active usb cable for chat 150

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idefaye
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Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 9:29 am

active usb cable for chat 150

#1

Post by idefaye »

We've bought and used the chatattach 150. It works very well directly connected to a PC. But we've run into issues when trying to set a permanent installation for a conference room, which happens to be the high council room.

Basically the PC of the video conference is about 30ft away from the table. So we did a permanent installation using an active USB cable such as this one : http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=1 ... 1&format=2

Unfortunatly it seems chat 150 equipment is not compatible. I contacted Clearone support and they said they only tested with this : http://www.gefen.com/kvm/ext-usb2.0-lr.jsp?prod_id=5529
It is a very very very expensive equipment and, should I have known earlier, we might have not acquired chatattach all together.

Does anyone has experience with something else to extend usb cable theorical length limit and still having it work correctly with chat 150 ?
We are looking for an affordable solution.
russellhltn
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Location: U.S.

Re: active usb cable for chat 150

#2

Post by russellhltn »

I'm not sure how the cable plays into this. I wonder if your PC's port doesn't have enough power to run the active extension and the chat. You might want to experiment with different ports and different computers (avoid laptops) just to see if you can get it t work.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

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idefaye
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Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 9:29 am

Re: active usb cable for chat 150

#3

Post by idefaye »

I have tested the webcam on the same cable and on the same pc (desktop) port and it works. But it does not work for chat 150.
So may be the active cable does not repeat greatly the signal, in that case we could acquire a new one, but before buying one, I'd like to see if anyone as experimented with a functional scenario. Or determine if the issue is rather with the chat 150 equipment.
idefaye
New Member
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 9:29 am

Re: active usb cable for chat 150

#4

Post by idefaye »

Here is more information on the scenarios tested :
- the chatattach 150 are plugged with the power supply and the usb port
- tried with just one chat 150 or both
- tried removing the power supply with just one chat 150
- tried several ports of one desktop and one laptop (in both cases the webcam works with the same cable but not the chat 150)

When the usb is plugged in, the red lights (on chat 150) flickers blue and return red. The Pc (win7) says the equipment could not be recognized or may be faulty, but it does work if plugged directly without the active cable.
russellhltn
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Posts: 34418
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:53 pm
Location: U.S.

Re: active usb cable for chat 150

#5

Post by russellhltn »

So the chat 150 is getting external power? Because what I'm seeing is that the device is specified for 500mA at 5V and USB 1 (and 2) has a maximum rating of 500mA - which leaves nothing for the active cable to power itself. Nor does it leave anything for any power loss in the cable.

The Gefen uses external power sources to run the repeater and even the USB device. So it's not trying to send power down the line.

My best suggestion is to look for an active USB repeater that also uses external power - or at least can use multiple USB ports to draw more power.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
idefaye
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Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 9:29 am

Re: active usb cable for chat 150

#6

Post by idefaye »

@russellhltn
Thanks for you reply, I will look for this kind of cable and will post my results here when I am able to test with it.

The chatAttach 150 is powered because you have two chat 150, so they need to have an external power (you can look at the datasheet here: http://www.clearone.com/uploads/resourc ... ach150.pdf). The thing is, they are both powered, so I am not 100% sure the usb power is an issue here.
The pc notices there is something pluged in, but cannot find what, it's as if whatever the chat 150 is sending into the usb line is being lost or the signal is not strong enough.
russellhltn
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Posts: 34418
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:53 pm
Location: U.S.

Re: active usb cable for chat 150

#7

Post by russellhltn »

idefaye wrote:The pc notices there is something pluged in, but cannot find what, it's as if whatever the chat 150 is sending into the usb line is being lost or the signal is not strong enough.
That's one interpretation, but another is that it crashes when it tries to suck power and comes up short.

If you can find a powered hub that uses external power, you can try putting that between the extension cable and the chat 150.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
idefaye
New Member
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 9:29 am

Re: active usb cable for chat 150

#8

Post by idefaye »

We have performed several tests so far. It seems the problem is located on the cable. We could not always get a reliable connection even with a webcam using this cable. It seems the speaker works if the cable as a length bellow 18 Ft, but over it fails. Alas, we need 21Ft.
We may try with another cable, I will let you know here how things advance and if we find cables work better than others.
idefaye
New Member
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 9:29 am

Re: active usb cable for chat 150

#9

Post by idefaye »

We have solved the issue by changing cable. Alas, in our tests we fried one of the chat150 and cannot have it replaced.
This topic can now be closed
mrcragun
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Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:07 pm

Re: active usb cable for chat 150

#10

Post by mrcragun »

I am interested if anyone using Chat 150 has found an active cable solution that will allow the extension in the 20 to 25 feet range that is not expensive as the converter referenced earlier (http://www.gefen.com/kvm/ext-usb2.0-lr.jsp?prod_id=5529)?
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