Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

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Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Merlin66 »

Are there any recommendations for reliable 5 mtr USB3 cables??

I'm using the ASI 178MM and a "hot" MSI Gaming laptop with SSD drive.

I used the Cable Creation active cable for almost a year, but it then failed.
I've tried various eBay cables but they bombed out at 25 fps. I need to have around 200 fps (200 MB/s) or better.


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by rsfoto »

Hi Ken,

Unfortunately that is how real life works with these active USB cables.

I bought already 3 different brands and each one failed.

It is a Trial & Error exercise and means spending money until you find one ...

Try maybe Tripplite, Belkin, Ugreen, Manhattan or Startech. BTW I have two Startech at the moment and one failed ... The Startech comes with a 5V power supply ...

Happy New Year 2022

Rainer

https://www.amazon.com.mx/s?k=USB+3.0+a ... _sb_noss_2


regards Rainer

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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Rob63 »

I have been using a Club 3D USB 3.2 Gen1 15m Active Repeater Cable for about 2 years.
connected to my main PC then exits the house via an air vent and is stored in a waterproof box so the fact that it still works flawlessly is pretty impressive. (temps range from 30c to -10c here).
It has mostly been used for DSO but I get >100fps from the ASI174MM when doing solar as well as running the mount & focuser via a startech industrial USB hub.

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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by thesmiths »

I played around with long USB cables and finally decided to take the opposite approach. Put a mini PC or laptop near the camera and then connect to the remote computer with Remote Desktop or TeamViewer. From the remote computer, you can also control the mount with EQ Mod. It's a great solution for both daytime and night time.

On a different computer related issue, I recently noted that an external USB-C NVMe SSD is actually faster than an internal SATA 3 SSD. That frees up the laptop storage and allows it to be more "portable" (for desktop processing, archiving, etc).


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Merlin66 »

I use a local Laptop/ Team viewer for the observatory setup.
The solar scope and mount is just outside the office door - just needs the 5mtr connection.


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by EGRAY_OBSERVATORY »

Morning ken and a H.N.Y.

Yes there have been reported numerous 5M USB problems of which I have at least one failed..
You might get a result with using two un-powered 3-metre USB-3 un-powered cables, but whether the speed is sufficient - is trial and error.

Without going-out to the main-obsy to check what the Oculus long USB cable is and length, but believed in excess of 5metres to the Pro computer is and has been working very well over a year.

Also the 3-light scopes with their 2 X ASI178MM & 1X ASI120MC-S cams, using their supplied USB-3 leads into a 5v powered 4-way Hub fitted to the stand and then from the hub is a 3-metre USB-3 to the computer's USB-3 port.
All cameras work quite happily together as sending data with that method and in fact all can be seen simultaneously on the screen...
(The computer [not laptop] is a profession hi-spec unit with every possible port available + 8-USB's as 2 & 3 each)...

As Rainer correctly states - "Unfortunately that is how real life works with these active USB cables." with the word ACTIVE being the case...

Best Wishes
Terry


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Simon2940 »

Look up a company called Newnex, I have a USB3 cable from them that is 16ft long and i get max speeds out of it. Only problem, their cables are hard to find and stupid expensive :cry:

Ive attached some pics of the cables.
PXL_20211224_023909419.jpg
PXL_20211224_023909419.jpg (1.41 MiB) Viewed 2127 times
PXL_20211224_024304551.jpg
PXL_20211224_024304551.jpg (1.78 MiB) Viewed 2127 times
Also, this PDF has a list of companies that make USB cables that have been approved by USB standards, StarTech is another good company to look into as well.

Also, if you super bored while waiting on clouds to part, read this:

https://www.pshinecable.com/article/wha ... mean-.html

This tells you what the numbers on a cable mean and how to identify if a cable is going to work or not.




Merlin66 wrote: Thu Dec 30, 2021 10:55 pm Are there any recommendations for reliable 5 mtr USB3 cables??

I'm using the ASI 178MM and a "hot" MSI Gaming laptop with SSD drive.

I used the Cable Creation active cable for almost a year, but it then failed.
I've tried various eBay cables but they bombed out at 25 fps. I need to have around 200 fps (200 MB/s) or better.


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by EGRAY_OBSERVATORY »

Thanks Simon for this useful web-link and if either Mark or Alexandra read this, perhaps can be copied to the Solar Reference Library, as could well be useful for future reference as "USB CABLE DATA".

Terry


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Merlin66 »

simon et al,
Good information but it doesn't qualify a cable as being "fully USB3" capable in real life situations.
If you Google - How to test the speed of a USB3 cable? you'll find the "test" very dependent on the hardware being used.

All the cables I've tried are quoted to be "USB 3.0 is up to 4.8 Gbps (10 x faster than USB 2.0; 400 times faster than USB 1.1)
Mulit-Layer Shielding to guarantee a stable, error free connection between your devices."

My application is a connection between a fast frame Cmos camera and a "hot shot" MSI Gaming computer - very fast! i7 with SSD.

With one cable - 25fps max, each frame 1.6 Mb, so running at 41 Mb/s (too slow for my application!)

using another 3m USB3 cable (from my wife's printer) - 196 fps each frame 1.4 Mb, so running at 274 Mb/s (this is acceptable)

It seems actually getting the high frame rate required for the SHG with any 5 mtr USB3 cable is problematic.


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Simon2940 »

Not sure what I can say to that, other than to check who makes the cable, again, i had the 16ft cable getting high speeds, 75fps on the 174mm 16-bit and 130 fps on 8-bit using an ASUS laptop no other hub.

I have come across many cables that claim to be rated to be specific rates only to find they dont work as intended. Thats how i discovered this list of approved vendors (Even Starlight Xpress is listed!!).
Merlin66 wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 12:36 am simon et al,
Good information but it doesn't qualify a cable as being "fully USB3" capable in real life situations.
If you Google - How to test the speed of a USB3 cable? you'll find the "test" very dependent on the hardware being used.

All the cables I've tried are quoted to be "USB 3.0 is up to 4.8 Gbps (10 x faster than USB 2.0; 400 times faster than USB 1.1)
Mulit-Layer Shielding to guarantee a stable, error free connection between your devices."

My application is a connection between a fast frame Cmos camera and a "hot shot" MSI Gaming computer - very fast! i7 with SSD.

With one cable - 25fps max, each frame 1.6 Mb, so running at 41 Mb/s (too slow for my application!)

using another 3m USB3 cable (from my wife's printer) - 196 fps each frame 1.4 Mb, so running at 274 Mb/s (this is acceptable)

It seems actually getting the high frame rate required for the SHG with any 5 mtr USB3 cable is problematic.


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Merlin66 »

Simon,
What/ where is the PDF you mention?


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Simon2940 »

Woooops

https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files ... 1121_0.pdf


Merlin66 wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 3:19 am Simon,
What/ where is the PDF you mention?


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Merlin66 »

Simon,
Sorry mate. I don't understand the significance of listing 266 pages of Vendors?????


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Merlin66 »

Checking your list against some of the popular brand names in Australia....
LINDY is missing
Comsol is missing
CableCreation is missing
Alogic and Comsol make the list.


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Simon2940 »

It's a definitive list of approved manufacturers that do not cut corners. Since everyone is in different parts of the world, having a complete list makes sense.

In any case, the point i am making is there are too many cowboy companies trying to make a dishonest living by selling sub-standard products. We are all too quick to blame the product but not the item that connects it together. I have found in multiple situations when something isn't working right, it's down to the wire. (Like what i did there? :lol:)

I even pay attention to the logos on the USB headers that have an SS-> logo which is a blatant copy. In some cases, i've even discovered that the extra pins aren't even connected! That's why in the previous posts I attached an image of the cable itself that has printed on the wire itself, Super Speeds. Of course it doesn't prevent someone faking it but from a cost to make and print, a crook is less likely to waste the effort in spending money on printing on cable. Interestingly, it's not cheap to do it! The machine that does it, cannot be purchased generally, and i don't even want to know how much it costs!
Merlin66 wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 10:06 pm Simon,
Sorry mate. I don't understand the significance of listing 266 pages of Vendors?????


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Simon2940 »

FYI, CableCreation doesnt manufacture anything, they buy their parts from China and are often known to be inferior. They show up in gas stations, amazon and whatever retailer is willing to carry them. This is the way consumerism is in this world today. I've been dealing with cables from audio, to electrical to video to know who does what and what is what.
Merlin66 wrote: Fri Jan 07, 2022 1:00 am Checking your list against some of the popular brand names in Australia....
LINDY is missing
Comsol is missing
CableCreation is missing
Alogic and Comsol make the list.


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Merlin66 »

Simon,
I hear you....
All I can say is the CableCreation active 5 mtr cable outlasted all the others I tried and died a year later.


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Re: Reliable USB3 5 Mtr cable???

Post by Simon2940 »

Look after it! :D
Merlin66 wrote: Tue Jan 11, 2022 11:54 pm Simon,
I hear you....
All I can say is the CableCreation active 5 mtr cable outlasted all the others I tried and died a year later.


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