USB cable question

[UCLAN]

I have a cordless mouse whose receiver plugs into a USB port in the back
of my mini-tower computer. Except when the batteries are new, I get
intermittent communication between the mouse and the receiver. I wish
to add a simple 3-foot extension cable to bring the receiver closer to
my mouse table.

Question: I see USB, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB A, USB B, with male and female
genders of all of them. Can anyone give me a quick breakdown on the
differences between these, and what cable I might need?

The mouse is a Logitech.

Thanks.

 

[Paul]

I have a cordless mouse whose receiver plugs into a USB port in the back
of my mini-tower computer. Except when the batteries are new, I get
intermittent communication between the mouse and the receiver. I wish
to add a simple 3-foot extension cable to bring the receiver closer to
my mouse table.

Question: I see USB, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB A, USB B, with male and female
genders of all of them. Can anyone give me a quick breakdown on the
differences between these, and what cable I might need?

The mouse is a Logitech.

Thanks.

In this picture, you can see an example of a very short extension
cable. This one was made, to avoid physical obstructions in the
I/O area of the computer. It comes with a CM108 USB audio device.

http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/29-128-002-08.jpg

If you use the "Cable plugs (USB 1.x/2.0)" table in the following
article, it looks like extension cables are supposed to have
one A and one B end. The USB A to USB A (receptacle) shown
in the above picture, is NS or "non-standard".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usb

In terms of cabling, USB2 type cable has a shield. Some cables
have a transparent outer plastic insulation, so that you can
admire the braided shielding underneath. That is a quick way to
verify you're getting USB2 cable. A USB2 cable is going to be
the most useful to you, in terms of reuse for other things.

The intent of the "USB A to USB B" cabling thing, is to
prevent people from chaining long lengths of cables
together, with multiple cables involved. That would
add a number of discontinuities from the connectors.

The solution to that, is "active cables". They have a
one port hub chip on the end, which regenerates
the USB packets and helps avoid problems. That
is a valid way to build a "USB A to USB A (receptacle)"
cable. Before chaining up to five of these, read the
reviews and see if any reviewer has done a chaining
test. Some devices unfortunately, fail the chaining
test. So they're not a panacea.

"VANTEC 16 ft. USB Active Repeater Cable Model CB-USBARC - Retail $10"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16812232008

Usage of the active repeater cable, may prevent the keyboard
from being used to change BIOS settings. Test it to be sure.
(You may already know whether this setup passes the BIOS test...)
In which case, finding a passive cable with USB A and USB A
receptacle, may be the only solution.

Paul

 

[UCLAN]

In this picture, you can see an example of a very short extension
cable. This one was made, to avoid physical obstructions in the
I/O area of the computer. It comes with a CM108 USB audio device.

http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/29-128-002-08.jpg

If you use the "Cable plugs (USB 1.x/2.0)" table in the following
article, it looks like extension cables are supposed to have
one A and one B end. The USB A to USB A (receptacle) shown
in the above picture, is NS or "non-standard".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usb

[...much interesting info snipped]

I will read all about 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, Type A, Type B, etc., but in the
meantime I was hoping to use something simple like

http://www.pacificcable.com/Picture_Page.asp?DataName=USBAAMF-3 or
http://www.pacificcable.com/Picture_Page.asp?DataName=S-EZUSB-AMF

Yes? No?

 

[Paul]

In this picture, you can see an example of a very short extension
cable. This one was made, to avoid physical obstructions in the
I/O area of the computer. It comes with a CM108 USB audio device.

http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/29-128-002-08.jpg

If you use the "Cable plugs (USB 1.x/2.0)" table in the following
article, it looks like extension cables are supposed to have
one A and one B end. The USB A to USB A (receptacle) shown
in the above picture, is NS or "non-standard".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usb

[...much interesting info snipped]

I will read all about 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, Type A, Type B, etc., but in the
meantime I was hoping to use something simple like

http://www.pacificcable.com/Picture_Page.asp?DataName=USBAAMF-3 or
http://www.pacificcable.com/Picture_Page.asp?DataName=S-EZUSB-AMF

Yes? No?

Yes, that appears to be a type A extension, the "non-standard" kind.
They're not supposed to make cables like that, but it appears you
can buy one. It's worth a shot, to see how much of an effect that
has on signal quality. I think the first item is better than the
second one.

I prefer to be able to verify they have a braided
shield, as proof the cable is really USB2.0 ready. Occasionally,
people get suckered into buying keyboard cables, which are no good
for USB2. Which is why I like the ones with transparent insulation
on the outside.

Paul

 

[UCLAN]

I have a cordless mouse whose receiver plugs into a USB port in the
back
of my mini-tower computer. Except when the batteries are new, I get
intermittent communication between the mouse and the receiver. I wish
to add a simple 3-foot extension cable to bring the receiver closer to
my mouse table.

Question: I see USB, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB A, USB B, with male and
female
genders of all of them. Can anyone give me a quick breakdown on the
differences between these, and what cable I might need?

The mouse is a Logitech.

Thanks.

In this picture, you can see an example of a very short extension
cable. This one was made, to avoid physical obstructions in the
I/O area of the computer. It comes with a CM108 USB audio device.

http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/29-128-002-08.jpg

If you use the "Cable plugs (USB 1.x/2.0)" table in the following
article, it looks like extension cables are supposed to have
one A and one B end. The USB A to USB A (receptacle) shown
in the above picture, is NS or "non-standard".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usb

[...much interesting info snipped]

I will read all about 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, Type A, Type B, etc., but in the
meantime I was hoping to use something simple like

http://www.pacificcable.com/Picture_Page.asp?DataName=USBAAMF-3 or
http://www.pacificcable.com/Picture_Page.asp?DataName=S-EZUSB-AMF

Yes? No?

Yes, that appears to be a type A extension, the "non-standard" kind.
They're not supposed to make cables like that, but it appears you
can buy one. It's worth a shot, to see how much of an effect that
has on signal quality. I think the first item is better than the
second one.

I see that A to A is non-standard in MALE to MALE cables, but they
*are* standard in MALE to FEMALE extenders. My only question remaining
is signal integrity with a simple/short extension cable, or if some
sort of active extension/repeater is needed. Hmmm...

 

[Paul]

I see that A to A is non-standard in MALE to MALE cables, but they
*are* standard in MALE to FEMALE extenders. My only question remaining
is signal integrity with a simple/short extension cable, or if some
sort of active extension/repeater is needed. Hmmm...

Cables can be at least as long as 5 meters and work. So that should
not be a problem. The advantage of the active cable, is regeneration
and isolation of one cable segment from another (for when you chain
them). The active cable may not be an advantage for a single cable,
since the signal on the end of a 5 meter passive cable would be
good enough to use.

There is a limit to the propagation delay, from host to most distant
peripheral, which helps define how much cabling/repeaters/active hubs
etc., can be used.

You can try the "Cables and Long-Haul Solutions" section here,
for some hints.

http://www.usb.org/developers/usbfaq/

The purpose of the shapes, is to help guide users in preparing
working wiring configurations. Next to my desk for example, is a
USB ZIP drive, with a B connector on it. The product comes with a
USB A to USB B cable, so I'm assured of wiring it up right by
virtue of the shapes. USB A on the back of the computer, USB B
on the peripheral.

A USB A male to USB A female, leave the possibility of a user
placing an infinite number of them in a chain. Then, that user
would be cursing the staff at USB.org, for writing a crappy
non-working standard. That is why normally, USB A to USB B
cables are what are provided. Because, given a room full of
USB A male to USB A female cables, most people would chain them
until they reached the back yard And they'd be most
disappointed with the results.

Paul

 

[PeeCee]

In this picture, you can see an example of a very short extension
cable. This one was made, to avoid physical obstructions in the
I/O area of the computer. It comes with a CM108 USB audio device.

http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/29-128-002-08.jpg

If you use the "Cable plugs (USB 1.x/2.0)" table in the following
article, it looks like extension cables are supposed to have
one A and one B end. The USB A to USB A (receptacle) shown
in the above picture, is NS or "non-standard".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usb

[...much interesting info snipped]

I will read all about 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, Type A, Type B, etc., but in the
meantime I was hoping to use something simple like

http://www.pacificcable.com/Picture_Page.asp?DataName=USBAAMF-3 or
http://www.pacificcable.com/Picture_Page.asp?DataName=S-EZUSB-AMF

Yes? No?

Yes.

I would just buy the plain cable & save the 3 bucks.

Paul.

 

[PeeCee]

snip

Yes, that appears to be a type A extension, the "non-standard" kind.

Look again.
They are Male to "Female" connections, it is Male to "Male" connections
that are non standard.

Snip.

P.