geekhack
geekhack Marketplace => Interest Checks => Topic started by: donutcat on Wed, 21 March 2018, 15:26:00
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IC form link: https://donutcables.com/donuthub-ic/
Link for mobile issues: https://goo.gl/forms/LEPaJaXSoqL84AYc2
Via the IC form:
Have you got too many cool peripherals and not enough USB ports? Got a hub on your desk already but it's plain and not stylin? I got the fix for that in the form of the donutHub! The donutHub will offer up to 4 ports of full speed USB2.0 goodness in a stylish and streamlined package, smaller than most commercially available solutions, and including to-order sleeved cables and your choice of several popular connectors on each end. I'm currently in the prototyping phase of my hub controller board design and hoping to have functional prototypes after the San Antonio meetup.
Lemme know what you think.
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Any idea of what it will look like?
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Any idea of what it will look like?
Planning on housing the hub controller board inside a connector similar to an aviation connector. I should be able to fit it inside one half of a GX16 size connector and use the other half as a breakout for each of the downstream ports.
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Oh I thought it was gonna be shaped like a donut. :(
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Any idea of what it will look like?
Planning on housing the hub controller board inside a connector similar to an aviation connector. I should be able to fit it inside one half of a GX16 size connector and use the other half as a breakout for each of the downstream ports.
was sorta hoping the hub would look like a donut.
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Donut shaped hub or riot
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IC form link: https://donutcables.com/donuthub-ic/
Link for mobile issues: https://goo.gl/forms/LEPaJaXSoqL84AYc2
Via the IC form:
Have you got too many cool peripherals and not enough USB ports? Got a hub on your desk already but it's plain and not stylin? I got the fix for that in the form of the donutHub! The donutHub will offer up to 4 ports of full speed USB2.0 goodness in a stylish and streamlined package, smaller than most commercially available solutions, and including to-order sleeved cables and your choice of several popular connectors on each end. I'm currently in the prototyping phase of my hub controller board design and hoping to have functional prototypes after the San Antonio meetup.
Lemme know what you think.
I find it hard to give feedback on what seems to be your primary point of sale, the design, when there is none presented :-X
Right now I have no idea why I shouldn't just grab https://www.amazon.de/Sabrent-USB-HUB-einzelnen-Schalter/dp/B00JX1ZS5O/ for 10eur and USB 3.0
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so basically it's going to look like a splitter? sorry, I have enough cable mess coming out of the hub I already have, I don't need a hub that makes it look like I have even more cable mess.
If I'm buying a new hub it needs to either meet or beat the functionality and styling of the already fairly clean looking $30 powered USB 3.0 hub w/card reader that's already on my desk.
Now if it was nice solid alu and styled like some of the Rama keypads and was 3.0/3.1, I'd consider it. depending on the price...
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Any idea of what it will look like?
Planning on housing the hub controller board inside a connector similar to an aviation connector. I should be able to fit it inside one half of a GX16 size connector and use the other half as a breakout for each of the downstream ports.
was sorta hoping the hub would look like a donut.
looks like donut usb hubs are a thing
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I would be interested in a doughnut hub becasue I am fat and love doughnuts.
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Sorry to disappoint, but making it look like a donut wasn't really part of the plan. I've put together this wonderful mockup since I'm waiting on money for prototype costs
(https://i.imgur.com/AAqYivV.png) (https://i.imgur.com/AAqYivV.png)
The main draw is meant to be the fact that it's small enough to be housed in an aviation connector in the cable, making it tiny af.
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Doesn't seem to be aesthetically pleasing enough to make up for the lack of USB 3.0 support.
Also, it's not shaped like a donut, which in itself is a no-go
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Donut shaped pls!
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Doesn't seem to be aesthetically pleasing enough to make up for the lack of USB 3.0 support.
Also, it's not shaped like a donut, which in itself is a no-go
I mean, it's a hub inside an aviation connector, which people seem to like based off how often I seen them on cables. Might even be able to use a slightly fancier connector like a Lemo or Hirose if there was interest.
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This is definitely a unique and novel idea. I especially appreciate the creativity and time that was put into making the hub fit into an aviation connector.
Here are the reasons I will not be purchasing one. Right now I'm rocking a typical plastic hub you get off of amazon. It's the dongle looking type with 4 ports. I appreciate it because it's not very obstructive and sits well on my table. For personal aesthetic reasons I just don't think having an aviation plug with 4 cords coming out if it looks very pleasing at all (just basing what it will look like from your mockup). Sure I could just hang the aviation cord off the back of my desk so it's not just sitting on the desk looking out of place, but I don't think having the added weight of the aviation cable hanging off my desk will be beneficial to my USB devices as it will cause tension between the hub and the USB device (think of flimsy pro micros). Secondly, if I do decide to put it on my desk, and I don't end up using all the USB expansions (you've drawn 4 on the mockup) then I just have extra female port USB cables hanging around on my desk. This adds clutter and seems counter intuitive.
I could care less about USB 2.0 vs 3.0, but I appear to be in the minority with that opinion.
Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
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This is definitely a unique and novel idea. I especially appreciate the creativity and time that was put into making the hub fit into an aviation connector.
Here are the reasons I will not be purchasing one. Right now I'm rocking a typical plastic hub you get off of amazon. It's the dongle looking type with 4 ports. I appreciate it because it's not very obstructive and sits well on my table. For personal aesthetic reasons I just don't think having an aviation plug with 4 cords coming out if it looks very pleasing at all (just basing what it will look like from your mockup). Sure I could just hang the aviation cord off the back of my desk so it's not just sitting on the desk looking out of place, but I don't think having the added weight of the aviation cable hanging off my desk will be beneficial to my USB devices as it will cause tension between the hub and the USB device (think of flimsy pro micros). Secondly, if I do decide to put it on my desk, and I don't end up using all the USB expansions (you've drawn 4 on the mockup) then I just have extra female port USB cables hanging around on my desk. This adds clutter and seems counter intuitive.
I could care less about USB 2.0 vs 3.0, but I appear to be in the minority with that opinion.
Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
One thing I'm wanting to offer is customization for usage scenarios. If you only need 2-3 ports then you'll be able to customize your hub to only come with that many. Additionally, you could even skip the female A ports and go straight to the ports your devices used to cut out a middleman. Part of what I'm wanting to do is offer options since everyone likes those. The choice for aviation connector is a mix of availability and their current usage on custom cables, but other types of connectors could be used that more fit aesthetic preferences.
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That sounds cool actually, I plan on having three keyboards on my desk soon and it would be cool to have one cable connecting them all. I really want the thick rubber cable you’re also gauging interest for, though.
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Doesn't seem to be aesthetically pleasing enough to make up for the lack of USB 3.0 support.
Also, it's not shaped like a donut, which in itself is a no-go
...Might even be able to use a slightly fancier connector like a Lemo or Hirose if there was interest.
Interested. :thumb:
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USB 2.0 only? No 3.0?
That seems outdated at best.
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The choice for 2.0 is based off my intents for this item to be used. The majority of keyboards, macro pads, mice, and other related peripherals do not have any use for 3.0. Additionally, 3.0 would limit what I'm wanting to do with this design:
- 3.0 controllers are on average larger than 2.0 ones, especially ones with more than 2 ports, and require more components and routing on the PCB, making the entire design even larger and costing more to produce
- 3.0 controllers are, on average, more expensive to buy, with the 2.0 ic I'm using being $.96 for a single one and the cheapest 4port 3.0 ic I've found being $10.20 for one and needing more components, which would impact the relatively low price point I'm looking to hit with these
- 3.0 requires different wire with 11 conductors that is not only more expensive, but larger, meaning that normal paracord would not work with it, so this would impact the pricing as well as the customization that I'm looking for
If I went with 3.0 and couldn't make my design small and clean, relatively cheap, and customizable, then why would anyone buy it over a $10 3.0 hub off Amazon?
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You still haven't mentioned projected pricing for your hubs, so we can't answer that question.
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I'm hoping for $25-$30 with maxed options like max length, double sleeving, four unique connectors on the pigtails.
Also, another drawback of 3.0 I realized, 4 ports each need 6 data lines and then at least 2 power lines are needed overall, so I'd need to find connectors with at least 26 pins, and the smallest connectors I can find with that many are giant, industrial application 28mm connectors that would be exceptionally impractical for this application.
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Got prototype boards ordered, I'm expecting them later this week for initial testing, especially seeing if I can even solder the smaller details. Looking forward to a functional prototype in the next couple weeks.
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Hey donut, did this ever go through? I'm after a usb hub and would like to support this one other then somewhere like Amazon, etc.
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Hey donut, did this ever go through? I'm after a usb hub and would like to support this one other then somewhere like Amazon, etc.
Between other projects and family medical stuff I really haven't had the time to do much with this currently. My design was technically workable, but it wasn't viable to hand solder something that small like I had planned to. I'll need to upsize some of the elements while trying to keep the form factor compact for the intended usage, or maybe even just change the concept entirely.