Which USB hub to use with Block Erupters | NanoFury NF1 | BPMC Red Fury | Ant U1

[fractalbc]

Update on my cheap 10 port hubs - the DC Barrel plugs melted on the two cables I made (my crap soldering is most likely to blame), so those two hubs now have had a DC Barrel jack-adectomy and now have a power cable soldered directly in place of the jacks.  And some of the USB sockets need re-flowing - intermittent power connections to them.

Sounds like a fire disaster waiting to happen. 
Have you tried those non-soldering barrel plugs and thicker cables?

Given that the Hubs were ~US$9 each, and I've already spent US$2 on a barrel plug and wire for each, and I wanted to get them running again ASAP, out came the soldering iron....

Good choice.  Those plugs and jacks are *NOT* rated at 5+ amps.

As for fire hazard?  I think 25VA is well below the UL threshold of concern.

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[1715416670]

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[lano1106]

I am taking liberty to re-post a comment by philipma1957 from the BitMinter thread.

   I did find a good brick for the 10 port hubs


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VE7GQQ/ref=oh_details_o05_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


 has more available power for a 10 port hub.

FYI, I have tried out this PSU to replace original Orico and Anker USB3 10 ports hubs PSU.

The motivation is that these hubs on my setup are not stable when fully loaded. After some time, 1,2 or 3 BEs end up with the green light stuck.

The maximum I can plug with no stability issue is 8.

I though that the extra 2 A would fix this issue and at first, it seemed to work but alas even with this brick after about 18 hours I got 3 BEs with the green light stuck on the Anker hub. This is an improvement but I was expecting the problem to completly go away.

If there is interest in the group, I can report back results with various combinations such as Anker behavior with 6 Amp PSU and 9 BEs.

Is the situation different with the Orico hubs?

I'm closely following MonocleMan experiments. I might opt for this option if I purchase more BEs..

[Unacceptable]

I am taking liberty to re-post a comment by philipma1957 from the BitMinter thread.

   I did find a good brick for the 10 port hubs


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VE7GQQ/ref=oh_details_o05_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


 has more available power for a 10 port hub.

FYI, I have tried out this PSU to replace original Orico and Anker USB3 10 ports hubs PSU.

The motivation is that these hubs on my setup are not stable when fully loaded. After some time, 1,2 or 3 BEs end up with the green light stuck.

The maximum I can plug with no stability issue is 8.

I though that the extra 2 A would fix this issue and at first, it seemed to work but alas even with this brick after about 18 hours I got 3 BEs with the green light stuck on the Anker hub. This is an improvement but I was expecting the problem to completly go away.

If there is interest in the group, I can report back results with various combinations such as Anker behavior with 6 Amp PSU and 9 BEs.

Is the situation different with the Orico hubs?

I'm closely following MonocleMan experiments. I might opt for this option if I purchase more BEs..

Hmm,I thought useing a 12 volt PS wouldn't work with 5 volt BE's 

[lano1106]

Hmm,I thought useing a 12 volt PS wouldn't work with 5 volt BE's 

USB3 requires 12V.

[Unacceptable]

Hmm,I thought useing a 12 volt PS wouldn't work with 5 volt BE's 

USB3 requires 12V.

Ahh,thanks!!    So the hubs regulate the voltage    Or I'm missing something........

[visdude]

Visdude, which angled adapters do you use there? And which fans are those? USB-powered?
I've updated the OP with info on your setup.

The USB adapters are all over the Bay.  I'm not really happy with them but they're the only solution that I know of to utilize the rear ports and also orient the miners on the same air flow plane as the ones on the front ports for efficient cooling.  They make a USB connection though; I guess that's good.  They're cheaply made (all plastic moving parts).  The pseudo universal joint is supposed to rachet into place but some of them don't and even if they do, they could hardly support the weight of the BEs if you set them at an angle (bottom adapters on the photo) and tend to slip and droop down.  Upright position (top adapters) is fine, I guess.  Unfortunately, I'm not going to post the direct link of the vendor on here just yet; there are some issues that needs to be resolved with this vendor.  They really FU'd this shipment.  If one decides to go ahead and purchase these adapters, avoid the vendor on the Bay with one of the lowest prices from China.

They're USB fans.  They're all over the 'Zon and the Bay too and they come in different branding.

[visdude]

This is an update on the MCM hubs.  As I've mentioned in my initial review, it supports seven miners.  There are only 46 miners on this setup; 1+2 rear ports on the last two hubs respectively are not populated (waiting for more miners to come in):



...and here they are in action:

http://s1330.photobucket.com/user/visdude/media/MVI_0112_zps64f2f52e.mp4.html

The hub stands/bases were originally affixed onto the desk (here) but I found it to be inflexible and inconvenient.  So, I got a cheapo clipboard and a roll of masking tape at the local 99-cent store and made a movable platform out of it to organize the hubs.  This setup is ideal with these hubs since one can just pull it from the base and work on it independently from the rest (modular).  Partly seen in the lower right hand corner of the image is another hub.  I have started to create another row of seven MCM-type generic hubs (all black this time) along the other side of the clipboard.  I'm pairing them with 4A bricks (much better alternative than wall warts in that it does not waste and occupy two outlets on the power strip).  It comes out a little cheaper than MCM's without being subjected to exorbitant shipping charges and applicable sales tax.  I would also have a bit of a headroom power wise (.5A more).

The setup is currently hosted through a single USB 2.0 port on an old netbook and draws 11W off the wall while mining.

That is an awesome setup man.

Thanks man.

[visdude]

guys, can you add an colum "backfeed y/n" please?
and hub owners should check and report

power backfeeding (vcc on uplink port connected to power input)
is a serious problem for some hardware, i nearly killed my netbook

also such hubs tend to steal current from each other when cascaded

You should expect backfeeding and/or power draw on USB line-in as default. To be on the safe side, splice the USB cable and cut the red wire, as was suggested before.

I can at least say regarding my D-Links that they draw from input USB. Without power on the intermittent hub, they can run 5 BEs; with additional power they run 6.

Wouldn't it also be an advantage to allow backfeeding or feedback or whatever?  I supply power to the intermediate hub (where all miner hubs are connected).  The way I look at it, it's an available backup power to supplement the weakest link (power units that are not performing as well as the rest) or for setups that are loaded to the max.  However, I did cut the red (power) wire in the USB cable coming from the host to protect its bus/controller circuitry.

[jrolmstd]

Been spending some time with this thread (great information) and think I finally know what I want/need to do.

Looking at paying homage to visdude's setup by replicating it (at a smaller scale to start with) using the following:

MCM Hub MCM Part #: 83-11765
5V 4A AC/DC Power Supply Replacement Adapter with 2.5mm x 5.5mm Tip Center +

Tip on adapter is confirmed to be the same size and the 5V 4A would seem to enough juice.

Question, is there any advantage/need to go to a 5V 5A adapter for 7 miners per hub?

[sacskate]

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=141039727067
I bought 2 so I will post once I test them out

[lano1106]

wow. Orico hubs are now perfect copies of the Anker hub.

It is a good hub. Behave exactly as the Anker maybe even a little bit better.

I have 1 Anker and 2 Oricos (not the same model than the one on your picture).

Maximum BEs for stability:

Anker: 8
Orico: 9

No idea why it seems I am the only one not being able to use the 10 ports

[Xer0]

Wouldn't it also be an advantage to allow backfeeding or feedback or whatever?  I supply power to the intermediate hub (where all miner hubs are connected).  The way I look at it, it's an available backup power to supplement the weakest link (power units that are not performing as well as the rest) or for setups that are loaded to the max.  However, I did cut the red (power) wire in the USB cable coming from the host to protect its bus/controller circuitry.

if one supply fails the running erupters will overload the remaining supplies

[klondike_bar]

just wanted to check out a concept i had, and see if theres any issues or safety concerns that it may create:

to power 4 7-port USB hubs (the generic ones seen all through the thread), you need, up to 28*0.5A = 14A

components in step form:

1) molex cable, take the 5V and ground to connect to:
2) a solderless barrel-jack (5.5mm) adapter. these are all over ebay and have some working reports in this thread
3) a 1-to-4 barrel jack splitter for 5.5mm (this is my biggest concern for thin wires or low quality china manufacture)

A decent (>500w) PSU could easily run 25-50A on the 5V circuit, so that is not the limitation. My concern is simply that the components mentioned (specifically the 1-to-4 adapter) cannot handle more than 2 hubs worth of power (7A), but id like a few opinions on this from experienced modders.

also, anything to be wary of regarding polarity? The barreljack i ordered has the +/- marked, but ive heard some hubs can flip these in thier deign for no good reason

[visdude]

Wouldn't it also be an advantage to allow backfeeding or feedback or whatever?  I supply power to the intermediate hub (where all miner hubs are connected).  The way I look at it, it's an available backup power to supplement the weakest link (power units that are not performing as well as the rest) or for setups that are loaded to the max.  However, I did cut the red (power) wire in the USB cable coming from the host to protect its bus/controller circuitry.

if one supply fails the running erupters will overload the remaining supplies

That would be true assuming each of the power supplies are maxed out load wise with little headroom (i.e. 7 maxed out PSUs for 7 hubs).  However, in my example or rather my situation, I have each of the seven hubs running seven miners and powered by a 3.5A wall wart (yes, it's indeed maxed out).  They are all plugged into a 10-port intermediate hub which is powered by a 5A brick.  If one of the 3.5A wall wart would fail or underperform, wouldn't the "surplus" power from the 5A brick take that slack off?  After all, the 10-port intermediate hub with its 5A surplus power is now also part of the whole circuit or network of interconnected powered hubs.  Right?  Theoretically, the circuit is capable of running ten more miners (5A).

[xjack]

PSA - Newegg has 20% off on the Rosewill RHB-500 with promo code, ends today.

[Nemo1024]

A small curiosity update on the internal layout of D-Link DUB-H7. It consists of 2 4-port hubs, where the second hub is connected to the fourth port of the first one.
The 2 charging contacts are on the second, nested hub: counting goes from left to right.

[notlist3d]

This is an update on the MCM hubs.  As I've mentioned in my initial review, it supports seven miners.  There are only 46 miners on this setup; 1+2 rear ports on the last two hubs respectively are not populated (waiting for more miners to come in):



...and here they are in action:

http://s1330.photobucket.com/user/visdude/media/MVI_0112_zps64f2f52e.mp4.html

The hub stands/bases were originally affixed onto the desk (here) but I found it to be inflexible and inconvenient.  So, I got a cheapo clipboard and a roll of masking tape at the local 99-cent store and made a movable platform out of it to organize the hubs.  This setup is ideal with these hubs since one can just pull it from the base and work on it independently from the rest (modular).  Partly seen in the lower right hand corner of the image is another hub.  I have started to create another row of seven MCM-type generic hubs (all black this time) along the other side of the clipboard.  I'm pairing them with 4A bricks (much better alternative than wall warts in that it does not waste and occupy two outlets on the power strip).  It comes out a little cheaper than MCM's without being subjected to exorbitant shipping charges and applicable sales tax.  I would also have a bit of a headroom power wise (.5A more).

The setup is currently hosted through a single USB 2.0 port on an old netbook and draws 11W off the wall while mining.

That is an awesome setup man.

Like the price of hub.  What did you pay for the usb swivels for back two ports?

[OtaconEmmerich]

Any status updates on the Rosewill RHB-500/ST-Lab U-500? They still running good? I think I'm gunna order one and wanted to see how they well they are fairing.

[joeventura]

Update on my cheap 10 port hubs - the DC Barrel plugs melted on the two cables I made (my crap soldering is most likely to blame), so those two hubs now have had a DC Barrel jack-adectomy and now have a power cable soldered directly in place of the jacks.  And some of the USB sockets need re-flowing - intermittent power connections to them.

Sounds like a fire disaster waiting to happen. 
Have you tried those non-soldering barrel plugs and thicker cables?

+1

[Nemo1024]

Any status updates on the Rosewill RHB-500/ST-Lab U-500? They still running good? I think I'm gunna order one and wanted to see how they well they are fairing.

My ST-Lab/Rosewill is running really well. Its power adapter is also cooler to the touch than D-Link's adapters.