Small usb port extender?
July 31, 2010 11:31 AM Subscribe
I've got a couple of rackmounted machines and I'd like to gain better access to the USB ports on the back of them. I'd like a one-to-one extension of up to four ports.
It's a real hassle trying to wiggle an arm in there to get to the ports. Even with the cable managment arms. I don't have any free drive openings on the fronts of the cases.
I'd prefer not to use a hub because of various compatibility issues.
I'm wondering if anyone makes an extender of some sort that would plug into the back ports bring that out to the front. I'd be willing to put up with just using double-sided tape to fix them in place. I've used regular usb male-to-female extension cables but they're a bit messy and tend to add to the already tangled mass behind the machines.
Granted, it's an oddball sort of question, but perhaps someone's made such a thing?
It's a real hassle trying to wiggle an arm in there to get to the ports. Even with the cable managment arms. I don't have any free drive openings on the fronts of the cases.
I'd prefer not to use a hub because of various compatibility issues.
I'm wondering if anyone makes an extender of some sort that would plug into the back ports bring that out to the front. I'd be willing to put up with just using double-sided tape to fix them in place. I've used regular usb male-to-female extension cables but they're a bit messy and tend to add to the already tangled mass behind the machines.
Granted, it's an oddball sort of question, but perhaps someone's made such a thing?
NewEgg Results for USB Extension Cable
Lots of these out there.
posted by Rendus at 11:44 AM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]
Lots of these out there.
posted by Rendus at 11:44 AM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]
Or better yet, monoprice has a bunch of usb extensions (and almost any other cable you can think of) at a great price.
posted by bsdfish at 12:13 PM on July 31, 2010
posted by bsdfish at 12:13 PM on July 31, 2010
According to the spec, USB 2 cables cannot exceed 5 meters. If the cable is longer than that, there are timing issues. If you need the cable to be longer than that, you have to put a hub in the middle.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 1:28 PM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 1:28 PM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]
I've used regular usb male-to-female extension cables but they're a bit messy and tend to add to the already tangled mass behind the machines.
I don't get it -- I do this with USB extension cables for a computer case without front ports and it works great. How does an extension cable make a mess behind the machine any more than any other type of cable? Coil up the slack if it's an issue, and tape/clamp the female end to the front/top of the case. Are you looking for something that's explicitly rack/panel mounted?
posted by Rhomboid at 4:17 PM on July 31, 2010
I don't get it -- I do this with USB extension cables for a computer case without front ports and it works great. How does an extension cable make a mess behind the machine any more than any other type of cable? Coil up the slack if it's an issue, and tape/clamp the female end to the front/top of the case. Are you looking for something that's explicitly rack/panel mounted?
posted by Rhomboid at 4:17 PM on July 31, 2010
Response by poster: If you're just talking about one cable it's no big deal. But if you want to bring four of them up it tends to be a hassle. Something that had a pigtail of four at the back and then a single cable to the front would be ideal. I didn't say it wasn't oddball, just wondered if anyone had created such a thing.
The distance involved is typically no more than 2 feet. I've pushed USB to long lengths but that's not the issue here.
Yes, monoprice is a great source of decent quality cables at reasonable prices. Their customer service is great, especially when the mistake was on my end. They just re-shipped me the right cables instead (it being cheaper to just keep the ones already delivered). Gotta love that.
Oh well, just figured I'd ask.
posted by wkearney99 at 5:39 PM on July 31, 2010
The distance involved is typically no more than 2 feet. I've pushed USB to long lengths but that's not the issue here.
Yes, monoprice is a great source of decent quality cables at reasonable prices. Their customer service is great, especially when the mistake was on my end. They just re-shipped me the right cables instead (it being cheaper to just keep the ones already delivered). Gotta love that.
Oh well, just figured I'd ask.
posted by wkearney99 at 5:39 PM on July 31, 2010
Well they do sell bulkhead/panel mount style extensions, so you could buy four of those and gang them together with zip ties. If you're handy with a drill and some files you can fabricate the panel part out of some aluminum sheet stock pretty quickly, or if it's just going to be sitting on top of some other gear you could even mount them in thick card stock.
posted by Rhomboid at 6:25 PM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Rhomboid at 6:25 PM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]
Possibly little known fact: if you know any Mac sysadmins, it's dollars to donuts they have a bin of USB cable extenders which they would love to give away. Apple encourages the user to daisy-chain peripherals (mouse to keyboard to monitor to tower), so they build shorter cords into their keyboards and mice and ship them with extenders.
posted by d. z. wang at 9:01 PM on July 31, 2010
posted by d. z. wang at 9:01 PM on July 31, 2010
Ah, but there's a catch with the Apple USB extension cables- they come with a nub built into the female end that makes them incompatible with any non-Apple peripheral. So even though they tend to be thinner, more manageable cables, you won't be able to use them with anything but Apple keyboards and Apple mice.
That's always pissed me off.
posted by aaronbeekay at 10:40 PM on July 31, 2010
That's always pissed me off.
posted by aaronbeekay at 10:40 PM on July 31, 2010
...I'm speechless. I mean, this is just dumb. Is this really the same company that crammed a power supply into the mac mini while simultaneously shaving half an inch off its two-inch height?
posted by d. z. wang at 12:31 AM on August 1, 2010
posted by d. z. wang at 12:31 AM on August 1, 2010
Response by poster: @rhomboid is on the right track. I just noticed one brand motherboard I've been using has a 4-port USB card slot interface. The sort designed to bring internal USB ports out to the back of the machine. One of them uses a 4-port connector just like the one rhomboid suggested. Unfortunately, for my oddball need, the connector on them is a DIP header, not a regular USB plug. I suppose I could splice something together.
So there's no real solution to my question, but that's OK.
As for Apple and dumb, ooooooh yeah. All sorts of insanity in recent years. It's a damned shame to see the company that once lead the charge for open-ness travel down such a dark path.
posted by wkearney99 at 12:24 PM on August 30, 2010
So there's no real solution to my question, but that's OK.
As for Apple and dumb, ooooooh yeah. All sorts of insanity in recent years. It's a damned shame to see the company that once lead the charge for open-ness travel down such a dark path.
posted by wkearney99 at 12:24 PM on August 30, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by wkearney99 at 11:34 AM on July 31, 2010