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Connecting Canon 700D to BYE via a USB-UTP cable of 100ft long


robair996

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Hello.

I am trying to connect my Canon 700D to my iMac running BYE on Parallels over a distance of 100ft.  So far I have done this with a Ethernet RJ45 cable to which I have connected a USB to RJ45 and RJ45 to USB adapter on both sides. It works but I sometimes BYE freezes. Windows keeps telling me that 'my device' can perform faster if it were connected to a USB 2.0 port, which it is??? I wonder whether it is because of the longer cable and if there is another way to connect my Canon over such distances. I thought of Mini HDMI to HDMI but it seems that BYE does not allow that.

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HDMI is NOT an option supported by Canon for bidirectional transmittal of Commands and Data, rather only supports Outbound Video Image of LiveView and Movie.

 

If your Parallels version of Windows reports that it would be faster to use USB2, then it is quite likely that your Ethernet Converters are only recognized by OSX or Parallels as USB1.  You should search for support for Settings or Drivers that fully enable these Devices to be recognized as USB2.  Windows Device Manager will report how it sees the Connection - but remember that it is running in an VM inside Parallels which is running inside OSX.

 

There are sets of USB2 Cables which have Integrated USB2 Repeaters - but 100ft is a bit beyond the USB Spec even with the maximum number of such Repeaters.

 

The only other suggestion might be to ensure that you are connecting your 700D to a Powered USB2 Hub at the Scope End of your lengthy connection - whether USB2 Repeaters or USB2-Ethernet - to ensure that the DSLR connection is receiving the required power and USB Device Support at that end of the Connection.

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If the camera sdk looses connection to the camera body, even for only 1 millisecond, the camera will disconnect or freeze.  This is a sdk issue and there is not much I can do sadly.  Connection to the camera has to be 100% available.

 

Regards,

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Are you sure that your USB-to-Cat5 adaptor is supporting USB 2.0?  These devices are generally on the pricey side. USB 1.1 to Cat5 devices are less expensive, but also slower.

 

I have a USB-to Cat5 hub that I use at star parties so that I am only running a single cable from my mount to my PC.  It works well, but having a glitch with a single device can cause the entire hub to lock up.  I have had this happen once or twice.  It was due to a bad cable.

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You might want to consider switching to a "NUC" or other dedicated computer near the mount, and connecting to it remotely, using VNC or whatever, so that the USB cables remain short and reliable.

 

There are other advantages, such as a computer that is dedicated to astro and doesn't get any changes because it's also used for other purposes.

 

I'm looking at an ASUS that has 6 USB ports. That would eliminate a USB hub, and the computer is small and light enough to be mounted on the OTA itself, minimizing the cables that come off the OTA.

 

It also has WiFi, so you could connect via VNC over WiFi, although someone here mentioned that sometimes WiFi is tightly controlled at Star Parties, due to limited WiFi channels, but certainly your 100' Cat 5/6 cable would work as well.

 

Anyway it's one step on the way to a fully automated system.

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Yes, a NUC stationed at the Pier/Tripod that is then Remote-Controlled from your Laptop is a Very Good alternative to Long USB-Repeater or Long USB-Ethernet Cables.

 

The few significant challenges with a setup like that are:

NUCs rarely are even nominally Weather-Resistent

NUCs rarely have Internal Battery or 12V Power Supplies

NUCs don't come with Keyboards / Mice / LCD Monitor

NUCs rarely have High Power support in their USB or Ethernet Ports

 

The first 3 of these Issues can be addressed if one looks to station a Semi-Dedicated Laptop instead of a NUC at the Pier / Tripod.  Ultimately, even for a Laptop, 120V Utility Power needs to be supplied at the Pier unless some alternative of multiple Deep-Cycle Batteries and Inverters are to be committed to the setup, but a decently Power-Stingy Laptop with a Fully-Charged Good Battery and Aggressive Power Management Settings will last most people for a full Imaging Session.

 

One should be ready to provide both a Powered USB2 Hub at the Pier along with the NUC / Laptop, all to ensure that the connections to Mount and Cameras (especially any USB-powered Guider Camera) are Fully and Cleanly Powered.  And a small Powered Ethernet Hub / Switch should be considered, so that there is both "Full Power" to the Long-Distance Ethernet Signals AND to provide some degree of Isolation between the Ethernet Ports on Laptops/NUCs at Pier and House  (no need to fry one or both Motherboards for want of $20 in isolation gear).

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The Asus I'm looking at has a DC input. I don't have the specs but anticipate it will be 19v, same as a laptop. Pwr+ 12v adapters are available.

 

Thanks for the reminder on USB power. I'll check into that. Only some ports on laptops are typically high powered as well so that doesn't change. Never heard of high power ethernet.

 

FYI I image with 2 35Amp hour deep cycle AGM batteries. For public events, I can run the mount, etc. and laptop off one, and a 20" monitor via an inverter off the other, for at least 5 hours. I still had 12.5v and 12.4 volts at the end of a public solar viewing on Sunday (11am to 4Pm). 

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FYI I image with 2 35Amp hour deep cycle AGM batteries. For public events, I can run the mount, etc. and laptop off one, and a 20" monitor via an inverter off the other, for at least 5 hours. I still had 12.5v and 12.4 volts at the end of a public solar viewing on Sunday (11am to 4Pm). 

That's not bad...  Your AGMs had about 25-35% useful Charge left at the end of that Session (assuming you keep to the standard "Discharge no more than 50% on regular basis").  However, my Winter Imaging Sessions usually run 11-12hrs at colder Temps that reduce Battery Output (don't get to do much Summer AP Imaging because of the Regional Monsoon - but we NEED the Water More...)

 

Thanks for the reminder on USB power. I'll check into that. Only some ports on laptops are typically high powered as well so that doesn't change. Never heard of high power ethernet.

Most Laptops and other Mini Motherboards only implement a single internal USB Root Hub, and underpower most of the USB Ports...

Similarly, many Laptops provide only the bare minimum power to the Ethernet Outputs (something like 2.2v), and thus any Long Cable might have Signal problems if the Voltage Drop results in Too Low Signals at the far end...  Powered Hubs and Switches usually provide significantly higher Voltages (near the upper end of the Spec) specifically to ensure Strong Signal...

 

And my other suggested purpose is to provide some amount of Electrical Isolation between the Expensive NUCs and Laptops and the Inexpensive-but-Long Cat5 Cable, as well as any Ground Loops or Differential Voltage issues, etc...

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Just to amplify S3igell's points, many devices laptops, etc. feed all their USB ports from only one or sometimes two internal USB hubs so the same issues apply as with external hubs regarding power and bandwidth available.

 

Regarding batteries, many years ago when I was an engineer serving in the Army I used to assume that in good condition the Mil Spec  24V 100 AH lead acid batteries would only deliver about 20% of their rated capacity at -20 deg C and about 80% at +20 deg C, I was rarely disappointed ;^))

 

Battery technology has probably moved on a bit since the 1970s and 80s but I find it is better to assume a reduced performance than to find out your batteries have failed just when they are needed most.

 

Jim

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