Hello,
I am considerinf extending the connection I have from my computer to the scope USB hub and am wondering if anyone has experienced any communication problems doing so. Thanks,
Farzad
Farzad,
I have been using a 10 meter USB 3 Extension cable for some time and have had no troubles with it…
(I have no particular loyalty to this brand… but I know that it works because I use it.) There is on important note, however… communications break down in the cold. If the temperature drops below about 0 C then communications with my SBIG camera becomes extremely unreliable. Someone advised me that this is because the [cheap] oscillators in these relatively inexpensive cables become unstable at low temperatures. I’ve solved this for myself by using reptile tank heaters, (slightly more robust than dew heaters), to keep the hub and the repeater circuit embedded in the bulge in the cable warm on cold evenings. In the summer it works without any troubles.
This cable has the capability of adding a power supply to it as well, and reportedly that is required if you daisy chain two of them together. I bought the power supply, but have not used it till yet; I do not daisy chain it with any other cable.
Your milage may vary.
Best of luck, clear skies,
Karl
Thanks, I will keep this in mind.
Farzad
…and I do suspect temperature drop is a source of the problem that I am experiencing. I am considering heating the system up as well. I have not heard from any Nikon user saying they do or do not have issues with tethering in cold temperatures so I am not sure if that is the cause. Also I am not sure if the power coming from upstream into the camera could be an issue.
As far as cords go…
I used to use a USB to Ethernet converter that worked fine and it would do 100 meters. I have now gone to a local PC at the observatory for other reasons (ability to use different PCs in the house) but you might consider one of those.
Also, and I have not tried these, Corning makes some optical USB cables that go long distances:
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