Running out RPi of USB ports

Hi,

I need 5 USB ports (to use the new filter wheel), but RPi has only 4. I tried to use an old USB hub but didn't work. I purchased a new powered USB hub but also I couldn't see the devices used by the hub.

Any idea what is the correct solution for using a USB HUB with RPi 4?


Thank you

You don't state whether you are using wireless or ethernet (and 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz if wireless). The safest bet (slower but more stable) is to start your tests by running your powered hub data cable to the PI4 USB2 port (NOT the PI4 USB3 port just yet). Make sure you have proper power for the Pi4 (3amp, 5v). Connect all your devices to the HUB's USB ports. I'll assume you have plenty of power for the HUB (verify). Power up your hub first and let it stabilize a few seconds, then, power up the Pi4. After the PI4 boots, run your Ekos devices profile; you should see and be able to access the devices. In the odd chance you have a port conflict, you may need to scan ports and/or use a port mapper config (see tutorials for this). Note that if you are using wired ethernet or 5Ghz wireless, you can use the Pi4's USB3 port for the HUB data connect instead of the PI4 USB2 port. This is MUCH faster (and should be the goal). Don't try to use wireless 2.4Ghz and the PI4's USB3 ports. Won't be stable. Good luck....

mhammady,

I would check the USB cable you have between the Pi and the hub.

I'm using 5 USB-2 peripherals - 4 on an unpowered hub and one on the RPi directly, and one USB-3 for a. little SSD, and have also run a USB-3 hub, but with USB-2 peripherals. It all works, and I don't recall doing anything special. I had a bad cable at one point.

Dave

mhammady wrote: Hi,

I need 5 USB ports (to use the new filter wheel), but RPi has only 4. I tried to use an old USB hub but didn't work. I purchased a new powered USB hub but also I couldn't see the devices used by the hub.

Any idea what is the correct solution for using a USB HUB with RPi 4?


Thank you

I think you may be experiencing a similar issue to myself and @kross which seems to have arrived a week ago after a major update to the RPi software which upgraded the linux kernel from version 4.19 to 5.4. Until then I had been using my RPi with a tp-link 7-port powered USB3.0 hub with five of its ports occupied. I use the RPi’s USB3.0 port to feed it, and the second USB3.0 port to connect to an SSD which is my boot device. I follow @dmsummers advice and avoid 2.4GHZ wifi. Fortunately I am now back to full functionality after carefully monitoring the USB list of devices (using lsusb in a terminal window) to ensure that all devices are present. In my case if I connect a Pegasus Astro PPB with its FTDI serial port adapter inside to the end port of the hub all list entries on Bus 001 (the USB 2.0 bus) disappear. The same device plugged in further along the hub and a reboot and everything works.again.
I use the Astroberry server. By reinstalling an image from early June I can get everything back to normal, but if I perform an update/upgrade the missing USB devices issue arrives again.More history in the thread ‘USB failure after yesterday’s upgrading’.

dmsummers wrote: You don't state whether you are using wireless or ethernet (and 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz if wireless). The safest bet (slower but more stable) is to start your tests by running your powered hub data cable to the PI4 USB2 port (NOT the PI4 USB3 port just yet).

Thank you dmsummers

I’m a little bit confused about the relationship between the LAN/WAN connection and USB. Can you please explain how they are related?

I’m using both Ethernet cable (connecting to private rig network) and wireless WiFi 5GHz or 2.4 GHz for internet according to the location.


Thank you
Mohamed

dallmon wrote: mhammady,

I would check the USB cable you have between the Pi and the hub.

I'm using 5 USB-2 peripherals - 4 on an unpowered hub and one on the RPi directly, and one USB-3 for a. little SSD, and have also run a USB-3 hub, but with USB-2 peripherals. It all works, and I don't recall doing anything special. I had a bad cable at one point.

Dave

Hi Dave

I believe both are working fine with win10 Pac. I started with the old 4 ports hub I already had, but it didn’t work, and after research, I found that because of the low power of the RPi I may need a powered hub, so I purchased a new one which also didn’t work. Any idea what went wrong?


Thank you
Mohamed

Mohamed,

With nothing plugged into the hub you should see the hub using the lsusb command.

The Genesys Logic lines are my hub. Yours are likely different. If you see that, the cable is good and the hub is talking. If not, you have a USB port, cable or hub problem. When you plug one device cable in and run lsusb you should see that one device added to the lsusb list. If not, you may have a power supply problem. If you do see the one device, then the hub is functional, and you probably have a power supply problem. If you no longer see the hub, you also may have a power supply problem. I didn't think it was important before, but I have a 4A 5V supply for the Pi, which could explain why I can run six devices off of the Pi.

Dave

@Mohamed: Re: "about the relationship between the LAN/WAN connection and USB".

If you are using an ethernet cable plugged into the Pi4 comm port, then you can use the USB3 port on the Pi4 for your powered hub data connect. You can also use the Pi4 USB3 port if you are communicating to Pi4 using 5Ghz wireless (i.e. no ethernet cable). However, if you are communicating using 2.4Ghz wireless, you won't have access to a stable USB3 port on the PI4. Search other posted topics for "RF interference" to read the details. If you are wireless to the Pi4, but don't know whether you're using 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz, you'll either need to log into your router to verify, or assume 2.4Ghz (and avoid USB3 until you have an ethernet cable or verified 5Ghz wireless for PI4 communication). Then run your tests as previously discussed. What we're doing here is getting to a stable Pi4 power and USB config. After you've done this, you should know whether you're struggling with the new OS upgrade or not. I have upgraded (SM OS), and I don't have the issue. I run 6 USB devices (all connected to a powered USB3 hub). All work fine. If you are methodical about your setup, you'll soon have it working at peak performance. But first verify your power and comm setup, then USB2, and afterward, USB3 depending on Ethernet or 5Ghz wireless.

Hello everyone... I really appreciate your feedback, which gave me confidence that the powered USB should work. I continued to check each cable one by one as Dave suggested, and I found that the USB-C cable for the ASI120MM Mini is somehow malfunctioning. When it connects, it disables some other USB devices. I tried it on my PC (win10) and it started to disable USB speakers connected to the same HUB. Everything is working as soon as I replace this tiny USB-C cable with a new one.


Thank you for your help...