USB

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Q&A 1

Adam S from Birmingham asks:
How long can a USB cable be if it is connected straight from my device to my pc?

EuroNetwork Answer: The USB (1) specification states that for a cable to run at maximum speed between two devices it should not exceed 5 metres in length, regardless of build or part quality.

Q&A 2

Ellen F from Kidderminster asks:
Why does my cable have to be less than 5m to achieve the best speed?

Euronetwork Answer: When the USB range of cables was originally designed, a initial decision was made to encase the cable so that it lost no data up to a length of 4 metres and that there would be no transferral or interference between this cable and other devices. As USB was initially intended for a desktop environment the lack of interference with other devices and cabling was crucial to the success of the design, the range limitations of 4 - 5 metres were deemed acceptable without a detrimental effect on the signal quality.

Q&A 3

Samuel K from East London asks:
How far from my PC can my USB device be?

Euronetwork Answer: With the maximum of 5 decent quality USB hubs connected with the maximum of 5 metre cables and a 5 metre cable going from the final USB hubs to your high speed device (a total of approximately 30 metres).

Q&A 4

Chris J from Weymouth asks:
Can I connect my 2 PC's together using USB? If so how?

Euronetwork Answer: You need a specialized USB cable commonly known as a USB bridge cable to do this. Simply plugging a standard USB cable from one PC to another can have extremely harmful results for both machines.

Q&A 5

Shelia T from Bromsgrove asks:
Is there any way I can use USB to connect my printer to both machines?

Euronetwork Answer: The simplest and best common solution is just to plug the printer into the PC which needs to use it first. Or if the PC's are linked through a hub and there is a spare connection then plug into that and set the same printer as the default in your computers control panel.

Q&A 6

Leslie K from Lancaster asks:
Can I use a USB plug and play printer on a network?

Euronetwork Answer: Once you have a complete USB network between a few machines add the printer to one (usually better off being the primary or admin PC) then set that PC's to share the printer with others on the network. Then again go to all the others and set up the printer as you normally would.

USB Specifications

The Original USB 1.1

First released in the mid 90's, the original USB 1.0 standard offered data rates of approx 1.5 Mbps. The USB 1.1 standard followed quite shortly after with two data rates (speed of file transfer): up to 12 Mbps for devices such as disk drives that need a constant high-speed connection throughout and 1.5 Mbps for devices such as usb stick pens and game controllers which needed significantly less speed.

Newer Spec USB 2.0

At the end of 2001 a newer specification of USB ( USB 2.0 ), also called Hi-Speed USB 2.0, was introduced to the market. It increased the data transfer rate for PC to USB device significantly, reaching speeds uf up to 480 Mbps, 40 times faster than the more dated USB 1.1 specification. With the increased bandwidth running extreemly high throughout peripherals such as digital cameras, CD burners and video equipment could now be connected simply and instantly with USB. It also allowed for multiple high-speed devices to run on one pc or Mac simultaneously.