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USB Extension cable


Chris Pink

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I have just bought a (cheap abay) active 5m USB extension cable, trouble is the connection is not good at all, almost always dropping out after 30 seconds or so. If I take the dongle and laptop to the place where the cable goes to and connect there I have no problems.

 

Has anyone else experienced these problems and can anyone recommend a USB extension (I need at least 3 metres) that will work reliably?

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I have just bought a (cheap abay) active 5m USB extension cable, trouble is the connection is not good at all, almost always dropping out after 30 seconds or so. If I take the dongle and laptop to the place where the cable goes to and connect there I have no problems.

 

Has anyone else experienced these problems and can anyone recommend a USB extension (I need at least 3 metres) that will work reliably?

Have you got the correct one? I only ask, because I have been told that there apparently there is now more than one type which all looks the same but is dimensionally slightly different. A friend of mine has just bought a new computer and it would not accept my USB memory stick.

 

Someone will now come on to tell me I am talking rubbish.

Edited by David Schweizer
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I think the word cheap may be the clue. If the shielding and general contruction of the cable is not pukka you'll get signal loss, and if you're starting from less than a full signal by the window you'll struggle.

 

You can get amplified USB cables, although I have no idea re cost.

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If you don't have problems with other USB devices connected to the same port & your dongle works OK from it too, its the cable. Here is the Maplin 3m USB cable:

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/usb-2.0-extension-leads-97266?c=maplin&utm_source=endeca&utm_medium=endeca_search&utm_campaign=L07BT&utm_content=USB+Cabling

 

I've never had any problems with their cables.

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I have just bought a (cheap abay) active 5m USB extension cable, trouble is the connection is not good at all, almost always dropping out after 30 seconds or so. If I take the dongle and laptop to the place where the cable goes to and connect there I have no problems.

 

Has anyone else experienced these problems and can anyone recommend a USB extension (I need at least 3 metres) that will work reliably?

Cheap USB cables can have very thin power cores in them, no good for anything that uses more than a little power. The better cables are specced 24/28 (or 28/24) AWG for power and data, and have a better chance of working. Don't rely 100% on an Ebay description, the decent cables will have a spec printed on the cable itself.

 

A USB repeater is like a cable with a 1 port hub at the end, so a decent cable with a hub on the end will act as a repeater. But... some hubs have overcurrent protection which adds a little resistance, though if you're handy with PCBs and soldering irons this can be bypassed :)

 

If the dongle lead is <2m you could use a normal 3m A-B USB cable with a B-A female adapter, decent A-B cables may be cheaper and more available than decent A-A female extension cables. Maybe try out a powered hub if you have one, on the end of the existing USB extension to confirm it's a power problem.

 

Is this for a Wifi or 3G dongle BTW, and is it in the window or outside in a plastic box?

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited by smileypete
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Is this for a Wifi or 3G dongle BTW, and is it in the window or outside in a plastic box?

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

 

it's a dongle outside, on the pontoon where I work in the summer (good connection) but there's no signal inside. It is working a bit better now in exactly the same place but I shall try a better cable. To get to that spot it will need 5m, 3 metres would get outside but the reception seems worse inside that radius. I shall maybe have to get a 3G router with ethernet.

 

the strange thing is that it works intermittently but then I don't really understand what would make it drop the connection, perhaps it's once it gets to a certain packet error percentage.

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it's a dongle outside, on the pontoon where I work in the summer (good connection) but there's no signal inside. It is working a bit better now in exactly the same place but I shall try a better cable. To get to that spot it will need 5m, 3 metres would get outside but the reception seems worse inside that radius. I shall maybe have to get a 3G router with ethernet.

 

the strange thing is that it works intermittently but then I don't really understand what would make it drop the connection, perhaps it's once it gets to a certain packet error percentage.

 

Could it be the signal quality to your dongle?

 

I use a 1.5m USB cable, and the rate of reception can vary enormously from 3.0mbps to drop-out - and, in a totally unscientific research - I've noticed that the clearer the weather, the worse the reception

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it's a dongle outside, on the pontoon where I work in the summer (good connection) but there's no signal inside. It is working a bit better now in exactly the same place but I shall try a better cable. To get to that spot it will need 5m, 3 metres would get outside but the reception seems worse inside that radius. I shall maybe have to get a 3G router with ethernet.

 

the strange thing is that it works intermittently but then I don't really understand what would make it drop the connection, perhaps it's once it gets to a certain packet error percentage.

Maybe try usb extension/cable inside -> powered hub just inside -> decent cable outside -> dongle raised up away from metalwork. Dropouts tend to be a combination of weak signal, reflections, interference.

 

If the dongle has an antenna socket under a cover, a decent UMTS/GSM panel/patch antenna plus an adapter would help, this sort of thing looks OK:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300620822674

 

Or try building a pringles antenna/cantenna :)

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

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As Smileypete has said, its likely to be the cable construction letting you down, but its also possible that your usb port is not capable of supplying enough power for both the cable and the dongle, especially as you say you are in a low-signal area the dongle will be pushing up its transmit power to reach the mast. If you have a powered hub try connecting via that.

 

--

Dave

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As Smileypete has said, its likely to be the cable construction letting you down, but its also possible that your usb port is not capable of supplying enough power for both the cable and the dongle, especially as you say you are in a low-signal area the dongle will be pushing up its transmit power to reach the mast. If you have a powered hub try connecting via that.

 

--

Dave

 

I've a feeling this is the problem. My diagnostics said the active cable (hub) needed 100mA and the dongle wanted 500mA so it could easily be an insufficiency of power. I shall try a passive cable. it seems on the mooring that the sweet spot is 5 metres from a warm spot so it's a 5m cable

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