USB cable extension length 15 foot plus 1.5 foot to a powered hub

[sdowney717]

Maximum length for usb 2.0 is 5 meters. = 16.4 feet

If I get a usb 2.0 extension cable of 15 feet and plug in this 3.0 powered hub with its supplied 1.5 foot cable, will it fail to work?
Scheme is PC to 15 foot extension cable to 1.5 foot cable to hub.


Black 7 Port USB 3 0 Hub on Off Switches AC Power Adapter Cable for PC Laptop | eBay

Total cable length becomes 16.5 feet which is 1/10 foot longer than max of 16.4 feet. Will that extra 1/10 feet length be too much length?

 

[sdowney717]

For a test, I strung together 3 extensions usb and plugged in a mouse. Total length is 19 feet.
The mouse works perfectly.
So, I wonder about this extension length specification.

 

[sdowney717]

Ok, now I un plugged the mouse and plugged in this usb keyboard.
It also is working fine.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

When you go past the specified maximum length, your maximum possible speed drops. signal strength also drops. Most keyboards and mice don't need maximum USB 2.0 speeds and signal strength which is why you were able to get away with the longer length.

 

[sdowney717]

I have read it is a timing issue, too long cable, usb is half duplex, has to wait for responses, so the time the signal takes between end points gets too great and it times out and stop responding. Reading about it, this is described as it just fails to work at all. So not a signal strength issue.

Frankly, I am surprised but pleased it worked. I ordered a 15 foot monoprice USB 2.0 extension cable and that powered hub 3.0.

 

[townsbg]

Note that without a usb 3.0 port on your computer you will only get usb 2.0 speeds even on a 3.0 hub. Also as stated you won't get full speeds with such a long cable. That won't matter with a keyboard and mouse but it could impact the use of external hard drives and thumb drives.

 

[sdowney717]

I know, that makes sense.
I need to connect a GPS, mouse, keyboard. That is it. I have a built in PC on our boat and had to move it. So needed longer cables.

 

[Wandering one]

Might work better to forget hub and pass three individual GOOD quality cables. With hub all have to use a single line.
Art,

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Note that without a usb 3.0 port on your computer you will only get usb 2.0 speeds even on a 3.0 hub. Also as stated you won't get full speeds with such a long cable. That won't matter with a keyboard and mouse but it could impact the use of external hard drives and thumb drives.

Totally off topic but I love your dancing banana!

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Might work better to forget hub and pass three individual GOOD quality cables. With hub all have to use a single line.
Art,

The keyboard and mouse probably would be able to share a single cable but adding a GPS could create bottle necks, in which case a second (Plan B) or a third (Plan C)USB cable may be needed.

Plan D would be an active extension cable like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GLZYG5...lid=3996BDCIT3UQP&coliid=I20U4H9EH2R3OR&psc=1

 

[sdowney717]

I have never owned or used a powered usb hub. Why have a 7 port hub if they don't work that well? I have about 15 feet to get to where it needs to be, then need to connect three usb devices. That just makes it much longer than 15 feet, more like 20 feet.

I need to find our camera and see how it works on this long 19 foot cable I put together.

I do have a PS2 keyboard. I can buy a 15 foot PS2 extension cable. Would that work ok?

I am running OpenCpn navigation program. Mostly the input is the GPS, the mouse will occasionally be moved, the keyboard much less than the mouse.

I have the LED mouse plugged into 19 feet of usb cable extensions and it is working great. The extensions are a real mix, one 6 foot usb 3.0 ext, two usb 2.0 cheapo extensions, a cheap 3$ mouse from amazon.

 

[sdowney717]

Might work better to forget hub and pass three individual GOOD quality cables. With hub all have to use a single line.
Art,

The keyboard and mouse probably would be able to share a single cable but adding a GPS could create bottle necks, in which case a second (Plan B) or a third (Plan C)USB cable may be needed.

Plan D would be an active extension cable like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GLZYG5...lid=3996BDCIT3UQP&coliid=I20U4H9EH2R3OR&psc=1

I saw that and also it is $7 on ebay. The reviews are all over the map on it. Significant negative numbers, specifically drops the connections, goes to sleep and wont awake, cant recognize device, works then wont work, then works, not enough power to run the device. So I then read the powered hub has a built-in better repeater I think.

If the cheap $3 usb 15 foot extender works fine, then I will have more choices, if the GPS has issues with the mouse.

I have never needed a usb hub in decades of computer usage.

 

[sdowney717]

This is getting real silly!
I plugged in an external harddrive in a 3.5 inch case self powered.
I plugged this into my cobbled together usb mixed up 19 foot cable.
Then I am playing a movie off the drive. It plays fine full screen too.
???
Not supposed to work, but it does work.

I would like an explanation if anyone knows one as to why it works fine.

 

[sdowney717]

ok, I managed to break it.!
It can play an avi movie fine.
It can not play a wtv file from WMP. I hear sound and see a terrible picture. The real test will be play that movie, run a gps, run a mouse run a keyboard all at same time. I will do that when these items arrive.

Well no, I did not manage to break it. I plugged in the drive with a very short 4 foot cable. And the WTV file is still not playing properly. It plays the same with 19 feet or 4 feet of usb cable. So file maybe damaged.

 

[townsbg]

If the hub has a power cable you need to be using it. If it isn't powered you need to get one that is because functionality and speed are limited if you don't.

 

[sdowney717]

Just updating. I plugged in an external hard drive with a 5 foot cable into the 15 foot cable and it works fine.

I bought that hub, and it works fine sort of. The hub however has an issue. Not all the ports work all the time even with just a short cable to the PC. I found out the USB micro B port into the hub has defects. It has an odd scratchy feel, does not feel right. Inserting it over and over, various ports work and others do not. My guess is the little contacts going into the hub are not lining up properly all the time so electrically it is hit or miss randomly.

Was quite a shock to plug it in and find half the ports did not work at all.

 

[townsbg]

If the hub has a power cable you need to be using it. If it isn't powered you need to get one that is because functionality and speed are limited if you don't.

Did you see this?

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

That silly, little, dancing banana is mesmerizing!

 

[townsbg]

Google it. There are a bunch.

 

[Eric3742]

This is getting real silly!
I plugged in an external harddrive in a 3.5 inch case self powered.
I plugged this into my cobbled together usb mixed up 19 foot cable.
Then I am playing a movie off the drive. It plays fine full screen too.
???
Not supposed to work, but it does work.

I would like an explanation if anyone knows one as to why it works fine.

Speed.
Not transferring of data; read &or write.
Power is minimum.

Watching movies files only required a small speed.
Consider as reading the hard disk only, without any writing on the hard disk.

Watching movie is similar to video streaming by broadband.
In broadband &or internet mobile data, to download movie, it take about, say 15 minutes,
but the movie is 100 minutes, hence the movie is store in the buffer.

USB do not just for data, it also a power-supply to many devices, charging mobile handset.
The power-hub do help in a way, do not required computer USB power.