How to Extend yout USB using UTP

When I connect the flash drive to the connector through the set up of USB over UTP to PC, the computer does not read the data from my flash drive device, why is that?

Most USB devices won't work with an extension that long without the aid of a USB powered hub. They use 5V provided by the computer, and the voltage drop over more than about 20 feet is enough to create a "USB device not recognized" by the PC. I Use webcams for security on my home, and have to use a powered hub or it won't pick the cams up. Try it.

 what if you use a USB "y" cable? that draws power from 2 ports, therefore doubling the power... am i correct on this?

Your cord must be too long then

Hi there. I already made up a 10M USB 2.0 cable and I thick I remember it works ok from the computer with a webcam. But I want a longer USB cable to use the webcam to take photographs about the house and outside.
Can I use this telephone cable. It has 4 wires and is used for the telephone but I am not sure if it is the same as the UTP cable.

The USB works in a way that theoretically limits any cable length to 16 feet, If I remember correctly, that includes the powered repeater cables too. I think they do have some usb to cat5 converter boxes, but thats way different from this instructable. This instructable will not work, it's not magic. with UTPs, you won't get much more than 15', thats my guess

i was tried using 15meter utp cable.but not works coz the power is drop down.

i've tried this a year ago... works great on my epson c59 printer..

I think u should use a powered usb hub to "amplify" the signal...
computer usb ports (specially usb front ports. they r 1.1 standards) can't read the data, from a flash drive or something similar...
maybe a hard drive?! I'm not sure

it's work for flash drive but i use with usb wireless 2.0 not work
how can i do next ?

It work on a 7 meters (23 feet) CAT6 cable! use a twisted pair for the D+ D- USB and another for the power (black and red on Usb cable)
I use it with a HD multimedia player at full speed (USB 2)

Tanks

i m from indonesia & i have try it..................so its good

mas Rian, saya mohon petunjuknya bagaimana membuat perpanjangan kabel usb, karena setelah saya membeli kabel perpanjangan yang 5 meter, ternyata setelah saya masukkan ke komputer tidak terdeteksi......saya mohon petunjuknya untuk menyelesaikan masalah terserbut, kemudian apa saja yang harus saya lakukan, karena saya membutuhkan kabel sepanjang 50 meter

what is UTP cable and where can I get it?

The wires of the Utb cable can you draw it more detalied to be connected the rightway

Just a quick point you could use a usb hub (with all the plastic stripped off) to regenerate the signal. So using the utp as well you could extend the cable theorectically to any length. You would need to remove the power socket on the hub and have a powerful enough 5v source. hmm i should create an instructable.

A have an idea put something like MAX3003 to the middle of long extension cable. This IC is a level translator between different voltage logic levels, but is possible to connect it as fast bidirectional repeater with automatic direction control.
In theory, input signal, which is "degraded" by passing long distance, should be "shaped" almost back to the original and sent to the output.
Order for this ICs is already placed for another project in my job, so I will test it.
Ofcourse, it will work ONLY for UBS 1.1, because bitrate limitation.

Is there a reason you bound those colors? Is red and blank on the USB - power and ground? I guess you want more copper (2 or 3 UTP wires) for power and ground than the signal wires?

I did something similar with DIY PoE to my roof.
Thanks- Great for USB webcams.

I suggest instead of using only one wire, use instead a pair for each usb pin, this will lessen the impedance, and grant good stability in connections.

I know better, I did a 50-feet cable like that, testing hard and exhaustively.

Using 2 Pairs for supply voltage is good idea. But do not use it for signal path.

Um, why not? If twisted pair is good for Ethernet TX / RX, why wouldn't be good for USB D+/D-?

For DC supply you need lownest possible resistance in path. So it is good idea use one pait as +5V and other pair as GND, AC charakteristic is not so important.
On other hand, we can almost omit currents in signal path, at least for USB, because there is no termination. For signal path parameters is important AC point of view. And in this case bigger "volume' of cable will make bigger condensator to charge/discharge -> bigger looses on higher frequencies.
So.. use 1 and half pair for +5V, another 1.5 pair for gnd and 1 pair for D+ and D-.

BTW. for 100Mbit ethernet
1 pair = TX+, TX-
1 pair = RX+, RX-
2 pairs unused (used for 1Gbit ethernet)

But as the theoretical limit of USB data signal wiring is 5 meters, we're trading loss in high frequency for stability, lessening the impedance.

Well, I'll test your suggestion anyway, because I'm having problems with different USB controllers, some do accept the extension over 10m, others don't get even 4m.

The alternate wiring using 1 pair and a half for +5 and GND functioned very well, kudos for you for the tip, Danicek.

Even in my EEEPc, where the pair wiring didn't worked after 2m, 10m using the alternate worked like a breeze with my mouse and mp4 player, as well as the Encore USB dongle.

I used this particular wiring colors:
Orange pair + White/Light Blue = +5
Maroon pair + Dark Blue = GND
Dark Green = +D
White/Light Green = -D

The +5 measured 5.05 with the mouse working, the alternate wiring kept the loss really down.

THIS WORKED PERFECTLY WITH MY BELKIN F5D8053 N BAND USB WIFI ADAPTOR AND OVER 35FT OF CAT 5 CABLE!!! I DID HAVE TO PLUG IT INTO MY USB 1.0 HUB AND NOT THE USB 2.0 PORTS ON MY DESKTOP TO GET IT TO WORK RIGHT . I HAVEN'T NOTICED ANY SIGNAL LOSS AND IT SAVED ME AT LEAST $50 IN CABLES AND USB REPEATERS. THANKS A LOT.

maybe someone should check also my solution to the problem using two thin coaxial lines/cables ... sorry , posts are not in english, but everything needed is on schematics marked to reproduce the solution : Here !

USB data signals are diferential. They are making a pair. Idea split them into 2 coaxial cables is not good. This will rapidly incrase parasitic capacitance.
I think you will get better results by using good quality twisted pair cable.
Idea with separate "on place" power suply is good. This will help you compensate voltage drop on longer line.

Yes, I know they are differential (to the gnd) & practically still are in my schematics! The differential lines are shielded, but NOT terminated to the ground on the line ...

That my suggested coax is 75ohm impedance, 55pF/m, 55ohm/km DC per inner wire & 10dB attenuation at 100MHz . A tipical UTP cable has 100ohm impedance, 50pF/m, 100ohm/km DC per inner wire & 20dB attenuation at 100MHz. ... With lesser impedance (one line Usb to the gnd is even less!) , capacitance matters less, with thicker wires there is less voltage drop & if you use a multiple of half wavelenght of that coax (basic Usb clock = 48MHz), you can extend the range even more, since that mirrors the impedance from one to another end of the line.

Well. I admit that using 2 coax-es is less practical than using a single cable like UTP for longer lines and popping on it a higher voltage to compensate voltage drop, but the signal will degenerate even before than using 2 coax-es. so its suggestible to use a hub after 20m of lenght anyway.

Yes, using UTP cable up to 15 m of lenght is easier ...

the circuit doesnt work, its only a 5 volts supply,

Yes it is bad designed 5V supply.
1. What is purpose in of +9V battery (supply) and D1?
2. Never put large electrolytic capacitor (100uF and more) to the output of 78xx. At the time of turn on, capacitor is empty and for some time can draw more than 1A of current. Onchip protection of 78xx will shutdown the stabilizer and restarts. This will produce oscilations in output voltage. It is better put some small tantal capacitor about 33uF to the output in parallel with ceramic 100nF decoupling capacitor, as close as possible to 78xx. Another 100nF capacitor should be connected to the input of 78xx.
Another thing. Do not forget fit suitable heatsink. In full load (standart USB 500mA) there will be 3.5W power loss ( (12V - 5V) * 0.5A ).

I don't know how usb cables look inside, the only difference i see possible, is that we have a twisted pair here. But what are they twisted with? Is it with the ground wire? In a usb connection, we have ground, 5V, Rx and Tx data lines. Since Rx and Tx are not differential signal pairs as in Ethernet, the twisting has a somewhat limited impact on the signal quality. This is only my theoretical judgement, i didn't try it.
The circuit shown in the intro is just a 5V power supply. This may help with usb devices using much power like harddrives, but it won't enhance signal quality.
You can get away with some usb extension, but i don't know to what extent. I once hooked a 5m extension to a 3m wifi stick holder and had no problems. This was usb 1.1 by the way.
But Hunag seems to use it, so why not give it a try if you need it. It won't cost much.

You are not right. There is no Tx and Rx wire in USB. Wires are +5V, Gnd, D+ and D-. D+ and D- ARE differential signals and twisting is important.

It Works !!
Although I only needed 14Mts… did not work until I connected the cable UTP CAT3 (Is possible that is better with the CAT6) directly to the card of the Webcam to omit the ferrite nucleus through which the cable original passes (In my case, the image was not deteriorated). Perhaps confución with the order of the connection of cables has appeared. They must be:
White/orange + orange to red
white to white
green to green
the rest to black

I tried it out with tho UTP wires connected at da same time but still it doesn't work is there any way out i'm using USB2.0 port.........................

I soldered the wires like it said to but put extra shrink tube on it and I used old ehernet cord..

Whatever I took a used ethernet cord and did what it said to do and it works.

Can anybody help me? I have bought an cat5e utp cable and and usb extension cord. I soldered green to green, orange/white & orange to red, and green/white to white. The remaining cables (blue/white, blue, black/white, black) I soldered to black. I also insulated them. My usb port in the computer used usb 2.0. Both the usb and the utp had uncoloured (that is to say they were bare) copper wires, I soldered those together and insulated them aswell.
Should I have soldered the bare copper wires to black aswell? Should I set my pc to usb 1? Should I not connect some wires to the black usb wire?
Please help!

How do you set your pc to usb 1 and 2?

Do you have to use all the wire in the UTP cord or can you just hook up four of them since there is only four wires in a USB cable and match the same colors on the opposite side and can you use round phone wire with the six wires in it insted of UTP?

Can you take the phone line that has six wires in it and take and use only four of them and solder it and hook it up the same way?

Don't you have to connect the wire mesh? because I know that it connects to the out side shell of the USB (the silver part )

you need a booster for a longer cable. or try to surf and look for an active extender.

Doesn't work at 2.0 ports... cuz' this configuration is 1.1 or something like that, i try it on old pc and works fine!! but not in port 2.0
:(

hello,i already follow your procedure for the usb extension using UTP,but i cannot make it detect as a 2.0 usb,coz ill use it with a 2.0 compatible devices.Please let me know if you have an answer for this.thank you

in my experience,USB 2.0 will talk USB 1.1 as well,and USB 1.1 can connect to USB 2.0 hosts.

I followed the instructions just as posted including "the circuit below".Checked everything 3 times.. I get "USB Device Not Recognized" for anything usb powered, I have a self powered (which I plug into electrical outlet) usb storage device which is recognized and works on the 25 ft 5e cable. what am I doing wrong....any suggestions?

ps...no wire are crossed ..followed everything to the letter..help ..please...

I've severed the bare copper wires and now it works!

The stupid thing is, the whole thing is very usb dependant. I have bought two of the same utp cables, and two different usb extention cables. One worked, one didnt. The one that didnt work was made after the one that worked. Both usb-cables had bare copper wires outside of the foil that wrapped the other cables (like I described earlier). I've also tried a usb-extender that didnt have such a wrapping or those copper wires, but that didnt work. These attempts were made after my succes with the other cables, so I do have the technique down. There are usb-extenders with something like a cilinder on it a few centimeters after the usb connector, which I think houses a microprocessor. I havent tried that kind yet. The error I get is: unknown usb device.

All in all this is a great instructable which can enable many fantastic ideas. I used it to make a underwater webcam. I used two alarmclocks, because they had a glass window. I drilled a small whole in the plastic housing of the alarm clock which would allow entry of the usb cable of the webcam. I then cut that cable and put one end through the hole and soldered both ends together again. I then soldered two leds to two batteries (AA) in parallel position and made their beams cross at the focus of the webcam. The batteries were just glued in there. My original intention was to work with usb powered leds, but then the webcam would have to be connected to a hub and the hub would need a power source and thats a bit difficult in a under water situation. I realise the batteries will die out, but then I can just replace/recharge them. I used aluminium foil to make sure all the light the led emitted was directed outward. (Read, I wrapped the leds in aluminium foil).
I used kit to make sure everything was sealed and then as an extra procaution I used liquid plastic around all the edges and possible openings.
That left me with two usb wires protruding from the webcam, which were connected to the usb/utp cable made according to the instructable described at this website. So I have two usb/utp cables coming from my pond to my pc. I use webcam monitoring software to view both webcams at the same time. There are several posibilities, if you type webcam at mininova.org you'll find a collection of the best suited software, which ofcourse you'll have to buy for yourself to be a legal owner. I mearly mentioned looking for suitable titles this way because typing in webcam software in google doesnt give you the results you want.

The making of the underwater webcam isn't my idea. The original concept came from this website: http://geektechnique.org/projectlab/694/how-to-make-a-cheap-submersible-webcam

My webcam differs in that it has lights and it actually has two webcams and isnt used in some aquarium but in a pond and so needs the utpusb cable solution.

The utpusb cable actually enables many fun ideas like putting a webcam in a birdbath or bird feeding stand in your garden and watching them up close.

Great job. Mine on the USB side didn't have red either, but a grey - which I substituted for the red connection.