Question question regarding "2 in 4 Out USB 3.0 Sharing Switch Box"

rosika

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Jun 21, 2017
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Hello altogether,

I am interested in a certain product and would like to make sure that I´m buying the right one.

My sole method of connecting to the internet is via a UMTS-stick.
Living in Germany I purchased such a stick from Aldi. It is the model S4012 (or Huawei E1550 HSDPA USB-stick).

The thing is:

I normally connect the UMTS-stick to my main PC. On occasions I need to connect it to my laptop as well. So I have to disconnect the stick and connect
it again and so on.

In order to avoid this clumsiness I need a device that lets me having connected the UMTS-stick to the PC and laptop at the same time
but in a way that I can swith between PC and laptop alternatively. Of course the UMTS-stick may only be in operation with either the PC
or the laptop at any given time.

I thought of buying the 2 in 4 Out USB 3.0 Sharing Switch Box as seen on

https://www.amazon.de/UGREEN-Umscha...N+USB+2.0+KVM&qid=1564315760&s=gateway&sr=8-3 .

So I need your advice. Would this product be suited to meet my needs?

Thank you very much for your help in advance.
Greetings
Rosika

P.S.:
My PC and laptop are running Linux Lubuntu and Ubuntu respectively.
 

rosika

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Jun 21, 2017
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Hi kanewolf and thanks a lot for your reply.

I´ve already been looking for MIFI-routers, basically routers that can take my UMTS-stick as input and transform that into a WIFI-signal.

Alas I couldn´t find a single one that positively states that it can work together with my Huawei E1550 UMTS-stick.

The link you kindly provided has E1550-entries but not for Germany where I live.
So I´m still not sure whether it´ll work.......

Therefore I was looking for alternatives and came up with the 2 in 4 Out USB 3.0 Sharing Switch Box.

Greetings.
Rosika
 

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
I guess I don't see a worthwhile benefit of the switch compared to plugging / unplugging the USB. A laptop is likely to be used away from the desktop location.
Now that you have a list of suppurted devices, you might look for a supported USB device as a long term solution.
 
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rosika

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Jun 21, 2017
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Hi again kanewolf,

yeah, I see your point.
It´s a special case here where my PC and laptop actually reside on my desk with practically no movement whatsoever.

So theoretically the switch would make sense .
I was wondering if it would suit my needs - again: theoretically.

Greetings.
Rosika
 

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
Hi again kanewolf,

yeah, I see your point.
It´s a special case here where my PC and laptop actually reside on my desk with practically no movement whatsoever.

So theoretically the switch would make sense .
I was wondering if it would suit my needs - again: theoretically.

Greetings.
Rosika
I don't know. Switching the device might "confuse" it. If it doesn't lose power, it might not realize it has a different physical host and needs to re-intialize the connections.
 

rosika

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Jun 21, 2017
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Hello kanewolf,

thanks for your renewed feedback.
If it doesn't lose power, it might not realize it has a different physical host and needs to re-intialize the connections.

O.K., this shouldn´t be a problem because I don´t intend to use the umts-stick with both the PC and the laptop running at the same time.

For me it´s either running the PC or the laptop. So re-initialization of the connections don´t seem to be a problem.

What I really wanted to achieve is using the umts-stick with the PC and the laptop (but not at the same time) without having to physically disconnect and re-connect the stick
each time I switch the computer.

Greetings
Rosika
 

rosika

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Jun 21, 2017
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@ AllanGH:

Hi and thanks for the suggestions.

The newegg one seems the be pretty similar to the ugreen switch:
Allows 2 pc to share a USB device, such as a printer, scanner, camera, keyboard, and > other devices with USB

I think that´s what the ugreen-device does as well.
I think it should work.

Thanks again.
Greetings
Rosika
 
I can't find a switch that gives me the assurance that the shields are isolated from each other, which is a cause for concern if the the shields of the computers are at a different potential from each other.

If you have a digital multimeter, you should measure between the USB shield of your laptop/notebook and the USB shield of your desktop computer to see if there is a voltage difference between the two. If there is, connecting the two shields together can cause some perplexing problems over time.

This is caused by the difference in how Earthing is implemented between the two systems; and the laptop/notebook is the system that is most likely to have a "less than ideal" Earthing strategy.

However, if you do measure between the USB shields of both systems, and see no voltage difference, then you are OK.

It's just best to consider these kinds of things before they become a problem for you, and it was my thought that the NewEgg and Amazon offerings are a far simpler bit of kit, which might give you isolation between the USB shields from the outset.

[EDIT]
Ideally, any such device would switch all 5 conductors between the 'A' and 'B' connectors to the 'Common' connector (V+, D-, D+, Ground, and Shield), with a clean break before make on the switch transitions.
 
Last edited:

rosika

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Jun 21, 2017
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Hi AllanGH,

thanks a lot for your very elaborate report on shields and isolation. Very impressive and informative. (y)

[...] assurance that the shields are isolated from each other, which is a cause for concern if the the shields of the computers are at a different potential from each other.
Just to clarify:
Is this topic of isolation also relevant if the two PCs (or laptop and PC in my case) are not running at the same time?
Because that´s my scenario: I want my umts-stick to be running together with either the PC or the laptop. So when I use it with the PC the laptop isn´t running and vice versa.

I just don´t want having to disconnect and reconnect all the time.

Geetings.
Rosika
 
I understand, and actually agree with you that port swapping all the time can be a pain.

The issue is that, even when turned-off, such systems maintain a constant Earth connection, for safety purposes. It's important that, when you create a pathway between two such systems, the Earthing potential of both systems are at the same level; otherwise, ground current loops will cause some very strange problems.
Ideally, you would take steps to equalize the Earthing potentials between the two systems, however, I have found that a system that is floating (no Earthing at all), particularly if it is a laptop that is running on battery power only, or is completely isolated from the power mains and Earthing altogether, doesn't present much of an issue in this context.

If your laptop/notebook is completely isolated from the power mains AND Earthing connections, then you won't have issues with ground loops.
 

rosika

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Jun 21, 2017
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@AllanGH:

Thanks again for your perseverance. ;)

The issue is that, even when turned-off, such systems maintain a constant Earth connection, for safety purposes.
Wow, I didn´t know that. Thanks for clarifying.
If your laptop/notebook is completely isolated from the power mains AND Earthing connections, then you won't have issues with ground loops.
Well, you got me here. That´s really not the case with me. The laptop is still connected to the mains plug even if it´s off.

So basically I learned a lot here. Thanks again.
It´s really better to clarify as much as possible in advance.

Perhaps it would be better if I kept looking for a suitable MIFI-router in order to solve my problem. Yet until now I haven´t had any luck with that.

So thanks a lot again for your help.
Many greetings.
Rosika :giggle:
 
Hello altogether,

I am interested in a certain product and would like to make sure that I´m buying the right one.

My sole method of connecting to the internet is via a UMTS-stick.
Living in Germany I purchased such a stick from Aldi. It is the model S4012 (or Huawei E1550 HSDPA USB-stick).

The thing is:

I normally connect the UMTS-stick to my main PC. On occasions I need to connect it to my laptop as well. So I have to disconnect the stick and connect
it again and so on.

In order to avoid this clumsiness I need a device that lets me having connected the UMTS-stick to the PC and laptop at the same time
but in a way that I can swith between PC and laptop alternatively. Of course the UMTS-stick may only be in operation with either the PC
or the laptop at any given time.

I thought of buying the 2 in 4 Out USB 3.0 Sharing Switch Box as seen on

https://www.amazon.de/UGREEN-Umschalter-Tastaturen-Festplatten-Headsets/dp/B01MXXQKGM/ref=sr_1_3?__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&keywords=UGREEN+USB+2.0+KVM&qid=1564315760&s=gateway&sr=8-3 .

So I need your advice. Would this product be suited to meet my needs?

Thank you very much for your help in advance.
Greetings
Rosika

P.S.:
My PC and laptop are running Linux Lubuntu and Ubuntu respectively.

Seems you need a cell model router not a single USB stick like you asked about in your other post about this https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...ity-of-umts-stick-with-mobile-router.3497155/ Contact your service provider and see what they recommend.
 

rosika

Honorable
Jun 21, 2017
27
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@hang-the-9:

Thanks for your comment.

Yes, I thought so as well. What I like about the cellular routers I discussed in my other thread is the fact that I can plug in my umts-stick directly.
I´d prefer this option. I like it better than switching my SIM-card.

Alas I couldn´t make absolutely sure beforehand whether those models support my Huawei E1550.

Besides: With my UMTS-stick I also receive SMS-messages. I´d probably have to give up that service when using a cellular router......?????

Greetings
Rosika
 

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