USB extenders for projector?

[Stuka]

I am seriously considering installing my FB3 inside the housing on my first projector. If I do, I was thinking about using 2 or 3 of these to connect the FB3 USB port to my laptop:

http://www.usbgear.com/computer_cabl...02%2C120%2C137

Any one familiar with these (or similar) devices that would be willing to comment on their suitabilty for connecting the FB3 to a laptop?

Thanks!

[allthatwhichis]

I heard that USB cables were not sheilded and can pick up noise if they are over 6 feet...

[Francesco]

I did use other USB extenders up to 30meter.
It works, but I stopped using it because of sability.
Now I use good quality ILDA cable up to 100meter.
Don't have a FB3, so can't thell if that will work.

[Banthai]

I have used USB extenders that have a USB port that connects using CAT 5 ethernet cable, and will extend for 100 ft , i was told that if you use Cat5 cable that has screened pairs you can double that distance.

but the cheap ones i have seen are only USB 1 not USB 2

but i guess that should be ok for FB3


all the best ... Karl

[wes]

you could go wireless.
we have the pc with the laser with a short cable and go wireless from the laptop to the pc.

[Laser Ben]

That's what I have now, there is about a 1 second delay when I click the "Blackout" button though....

[wes]

i'll ask keith what,exactly,we are using.
it's very fast.
he's a busy guy,and i don't see him except at our shows,but i'll email him and get info to you.
peace,
wes

[wes]

o.k,this means nothing to me but keith tells me this is what we use for our wireless.

802.11G with terminal services.
i remember buying a new antena/(router?) too.

[dave]

That's what I have now, there is about a 1 second delay when I click the "Blackout" button though....

You should really be running a separate shutter control, regardless of how you are controlling your laser...

[Stuka]

Hey everyone -

Since I started this thread, I thought I would share some additional info I just found out concerning the use of USB extenders with the Pangolin FB3. This comes from Ante Uglesic, a Pangolin associate in Europe who has done considerable research into the subject. Given the potential hazards of our hobby / business, I thought this info would be good to know for ANY brand of laser controller that would be connected to the computer via USB. Here's his reply:
************************************************** *
Flashback is able to operate at either full or hi speed, but hi speed is
recommended.
However, when we are talking about extenders, there is a lot of crap
outthere, on the market, and you can't tell if it will work or not, until
you test it. You also must know that even though, these guys often claim, it
will work with 30, 50 or even 100m of CAT5 cable, this is not really the
case. Some of these extenders have absolutely no data integrity checking,
which might be ok for a mouse, but certainly not for a laser projector.
Also, most of these extenders do not compensate for a round-trip delay, and
would sometimes cause timeouts, that would in turn cause a connection loss.
In addition, these products are unable to support the full complement of USB
hubs because they consume the delay budget that is allocated to each hub in
a chain. So, at the bottom line, these extenders might work or not, and,
even worse, they might sometimes work, and sometimes not. The only safe
solution to extend the USB is using USB hubs. Since each USB hub can drive
5m of cable, you can chain several USB hubs, in order to extend the USB line
even further. However, this can't go unlimited. I think that USB standard
allows maximum 5 USB hubs in a chain. You might find a, so called 'active
extender', which is essentially just a simple USB hub with only one host
port. This is ok, but no better than just any other USB hub, but sometimes
they sell it for far more money than ordinary hubs. Also, there are certain
devices, called 'USB over IP', which might look nice, but they might not
work ok with Flashback under all circumstances. When Flashback works in so
called 'direct feed' mode (e.g. during editing the frame), it needs a lot of
bandwidth, which these devices cannot offer, due to heavy overhead within
protocol translation. It will essentially work, but every while, the
Flashback will run out of data, and close the shutter, for a while, and than
proceed, and so on.

Well, this is pretty much the story about the USB extenders.

Hope you will find the suitable solution that will work for you.

Note that, if you really have to use a simple extender, I would suggest you
to never come even near to its specified maximum cable length. I would say,
half of the specified length is something, you should never exceed.

Ante Uglesic
Pangolin Team
************************************************** *

I'm convinced! It sounds like you need to keep the USB controllers within a single extension length to be on the safe side. Beyond that, it sounds like a remote connection to the computer itself would be the way to go, as others have already suggested.

Thanks to all who chimed in on this!

Randy