|
USB Benefits and Limitations |
Written by Peanut Sewell
Monday, 17 March 2008
|
USB has come a long way since its conception in 1995, but unfortunately it can't go a long way. I'm talking about one of USB's main limitations, which is the distance which the signal can travel over copper wire. USB is good for many things. It can transfer data at a whopping 480 megabits per second and it uses an easy-to-plug-in interface. Previously, data transfer and peripheral control was handled by parallel and serial protocols with connectors that used numerous pins that you had to line up to holes. USB's genius design uses a plastic tongue lined with metal pins, making it easy to insert and remove. The main limitation with USB, however, is length. USB can only travel 16 feet over copper wire. That makes it a standard that consumers mainly use for everyday short distance applications, such as syncing their MP3 players, or transfering data between their computer and an external hard drive. There are ways to overcome this limitation, however. To extend USB there are two main methods. You can either get a cable with an active repeater built-in, or you can get an extender that has a sender and a receiver, with a medium like Cat5 cable or fiber cable. The built-in repeater cables are generally for shorter distance extensions, usually giving the USB signal an extra 16 feet. You can also generally string 3 or so of these repeater cables together to go further. The Cat5 extender is designed to go much further. They typically will send USB to at least 150 feet over Cat5 or fiber. This is a more expensive product, but the only solution to super long distance signal transfer. Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com |
About The Author:
Cameron Postelwait is a content manager for Sewell Direct, retailers of the USB extension cable, and also the USB Cat5 extender by Gefen.
Cameron Postelwait is a content manager for Sewell Direct, retailers of the USB extension cable, and also the USB Cat5 extender by Gefen.
| Comments On This Article: |
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.
You are welcome to publish this article free of charge on your website, newsletter, or e-zine, provided:
- You don't change the article in any way
- You include the entire article, including the "about the author" box
- All hyperlinks must remain intact, including email addresses, and the link to ArticleBlast.com at the bottom
- In doing so you agree to indemnify the article's author, and ArticleBlast.com and its directors, officers, employees and agents from and against all losses, claims, damages and liabilities which arise out of its use
- It is also recommended that you provide a courtesy copy of your publication to the author of the article
