TechBlog from Sewell

Extensions extensions extensions. Got some amazing devices you need to connect and running into distance problems? Well here’s a list of some common connection types and what you can do to extend them.

First we’ll start with USB extension cables. USB can only be extended up to 15 feet unless you use some sort of active extender.

The passive 6 foot extension is great if you just need a few more feet. You can see it here:
USB extension cable

If you need to go further you can use the 16 foot USB 2.0 active extension cable. This cable has a built in repeater that is self powered by the USB bus. These can also be daisy chained to give you up to an 80 foot extension.
16 Foot USB active extension cable

Need some USB 1.1 ports a long ways away from your computer? You can use a USB over CAT5 extender. This box will convert the usb connection to common CAT5 ethernet cable. Then at the other end it will give you a 4 port USB 1.1 hub up to 150 feet away.
USB 1.1 Ethernet extender

Now let’s look at some firewire extension cables. Firewire also has the same limitation as USB, it can only be extended up to a 15 foot cable unless you use an active extension.

We have a 14.5 foot active extension cable that is 6-pin male to female. This cable also has a bus powered booster built into it (Note: they must be plugged into a 6-pin firewire port on the pc for it to get power. They do not work with 4-pin computer ports.) These can be daisy chained up to a total of 60 feet. They are capable of running the FireWire 400 speed.
14.5 foot Firewire active extension

If you need to go further, or want to power a device while plugging into a 4-pin firewire port on your computer, you can use our firewire repeaters. You can see Mark’s post about those here:
Running long firewire extensions

And for those of you that still have some important serial devices kicking around let’s look at serial extensions.

Unlike firewire and USB, serial can be extended very far without any boosters. We have extension cables from 6 feet to 100 feet. The 100 foot is shown here:
DE9 (DB9) Serial extension cable

For those of you who want to use easy to run cat5 cable to run you serial extension, you can use these serial to rj45 modulators.
Serial to RJ45 modulator

There’s a great product for sharing a serial device with lots of computers. And the great thing is it does it over a wireless network connection. The adapter fully supports 64-bit and 128-bit WEP and WPA wireless security standards.
Wireless Serial device server

If you have any other questions or needs feel free to call the Sewell Direct tech support at 1-800-709-1345. Or email us at support@sewelldirect.com

We have recently recieved some calls from customers who are haveing problems getting the USB to serial, part number SW-1301, to work with Windows Vista.  The lastest driver is sometimes required for it to install and work properly with Windows Vista.  Here are some instructions on how to install the USB to serial driver on a Windows Vista operating system:

1 - Download the driver files for the USB to serial SW-1301

2 - Extract the files to a location that you recognize and will be able to find later.

3 - In the device manager (click start/Vista icon, Control Panel, Device Manger to access the device manger) right click on the USB - serial controller, which should have a yellow sign next to it, and click update driver software.

4 - A new window will pop up, click on “Browse my computer for driver software” and then click on the browse button.  Locate and click on the folder that you extracted.  Click ok and then next and windows should install the driver. 

5 - Click finish and you should be set up and ready to use your serial device with Windows Vista.  (If you still have problems make sure that you have the driver for your serial device installed correctly.)

Been lagging behind because your USB to PCMCIA adapter only supports 2G wireless networks? This new card from ELAN supports the latest high speed protocols, ensuring that you get a quick connection wherever you are.
The card is model # SW-7851 and its full specs and compatibility can be found at the link below.

USB to PCMCIA Adapter for 3G Wireless Cards.

A lot of people spend time looking for the connection information for their service provider so that they can connect with a manual windows connection to their wireless internet. This is information that is needed when using the USB to 32 bit PCMCIA Cardbus adapters. (It also applies for the USB to 16 bit PCMCIA adapter.)

Fortunately Elan (the chipset manufacturer) has provided this information for us. If your provider is not listed below, i apologize, but you’ll still have to call up the provider to get this information.

The information provided is not guaranteed to be correct since providers may change their connection settings. As far as we know, this should be the information you need to get it to connect.

Holiday Greetings from a new user…

I need to automatically share a USB printer between two XP PCs without using any software. I sell and support “Business Centers” in hotels, and for support purposes, I need to find a “hardware only” printer sharing solution, like I had with the parallel auto print switches years ago. And I don’t use networking between PCs for security purposes. So… is there a USB print sharing device that will automatically scan the two PCs and give the USB printer to the first one that wants it, then go back to scanning again?

Thanks!
Randy in Columbia, SC

Our part Sw-4772 is a hot buy lately due to laptops that have upgraded to the new Express Card slot when wireless companies are still using the old PCMCIA for their modem cards. When buying this product pay close attention to the compatibility list on the right- if your card isn’t there, it isn’t supported. But there is good news! There are other ways to accomplish wireless connectivity through your cellular service.

One option is to use your phone;

If you have a GSM phone (such as Cingular or T-mobile) you want to make sure the phone at least has EDGE, at best their broadband network. With CDMA phones (such as Verizon or Sprint) you want to have EVDO, or better yet EVDO RevA which should be coming out soon on some high end phones. Then you pay for phone as modem service through your provider (usually cheaper than modem card service plans) and hook your laptop up to it through either bluetooth or USB and you’ll get basically the same speeds as your modem card was, plus it will be conveniently packaged in your existing phone. You might consider buying a spare battery. I use my Samsung A900 with Sprint and it works great.

Another option, switch cards;

If you recently bought your card, most service providers allow for a 14 day or 30 day risk free trial period. Many carriers now carry express cards, but you may need to talk to someone who really knows what they’re talking about to find out how to get one. My experience with their customer service is they don’t know what I’m talking about. I’ve heard Cingular has them but I can’t find them on their website, and Sprint had an ETA of Dec 6 according to someone I talked with on the phone, but I have yet to see them as of Dec 22(they do have a USB modem however). Verizon has one called the V640 I found on their website. Even if you can’t return your old card, often buying one of the new ones is your better option anyway.

If you have a SIM Card in your phone(only GSM phones like cingular and t-mobile) you can get a USB modem for your sim card;

see our part Sw-5855
just put your sim card in this, make sure you’ve subscibed to phone as modem on the account whose SIM card your using, and you’re good to go with EDGE speeds where available .
I hope this helps you.

If you have a Mac and want to uninstall the PL-2303 USB to Serial driver then you’ll need some luck and some terminal skills. We do not support removal of prolific drivers, but these steps should do the trick.

Follow these steps:

1. Open “Applications-> Utilities-> Terminal”. You need to create ID & password first on NetInfo Manager.

2. Login to root user and type “su” and enter password.

3. Type “cd /System/Library/Extensions” to go to the “Extensions” folder.

4. Unload the driver (if it had been loaded) by typing “kextunload PL2303.kext” or “kextunload ProlificUsbSerial.kext”

5. Remove the driver by typing “rm -r PL2303.kext” or “rm -r ProlificUsbSerial.kext”.

If you need to get a USB to Serial adapter working with your palm pilot try these steps. These steps are from the Palm Support Knowledge Library at http://kb.palm.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE?New,kb=PalmSupportKB,CASE=obj(919),ts=Palm_External2001

Solution ID: 919

Can’t synchronize through USB-to-serial adapter

If you cannot perform a HotSync® operation after plugging the USB into the serial port adapter, the serial port settings need to be adjusted.
To adjust the serial port settings, do the following:

1. Check the USB to serial port adapter connections.
2. Launch HotSync Manager.
3. Open HotSync Manager and click Enable/Disable.
4. Open the Instant Palm Desktop and select HotSync Manager.
5. Select Setup and click Disable/Enable.
6. Under Local Setup, select PalmConnect® USB from the Port list.
7. Click the HotSync Controls tab and select Enabled.
8. Perform a HotSync operation.
9. If an error message appears when you remove the USB to serial port adapter and reboot your Macintosh, simply click OK in the message box.

To prevent this error from appearing during reboot, launch HotSync® Manager, choose Setup, disable HotSync Manager, and then disconnect the USB to serial port cable. Future versions of HotSync Manager eliminate this error message.

When in the HotSync Manager, avoid making changes in the “HotSync Software Setup” dialog box while the USB adapter is unplugged. If you have trouble performing a HotSync operation after unplugging and replugging your USB adapter, plug the adapter in and restart your computer. Then launch HotSync® Manager and re-select the correct USB port from the Local Setup section of the “HotSync Software Setup” dialog box.

Palm, Inc. plans to correct this problem in a future revision. Apple System Profiler reports two PalmConnect devices for each USB adapter connected at startup. This does not affect functionality. Palm, Inc. is working with Apple to correct this problem.

These cards are extremely unrecommended for use with the USB to cardbus readers for 32 bit and 16 bit cards.

We’re convinced that if Bluetooth were to go on a diet, the Slim USB Bluetooth Dongle is what it would look like. This superslim adapter is the perfect way to connect Bluetooth-enabled smartphones, PDAs, or whatever, without taking up a lot of space. Now that we’re free from our oppressively bulky regular Bluetooth adapter, all we have to worry about is how to not lose it…