USB extension limit?

So, the plan is to put an antenna on the roof. Rather than having a lot of antenna cable, I thought I’d put the receiver dongle in a box next to the antenna and run a USB extension cord. Is there a limit to the length of the USB cable? Will a 30-foot one work ok?

USB just for power or will you be running a keyboard/mouse?

If it is just for power the distance is a loooong way if you have a good power supply. I’m powering one of my PIs via 50 feet of RCA video cable. I converted to red RCA wires to carry 5 volt power to the PI. Works fine. To make edits, etc. I just log into it remotely via a virtual network connect (VNC) and that keeps me from needing a keyboard/mouse connected to the PI.

The USB extension would be to connect the receiver dongle to the Raspberry Pi so I can put the dongle up on the roof next to the antenna.

I’d be curious to know what you find & your results… yourcablestore.com/USB-Cable … _42-1.html

I have used active (repeater) USB cables with success. I have not tested them with the SDR.

See: http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Meter-Active-Extension-Female/dp/B004AGX4YO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1412546605&sr=8-2&keywords=usb+repeater+cables

My experience with the Active USB Extension cables is that they work well for Printers and other devices that don’t draw significant power over the USB cable - which tend to have fairly small wires.

I found I needed to use a USB power injector between the end of a USB extension and my 3G Wireless modem. I ran it from a separate wall wart near the modem.

altronics.com.au/p/k2910-usb … ector-kit/

I suggest that a similar thing would be needed for the RTL dongle since they seem to give unpredictable results when not getting enough power…

You could also use a cheap powered USB hub to power the dongle.

i use a 32 feet usb powered extension to go from dongle to pi.

monoprice.com/Product?c_id=1 … 1&format=2

Excellent! That’s just what I needed to know. Thanks!