A month ago, I wrote1 that my mobile computer had been transferred to a new case, and
that in the process it had lost a USB port. The computer has two ports: one
is used by the mouse (itself problematic in that I have the mouse on the
right hand side of the computer and the ports are on the left side) and one
by headphones. If I want to connect anything extra, I normally remove the
headphone plug. I do have a USB hub with four sockets but this isn't very
useful as the connected devices are dependent solely on the power supplied
by the USB socket and frequently this isn't sufficient. I use this hub as a
simple extension cord for the mouse.
The solution is a powered USB hub: one cable connects the hub to power and
one cable connects the hub to the computer. I ordered such a hub (pictured
on the left) from Temu that arrived yesterday. Today I connected
everything and the problems started.
Maybe I'm naive but I connected the cables the wrong way around: the cable
that comes out of the hub (pictured at the top) is not the power
cable but rather the cable that connects to the computer. The other cable
has a USB plug on one end and some form of connector on the other end; there
is a socket for this connector next to where the internal cable exits the
hub. Stupidly, I thought that this was the cable that connects to the
computer, even though the connector is one that is more often seen on power
supplies, like a multi-head transformer. The hub did not work in its
original configuration, but after I switched the cables around, it now
works. The useless 'user manual' does not say which cable connects
where.
Another bone of contention is that the power connector doesn't sit
completely in the socket. Again, this may be my naivity, but I expect a
plug to sit firmly in its socket, especially when it's a plug carrying
power. I know it's not 240V AC, but even still, the plug should fit the
socket securely. Anyway, the powered hub works and that's what's
important. I suppose that I shouldn't complain considering the modest
price that I paid for this device.
Internal links
[1] 2041
This day in blog history:
| Title | Tags | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Joseph Finder - Company Man | Joseph Finder | |
| 321 | All quiet on the blogging front | ERP, ITM | |
| 528 | Being a tourist in Israel: Ein Karem | Israel, Holiday | |
| 665 | Song festival review, part 2 | Kibbutz | |
| 1699 | Dreams turned to dust (new song) | Song writing |
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