Active USB 2 cables performance/reliability issues

[miles.from.nowhere]

I did seach LLT but nothing seemed to fit my issue.  I appreciate any advice on USB cables -- connecting outdoor Wifi adapter to Alpha R36 router or direct to PC. I am using two adapters to grab a very strong 750' signal from a neighbors house (yes, they have given me the password). We have a direct line of sight.  My outdoor adapters are each 60 ft from the PC's they support. We have tried several brands (and price points) Active USB 2 cables and combinations of cables: 15', 30' and 45'.

 

I cannot figure out why there are inconsistencies in cable performance and signal. Sometimes moment to moment surges and signal depletions. I find that cables seem to just stop working for no apparent reason. I change them out and then when I go back to the failed cables they may work again.  I am wondering in this is a manufacturers quality problem or my circumstances?

 

-   is there any common issue with active USB 2 cable connections? any way to secure the connections so they are "tight"?

-   can the cables or repeater componest become polarized and need theiir polarity reversed?

-   will hihg humidity and/or condensation disupt cable performance or cable connections?

-  can heat from a radiator (75 to 80F) affect cable or repeater/booster performance?

-  can metal objects such as a radiator interfer with the signal

-  can very cold weather affect cable - or cable repeater - performance? 

-  what about electrostatic interverence from wind blowing across the cables?

-  what about solar flares? meteor storms?

 

Any particular brand of Active USB 2 cable that is considered best and most reliable?

 

Thanks for any ideas or referrals on this

[Donut417]

10 hours ago, miles.from.nowhere said:

I did seach LLT but nothing seemed to fit my issue.  I appreciate any advice on USB cables -- connecting outdoor Wifi adapter to Alpha R36 router or direct to PC. I am using two adapters to grab a very strong 750' signal from a neighbors house (yes, they have given me the password). We have a direct line of sight.  My outdoor adapters are each 60 ft from the PC's they support. We have tried several brands (and price points) Active USB 2 cables and combinations of cables: 15', 30' and 45'.

 

I cannot figure out why there are inconsistencies in cable performance and signal. Sometimes moment to moment surges and signal depletions. I find that cables seem to just stop working for no apparent reason. I change them out and then when I go back to the failed cables they may work again.  I am wondering in this is a manufacturers quality problem or my circumstances?

 

-   is there any common issue with active USB 2 cable connections? any way to secure the connections so they are "tight"?

-   can the cables or repeater componest become polarized and need theiir polarity reversed?

-   will hihg humidity and/or condensation disupt cable performance or cable connections?

-  can heat from a radiator (75 to 80F) affect cable or repeater/booster performance?

-  can metal objects such as a radiator interfer with the signal

-  can very cold weather affect cable - or cable repeater - performance? 

-  what about electrostatic interverence from wind blowing across the cables?

-  what about solar flares? meteor storms?

 

Any particular brand of Active USB 2 cable that is considered best and most reliable?

 

Thanks for any ideas or referrals on this

Firstly are the cables in question outdoor rated? Because outdoor rated cables are UV resistant, with out UV resistance the sun will cause the sheathing of the cable to crack and water gets in and does naughty things. To be honest Ive never head of using USB outside like this. Most outdoor networking equipment uses Ethernet and I know for a fact those cables come in Outdoor & Underground rated. Another issue I could see, are these USB cables grounded? Anything like that outside HAS to be grounded for safety, as copper conducts electricity. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

USB is just a bad choice for long range, I have never found a single active USB booster to work reliably (or at all even, and I'm talking only 5-10m runs) having had both USB 2 and USB 3 versions.

 

Generally a passive cable with the largest conductors you can find works best in my experience, but for your scenario USB is just a bad idea all round IMO as any rogue RFI will get fed back into your PC.  USB is simply not designed to handle conditions outdoors.

 

What you really need is a properly rated outdoor WiFi client and run it using power over ethernet with correctly rated and grounded outdoor ethernet cable.  One of the older Ubiquiti Access Points I believe should work in client mode, just make sure its the older WiFi compliant versions.

Another option may be to get a router that supports OpenWRT and use its WiFi (which will have FAR better reception than a USB adapter due to better antennas and less power limits) as the client.  That way you can extend the rest of the way in the house over ethernet or even the second WiFi channel.

 

Although for best performance you want a dedicated point to point link, its what I ended up using for reliable WiFi across the road as the normal WiFi protocol is just not very robust for outdoor links.