1 Topic by scotthay

  • scotthay
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Topic: Is your printer really far from your computer?

Mine is about 25 feet away (under the window for ventilation) in my office.

I bought item 8490 from Monoprice for under $12 which is an active USB extension cable/2 port hub;

I have my Da Vinci 1.0 and a webcam both attached and they work great.  I did not add a power supply to the cable FYI.

I just thought some of you might have the same situation.  A lot of reviews I read online about these types of cables said they didn't work with 3D printers or webcams but this one seems to work fine.

2 Reply by scobo (edited by scobo 2014-10-25 10:24:37)

  • scobo
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Re: Is your printer really far from your computer?

Another solution is a Toshiba Air Flash wireless SD card.
I just popped one in my Da Vinci and it works great, no firmware mod/hack required.
I can now upload gcode files to the printer wirelessly from anywhere in the house.

Davinci 1.0 with repetier firmware & E3D V6 Lite
Anycubic Photon DLP printer, Einscan-S 3D scanner
Simplify3d, 123D Design, Meshmixer
http://www.thingiverse.com/scobo/designs

3 Reply by Weekend Avenger

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Re: Is your printer really far from your computer?

I'm waiting for my Flash Air to show up. NewEgg had the 8GB ones on sale for $14.99 shipped ($24.99 - $10 coupon for the older class 6  Toshiba FlashAir 8GB Wireless Flash Memory SD Card 050332409323). I'm not sure if I'll have to update the firmware on it or not when it shows up but the slightly slower speed that it has versus their new product line won't affect me in the slightest.

I think that will end up being much easier than me taking the SD card that I have on a cable back and forth from where my computer is.

I also have a TRENDnet TV-IP651W IP camera that points at mine when it's running and Edimax SP-1101W Smart Plug Switch so I can shut the printer down remotely when its either successfully finished a print or if it has failed on one. The camera seems pretty average in its price / performance, but the Edimax switch costs significantly less than the Belkin one. My printer is still on the old "G" firmware so the light is always on when it's printing and after its done and lowered the bed, which is why I don't change versions, my IP camera has no light source of its own.

4 Reply by n2ri

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Re: Is your printer really far from your computer?

USB cables only good for 15ft signal

Solidoodle 2 with Deluxe kit cover & glass bed with heater. and 2nd board SD2 used not 3rd and alum platform not installed yet still wood. also need cooling fan installed to board. use Repetier Host couple vers. Slic3r also have all free ware STL programs

5 Reply by skestes

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Re: Is your printer really far from your computer?

n2ri wrote:

USB cables only good for 15ft signal

This is correct...for an cable that is *not* a repeater cable. The one that was suggested is a active booster so it will go further than 15ft.

6 Reply by n2ri (edited by n2ri 2014-10-25 22:31:08)

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Re: Is your printer really far from your computer?

we had a vinyl cutter that is bidirectional like 3D printers etc (sends and receives data) it lost data some over 15 feet but sometimes could do 25 for very short bursts. so we just moved closer. like Parallel printer cables some bidirectional some not. my ALPS printer must use bidirectional no longer than 6ft. my laptop also has 3 wireless transfer types so I keep everything in same small room and no problems using all peripherals plus future hardware (more 3D printers). ;^)

Solidoodle 2 with Deluxe kit cover & glass bed with heater. and 2nd board SD2 used not 3rd and alum platform not installed yet still wood. also need cooling fan installed to board. use Repetier Host couple vers. Slic3r also have all free ware STL programs

7 Reply by jfabritz

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Re: Is your printer really far from your computer?

I found one of those software packages that allows you to share USB ports over the network. Of course, there needs to still be a computer connected to it, but now I can access the printer from the other end of the house. :-D

8 Reply by asleep75

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Re: Is your printer really far from your computer?

Hmmm... I just bought a cheap 20 foot cable online.  "SF Cable, 20ft USB 2.0 A Male to B Male Cable with Ferrite Black Color" from Amazon.

I don't think I've had any problems.  The printer gets it's files and prints, I'm assuming dropped data would corrupt print jobs?

d

9 Reply by ceke

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Re: Is your printer really far from your computer?

My printer is in my garage downstairs and I use a $25 Dell D600 with USB sharing software, YAWCAM, and a small app to turn the LEDs on/off and monitor the temps. The YAWCAM is nice since I can monitor the print on my phone.

jfabritz wrote:

I found one of those software packages that allows you to share USB ports over the network. Of course, there needs to still be a computer connected to it, but now I can access the printer from the other end of the house. :-D