As the title says really. I have 3 x 5m usb extension leads, the kind with the repeater box on them. (3 of these: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/5m-Ne...ter-NLUSB2-EXT)
I presume the active repeater thingy takes power from the 5v USB supply, but had assumed it would be fairly minimal (windows seems to see each lead as a generic usb hub). I have an old USB hub that can be powered, but I seem to have lost the power supply for it. I understood though that you could usually run them un-powered if you were only using low power things plugged in.
I'm only plugging in a mouse and a remote control - I'm using the tv in the kitchen as a second monitor for pc in the study so I can watch stuff in the kitchen. I wouldn't have thought either the mouse or remote were power monsters, and when plugging the hub directly into the pc all works ok.
But when using the long usb lead with the 3 repeaters, the hub lights come on, and windows does the usual duh-dah, but Windows doesn't recognise either the mouse or the remote. Either the remote or the mouse work ok if plugged directly into the long usb lead with the 3 repeaters.
So I figure either I'm right at the power limit, and whilst it can cope with 3 repeaters and mouse or remote, it can't cope with the extra power the hub needs. Either that or the hub isn't quite right.
The other option I guess is that cutting one of the 5m wires in half, then splicing all the wires together (so I could get in down behind plasterboard) has knackered the wire. But as above, the 3x5m extension including the lead that has been butchered works fine if the mouse or remote is plugged directly in without the hub.
A hub doesn't need that much power does it?
Any thoughts welcome before I go out and grab a powered usb hub. (and try other things like turning everything off and on again )