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USB signal repeater

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lynx

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Hi

i want to build a USB signal booster so i can extend a usb cable over 10m.
from what i can imagine what i need is a fast and low noise op-amp and
maybe a dc to dc converter because i want it to be self-powered from
the USB power supply.

can somebody help me with what exactly i have to choose
concerning components and maybe a little bit with the schematic?

P.S i don't care for a ready made USB repeater
 
Just a quick and dirty reply-
On boats we use what's called an active USB lead -up to 5 off 5M cables can be daisy chained
**broken link removed**
 
Last edited:
hi

thanks for your reply, but no..what i want to do is
to build my own active usb cable and not to buy a ready made.


hmmm just now i've noticed that the problem with the long USB cables isn't
the voltage or current...it's a timing issue there's a maximum allowed round-trip
delay of about 1,500 ns how can i overcome that?
 
Last edited:
hi

thanks for your reply, but no..what i want to do is
to build my own active usb cable and not to buy a ready made.


hmmm just now i've noticed that the problem with the long USB cables isn't
the voltage or current...it's a timing issue there's a maximum allowed round-trip
delay of about 1,500 ns how can i overcome that?

You buy one - they are dirt cheap to buy, why spend MORE money trying to build an inferior one?.
 
You buy one - they are dirt cheap to buy, why spend MORE money trying to build an inferior one?.


hi

could you please help me learn how i can do my own active cable
rather buying one? i want to learn how these active cable function
without an external power supply, and then i want to build one.

thanks! :)
 
hi

could you please help me learn how i can do my own active cable
rather buying one? i want to learn how these active cable function
without an external power supply, and then i want to build one.

I've no idea, and probably no one here has - because it's so pointless - presumably the commercial ones use custom designed chips that you couldn't obtain.

If you want to make one, then buy a commercial one and strip the chip out of it, then connect it yourself.
 
Hi,

Yeah it's a shame that these things are not as easy to build as a speaker extension cord or extension cord for your electric coffee maker :)
The real problem is that the signal flow can be in either direction. That complicates everything immensely. There has to be some intelligence built into the extension to understand the protocol properly and react accordingly. It's like a little computer system in its own right.
Motherboards also got pretty complex from what they used to be in the past. I had done a few of these myself in the past but the newer ones are just to complex to handle at home. That's the way many things have gotten over the years. You need a manufacturing plant to produce these things.
I've also built my own USB to RS232 converter, and even that was a big pain not worth doing. Much simpler to buy one even at somewhat increased cost.

There's also the USB to network cable and back again solution. That might slow everything down though.
 
I've also built my own USB to RS232 converter, and even that was a big pain not worth doing. Much simpler to buy one even at somewhat increased cost.

Except buying one is likely to be MUCH cheaper, not more expensive - I've recently bought them for only £0.97 each, including P&P.
 
Hi Nigel,

Wow that is a good price. Lowest i have found was something like 15 USD.
 
Hi again,


Very nice, i ended up buying an RS232 card eventually. Takes up a PCI slot however.
 
Hi Nigel,

No? Oh ok, well i thought they all had at least one slot but perhaps they are tending away from the PCI and more towards the Express 16x slots. I just saw a nice mother board earlier today that had something like 5 Express slots and only one PCI. Mine has 2 or 3 PCI and only 2 Express 16 and 2 express 1 slots. I think they also make RS232 cards for the Express slots too though now, i'll have to check on that.
I still use RS232 sometimes because i have a nice 4 channel volt meter that works with that interface, so i have to have at least 1 RS232 one way or another :)
 
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