USB Hubs

[I.C.D (Ian)]

G'Day All,
Some nights I can go out all night and not have a problem and other times you name it , it will happen, camera's not connected,program not responding. Has this got to with the hub or should I be looking some were else for the fault and if it is the hub what is the best usb hub to buy

Ian C

[sil (Steve)]

Need more information. A decent powered hub (not a $5 ebay special from Hong Kong) should be fine. But could also be the number of usb stuff you have plugged in. Laptops rarely provide reliable voltage and power levels to their usb ports so a dedicated powered usb hub is a must. Are you running usb2 and usb 3 devices? often only one or two ports off the motherboard are fully usb3 . Also could be the machine is just full of malware garbage and not well maintained.

[I.C.D (Ian)]

G’Day Sil
I am running a Belken powered hub to the laptop I have 2 cameras and a focuser .The laptop is old Dell 1503 with windows 8 after trial and era I found which usb port was usb 2.Sometimes I can go all night and not have any trouble and other times the camera will not connect or fail to find the focuser or it comes up a driver era. I am running free AVG computer protection on this computer ,will this stop the malwear on my computer.The only times this computer goes on line is for up grades .If you have any suggestion please let know
Ian

[sil (Steve)]

AVG will not keep your computer clean, nor will any other Internet Security product. They can help against some things but not everything. The biggest risk is the organic peripheral (IE the person using the computer).

Anyway, your usb issues, I can only suggest at this stage to take note of the configuration that works well and what doesnt. That is which physical ports you use and what is plugged into them. You should have nothing running in the background when capturing either, no AVG, disable your laptop wifi. You dont even have to set up outside to test, you can do a heap of throwaway tests indoors to make sure the cameras etc are staying connected.

Make sure the usb connectors are firm in the sockets or else any slight movement on the cable can cause it to disconnect and reconnect. I would also try making sure both camera are plugged into the laptop and not the hub. Only you can find the stable setup for your gear, you have to test and see. Look around on the forum, others do things like attaching USB hubs and cabling to a board so its all solid and as their scopes slew the camera cables don't disconnect.

[I.C.D (Ian)]

Thanks mate I think you may have nail-it about the connection ,I have notice that when I am moving the scope that's when it happens ,it is shame you can't make the connection tighter like the the "D" connector where you screw them into place again thanks Ian

[sil (Steve)]

Cable ties, hot glue gun, its why others make a board that is fixed to the scope/mount and everything can be tied down so cables don't pull or get hooked on anything during slewing. Side by side dovetail adapters give you a good secure place to mount gear next to an OTA.