Difference in USB Cable... Printer errors? 1

[mattloflin]

Hey Guys,
I posted this in the wrong section so I figured i'd replace it in here.

I have had 3 or 4 different instances where I will use a USB cable for a printer and it will go to sleep and not wake up when asked to print.

The cables I use are just straight cables but when I switch with the ones that have the Block or "Resistor" at the end they seem to work flawless...

Any Ideas why this is?

I have a Konica Minolta doing it right now and I'm contemplating buying like 5 of the blocked USB cords.

Thanks,

- Matt

"Never Give a Sword to a Man Who Can't Dance

 

[wahnula]

That lump in the cable is a ferrite choke, magnificently explained by our resident electronics gurus in this post:

thread602-1430836

You probably have dirty power or some other source of interference in your system that the choke attenuates or stops.



Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[mattloflin]

Well it has happened on 3 different computers. and it fixes on a new ccable with the "Ferrite Choke"

Would that item have any significance?

- Matt

"Never Give a Sword to a Man Who Can't Dance

 

[wahnula]

It only means that PCs generate EMI or RMI which is normal:

Computers are fairly noisy devices. The motherboard inside the computer's case has an oscillator that is running at anywhere from 300 MHz to 1,000 MHz. The keyboard has its own processor and oscillator as well. The video card has its own oscillators to drive the monitor. All of these oscillators have the potential to broadcast radio signals at their given frequencies. Most of this interference can be eliminated by the cases around the motherboard and keyboard.

and your environment may be high in RFI or EMI, like living near power lines:

Another source of noise is the cables connecting the devices. These cables act as nice, long antennae for the signals they carry. They broadcast the signals quite efficiently. The signals they broadcast can interfere with radios and TVs. The cables can also receive signals and transmit them into the case, where they cause problems. A ferrite bead has the property of eliminating the broadcast signals. Essentially, it "chokes" the RFI transmission at that point on the cable -- this is why you find the beads at the ends of the cables. Instead of traveling down the cable and transmitting, the RFI signals turn into heat in the bead.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question352.htm

Either way, it's no mystery that ferrite chokes make for a better cable...buy them!

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[mattloflin]

Thanks for the explanation. That explains what I have been looking for.

- Matt

"Never Give a Sword to a Man Who Can't Dance