Connecting multiple firewire devices to PB

Question

Connecting multiple firewire devices to PB

For the purists, I've already tried the Bluetooth-USB-Firewire-RAM section without any knowledgable help. Have also tried several broad searches of the whole Discussions menu with similar results. So I thought I'd try this forum, as it seems to have a pretty good readership.

The problem: I'm trying to connect to the single firewire port on my PB, two Epson devices (printer and a flatbedd scanner), each of which have a single firewire and USB port, as well as a LaCie 120GB external drive which has two firewire ports, but no USB port. Daisy chaining won't work for obvious reasons.

I bought a Belkin Firewire 6-port hub, Model F5U526-APL. The box shows a diagram of a scanner, hard drive and iPod connected to this hub, which is connected to an Apple iBook. The hub is AC powered.

When I connected my stuff to the hub, then to the PB, the LaCie power light came on, but was not seen by the PB. The PB does not see the scanner (Perfection 3200 Photo) or printer (Stylus Photo 2200). Both work when individually connected directly to the PB.

I checked Belkin's web site, but there are no drivers or other downloads for this hub. I sent an e-mail to Belkin tech support two days ago, but have heard nothing from them.

From the PB I could run a single firewire cord long enough to reach each of these devices, plugging and unplugging as needed, but that's a bother I'm trying to avoid.

If any of you have experience in this situation, I would appreciate any help you could share.

Posted on Sep 21, 2005 2:50 PM

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Answer 1

bdmarsha

Level 4

2,580 points

Sep 21, 2005 3:02 PM in response to Grant Jacobsen

Grant,

I cannot help you with the FireWire Hub as I am not familiar with it. However, I thought I would point out that you can buy a 9-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable/adapter and make use of your FireWire-800 port for standard FireWire devices. So you can at least get two devices running simultaneously.

bd

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Answer 2

Sep 21, 2005 3:25 PM in response to Grant Jacobsen

bd

Since the PB only has one 9-pin firewire port (and no 6-pin firewire ports), and the printer, scanner and LaCie drive only have 9-pin firewire ports, I don't understand your suggestion that using a 6-pin/9-pin firewire cable would allow me to connect more than one device at a time.

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Answer 3

bdmarsha

Level 4

2,580 points

Sep 21, 2005 5:32 PM in response to Grant Jacobsen

Grant,

I guess it depends on exactly which model you have; my 15" 1.67 GHz Al book has both a 6-pin and a 9-pin FireWire port. Sorry for the confusion.

bd

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Answer 4

Sep 21, 2005 6:39 PM in response to Grant Jacobsen

bd

On looking more closely, I guess there is a 6-pin connection, but frankly, what I'm trying to do is avoid as much as I can the cable clutter coming out of the PB. I'm running a 24"LCD, so there is the video cable. Then there's the cable to the speakers, plus a cable for the MightyMouse. I switched to the Apple wireless keyboard, so at least there's not a keyboard cable to contend with.

As I inferred earlier, if I can't get the Belkin hub to work, I'll just run a long firewire cable out of the PB, and connect it to whichever device I want to use at the time I need it. Doing so is just a bother I was hoping to avoid.

At least I realize I have another firewire port, should I need it. Thanks!

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Answer 5

Tuttle

Level 7

29,565 points

Sep 21, 2005 6:55 PM in response to Grant Jacobsen

Hi Grant - You really should consider making use of your PCMCIA card slot. There are adapters available which will give you two or more extra FW ports to work with, 400, 800, or a combination of the two.

Tuttle

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Answer 6

Sep 21, 2005 7:15 PM in response to Grant Jacobsen

Tuttle -

That really doesn't help the cable clutter, but it's certainly worth considering and may be cheaper than using the Belkin hub (which I may end up returning to CompUSA).

The reason the cable clutter is a problem is because I work from a built-in computer desk, where I sit facing a 50" deep corner wall. The desktop continues off to the left and right, with drawers and bookshelves on the left and to the right are lateral file cabinets underneath and my scanner, external HD, two printers, etc., sitting on top. The PB sits behind the 24" LCD monitor and is somewhat hard to get at, especially if I want to take the PB with me.

Anyway, I may give it a try. Right now I have run a single firewire cable from the PB to the right, behind all the firewire devices, and move the cable to the next device needed.

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Answer 7

Braby

Level 4

1,795 points

Sep 22, 2005 10:47 AM in response to Grant Jacobsen

No big deal Grant, but I did recommend the PCMCIA solution back when you first posted elsewhere!
Since you did go the powered hub route we discussed I presume you couldn't find any other solution. However if you're still determined to avoid the "cable clutter" of a PC card adapter then I would first ascertain that you simply haven't been sold a dud Belkin hub.Since you're returning it it might be worth getting them to check it since I can't see any other reason why the set-up you've tried wouldn't work.
As to the PB firewire ports discussion; I'm pretty sure the configuration has remained the same ever since the launch of the 15" aluminium version.

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Answer 8

Sep 22, 2005 12:09 PM in response to Grant Jacobsen

Hello,
Ok, the F5U526-APL you purchased from CompUSA i assume is the $50 model, which is used more as an extender than a multi-hub. What i mean is the F5U526-APL acts as more of a pass through to one firewire device at a time.
What you should have purchased is the F5U526-SLV-APL , which is the $100 version, which is a full duplex powerd hub. I asked around some more knowledgeable friends who also think so.

A much more space saving and cheaper alternative is a PCMCIA adapter which goes for about $40 at the same CompUSA. Good luck.

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