub I could find was a rubbish idea and a waste of a tenner. So at the moment I'm using two USB extensions to different USB ports on the PC. Having one long USB cable would help tidy the cabling and if I could cable-tie a small USB hub to the scope with effectively a single USB cable running back then that would be even better.

So, from the above advice ;-) I've now ordered a Startech brand 4 port USB3 hub. Hopefully this will work where the 'cheapest I could buy' hub failed. :-)

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 4/15/2018 at 09:44, LightBucket said:

Have you considered the Startech USB over Ethernet System, they are superb and will never let you down, and will work up to 60m distance, one small powered hub on your mount with four USB ports and another unit connected to your PC, and a CAT 6 Ethernet cable between, they are becoming very popular in the Astro imaging world...

This sounds a good option for data over long distances (well more than 2 to 3 meters as I really have issues with longer USB cables for anything).

I have had a bit of a look but there are quite a few options available. Do you have any links to what you are using?

Steve

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I was also considering a USB hub extender as mentioned but it's only USB2 so not really, IMO, suitable for high res. cameras. It's also quite pricey and for a hundred quid more you can purchase a complete mini PC with oodles of USB3/2 ports and all the advantages of local processing etc... and then simply use a normal LAN cable (100m not an issue) or even wifi to 'remote desktop' in. Just my 2d worth.

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I have given up trying to get a hub that works OK.  I have tried 3 different powered hubs which all resulted in disconnecting and pinging, - not good when you're trying to image.  Then a kind person sent me a super duper 4 port hub that looks very much like the Startech ones above.  

I managed to get it to work for one session only, then the following morning I went into the obsy to do my flats (note I said obsy, so not outside in the damp), and the software said it could not connect to the camera, looked at the hub and only 2 of the 4 USB lights were on, and have never managed to get it working properly again.

Further to my own post earlier, I took the hub which is indeed a Startech one to Astro camp recently to see if any-one there could suss out why it wasn't working in all ports and blow me down it is suddenly working again - so why on Earth did it stop working previously, and I tried it on more than one occasion.

:glasses12:

So finally I can use more than 3 USBs and even use my mouse (one of my laptops the right and left click has almost given up the ghost).

Carole 

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Hmm, spoke too soon, today the hub is showing it is powered but none of the USB port lights are on or working.

Any-one any ideas why some days it works no problem and some days only 2 ot of 4 ports work and some days no ports work at all.

Carole 

 
Carole 
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Thanks for the info, a bit too high tech for me but I get the point.

I had a complete failure of the hub last night, and was using the USB cable that was supplied with the hub.

I did plug in an old very basic powered USB hub into the same port after the Startech one failed and I was surprised to find that that worked as I gave up using it a long time ago.

Carole 

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  • 5 weeks later...

I used to have continual trouble with USB - hubs particularly.  Got a StarTech industrial one and that was much better.  Supplied it from my 13.8v observatory, battery backed, power supply and had no problems.  Nowadays, well last time I did imaging and will again in the autumn (possibly before) I use a Raspberry Pi right on the imaging rig and no USB problem.  All leads very short.

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  • 1 month later...
On 3 June 2018 at 22:29, Gina said:

I used to have continual trouble with USB - hubs particularly.  Got a StarTech industrial one and that was much better.  Supplied it from my 13.8v observatory, battery backed, power supply and had no problems.  Nowadays, well last time I did imaging and will again in the autumn (possibly before) I use a Raspberry Pi right on the imaging rig and no USB problem.  All leads very short.

Do you use screw lock USB cables into that?   I imagine using those  might help in maintaining a stable connection. 

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Yes indeed - well I did when I used it.  Now the only USB hub I use is the one internal to the ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool astro camera.  I use a Raspberry Pi right at the camera and ultra short fixed in place USB cables, except for the mount control which is longer but also fastened securely.  I think this is the crux of the matter - make sure the USB connections are really secure.

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How do people recover from a loss of connection over USB? I usually find I have to disconnect everything, turn off and restart the laptop and then reconnect each USB device in sequence. It's s real pain. 

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1 hour ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

The quick way, in Device manager, right click the non functioning item and select disable, wait 30 seconds and re-enable again. usually works for me with most things....

I'll give that another try. I've had mixed results trying this in the past. 

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52 minutes ago, Ouroboros said:

@AngryDonkey That looks neat! Don't know whether it would work for me as I set up and tear down each time. 

So do I l, but to be to honest unless you use the other parts of the hub (power supply, focussing, dew heater) it would be a very expensive option.

One thing that works well for me is that I have completely cabled up my scope and accessories with the ultimate hub all attached securely to the losmandy plate of the scope. It's a bit bulky but I've made a custom crate for it so now I can just store the whole scope setup in one piece and only need to lift it onto the mount when I set up. That's saves me a lot of time.

 

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On 15/04/2018 at 09:44, LightBucket said:

Have you considered the Startech USB over Ethernet System...

I'll have to take a look. I'm using an ICRON USB 1.n extender over 30m for scope control.
Keep thinking about running something that might accommodate USB2 Camera rates... ?
+1 re. "Industial" Startech Hubs. (Kept the @Ginalink to the int / ext Power jumpers [qv])

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On 05/07/2018 at 22:59, Gina said:

Yes indeed - well I did when I used it.  Now the only USB hub I use is the one internal to the ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool astro camera.  I use a Raspberry Pi right at the camera and ultra short fixed in place USB cables, except for the mount control which is longer but also fastened securely.  I think this is the crux of the matter - make sure the USB connections are really secure.

Do you recall where you bought screw lock USB cables from? (If that's what they're called.)   I'm  having a devil of a job finding a supplier.  Doesn't seem much point buying the hub if the cables aren't available. 

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I'm sorry but I don't now. :(  Could have been ebay or Amazon or one of the electronics parts suppliers such as RS Components or Farnell element14.

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