Extending a USB webcam cord using CAT5?
Arget
work at all. It's something I'm considering attemping if it sounds
possible...
I have seen RJ45-to-USB adapters before. For example, my friend has
one that is plugged onto the CAT5 cable from his cable modem, and then
into his USB port, for Internet access.
I would have to imagine these adapters exists with a female USB end as
well.
Assuming I could get both of these kinds of adapters, could I take my
USB webcam, plug into the female-USB adapter, then CAT5 into the other
end....and at the opposite end, have the other adapter taking the
signal from the CAT5 and plugging into my USB port and being able to
actually get the video feed that way?
Or, to put it a little visually:
PC(USB port)-[USB-to-RJ45]-[CAT5 cable]-[RJ45-to-USB]-[USB webcam]
Would it work?
TIA
SteveR
>Just sort of a theoretical question here. I'm just curious if it would
>work at all. It's something I'm considering attemping if it sounds
>possible...
>
>I have seen RJ45-to-USB adapters before. For example, my friend has
>one that is plugged onto the CAT5 cable from his cable modem, and then
>into his USB port, for Internet access.
No, you've seen USB Ethernet adapters. The output of the cable modem is
Ethernet, and it's quite feasible to put 10Mbps Ethernet (10base-T) down
a USB cable, which is 12Mbps. (And the cable modem is slower still than
the Ethernet, so the USB will be stressed that much less.) What your
friend has is a fairly ordinary Ethernet adapter connected by USB
instead of by PCI.
>I would have to imagine these adapters exists with a female USB end as
>well.
I don't believe that there is such a thing. I can't think of any "off
the top of the head" reasons why it would be impossible to produce a
CAT5-based USB extender, but I don't believe that anyone does.
>Assuming I could get both of these kinds of adapters, could I take my
>USB webcam, plug into the female-USB adapter, then CAT5 into the other
>end....and at the opposite end, have the other adapter taking the
>signal from the CAT5 and plugging into my USB port and being able to
>actually get the video feed that way?
>Or, to put it a little visually:
>PC(USB port)-[USB-to-RJ45]-[CAT5 cable]-[RJ45-to-USB]-[USB webcam]
How far are you trying to go? The maximum length for a single hop
between devices on USB is 5 metres of cable, but all those USB hubs you
see in the shops count as devices, so if you need a 10 metre cable run,
shove a (self-powered) hub halfway.
--
SteveR