Hi,
Looking to put my Drobo in my closet, far across my room. As such, I’ll need to replace my Drobo’s factory USB 2.0 cable with one about 15 feet longer.
Are there are any dangers to be aware of when using a cable of that length?
Thanks for your time.
no, 15 feet is the maximum specification for a USB, so as long as you use a reputable brand there will be no issue.
There are repeaters that you can get from the usual places (NewEgg, Amazon, etc.) that act as a powered buffer to allow the line to be extended. A friend of mine runs his Drobo about 30 feet away by using at least one of these. He uses it for media storage and is very happy.
If you’re going beyond 15 feet, you want an active USB 2.0 extension (or cable).
Thanks everybody for the tips!
I went with this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W0BVTW/ref=oss_product
Is this an active repeater? I didn’t see the words “active” and I realized I needed something at least 25 ft long.
Yes, that ought to work. The fact that it’s a repeater makes it active (it does something). The little box at the middle is the “guts” (the active repeater part) so you know it’s not just a “simple” cable.