hey folks

i need to hook up a regular usb printer 50 ft away from where the windows 2000 computer is going to be hooked up. i can't cut the distance at all, so i thought about doing some kind of wireless connection (with the computer having a wireless usb adapter) but i think that might be a little too complicated in this situation.

i was wondering if you guys thought that getting a few 16' cables (BELKIN USB Active Extension Cable Model F3U130-16 - Retail ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... ) would work. i realize that this is a signal amplifier, so i figure that if i needed to hook up an additional 3' regular USB, that it would work. What do you guys think?

Thanks!

I think you should be able to use a reasonably reliable wireless connection. I use a wireless connected print and file server connected to a wireless laptop through a wireless router. The file/print server is always on. The only problems are caused by power outages and running out of paper.

USB Info: Frequently Asked Questions

See Q1-Q4

Bryan

hmm - I'm hoping to get more opinions here. How would you guys handle a printer 50 feet away? Don't say bring it closer!

Thanks,

Ryan

I agree with wizard-fred, get a print server. You can use wireless or wired as you don't mind running the cable. It is really the best way to go and you can do 50' without any problems.

If it has an Ethernet port (Probably not) I would just use that because they can go a fair distance. I have no idea how far 50 feet is but I have a 15Meter Ethernet cable running under my house from one room to another and it has no problems. Is buying a new printer an option if your current one doesn't have Ethernet?

Here is a USB repeater that allows up to 150 feet:

http://www.ebusinesscables.com/cgi-...

Or this one:
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.a...

as I understand, you plug the device to your usb, have a CAT5E cable going to where you want it, have the receiver on the other end which converts it back to USB where you can plug your printer in. YAY!

Mattwizz3 )

Sempron 2600+ @ 2.2GHz
1Gb DDR400
Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe
200GB SATA
2X 80Gb IDE
256Mb MSI 6800 Ultra

Wireless may not be an option since this is in a wireless hotspot location and we do not want random people printing.

Is there anyone that doubts buying 3 of the usb extenders won't work? I don't think I want to go the usb-to-ethernet route either.

You can have multiple wireless networks in a location. I have worked with an organization that had their registration computer for a convention in the middle of a hotel's hotspot. You just need a wireless router with the required security features enabled.

I'm trying the usb-ethernet adapter and will report back on how it works. It seemed to be the most efficient and cost-effective way to go about it for this business. It seemed to be the Thanks for your suggestions.