USB hub IC recommendations?

Simon Merrett wrote 01/25/2019 at 21:57 • 1 point

I'm looking for a relatively easy USB hub chip. The reason I want to roll some or all of the device is to be able to put custom connectors in a custom layout. Any tips on what to use?

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mitchell.dokken wrote 02/12/2019 at 02:52

If you're alright with 12Mbps, the Fe1.1s is real cheap and needs only decoupling caps and a resistor. I have a working example here: https://hackaday.io/project/160872-4-port-usb-hub-in-a-square-inch

Odds are good you don't NEED that many capacitors on your design. And obviously a smaller crystal would look nicer.

You can get em on lcsc for like 50 cents each: https://lcsc.com/product-detail/USB_FE1-1S_C9359.html

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Simon Merrett wrote 02/12/2019 at 23:04

Thanks, they look easy to hand solder too.

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Starhawk wrote 01/28/2019 at 00:28

I'm going to make an odd recommendation. Get an IOGear GUH304 (USB3) or a GUH285 (USB2) depending on which version of USB you need. Whatever chip is in there is what you want. I have used SO FREAKING MANY HUBS in my life and they all suck except for the ones that say IOGear on the side, which just last three times as long and shrug off minor stupidities with ease. I have no idea why; they just do. I will recommend them until I die or until they start making crap that breaks, whichever happens first.

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Simon Merrett wrote 01/28/2019 at 06:54

Sounds like a completely valid approach! Thanks

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Simon Merrett wrote 01/28/2019 at 06:52

Thanks

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Bharbour wrote 01/26/2019 at 13:43

Sorry, I have been digging through a bunch of USB stuff this week, and the MCP22xx was the last bunch. The family(s) I was looking for on the Microchip web site are the MCP24xx and 22xx. https://www.microchip.com/design-centers/usb/usb-hubs-and-devices/products/usb-hubs

I have not used these yet, but will be in the near future (along with the MCP22xx bridges).

USB comes in numerous speeds, options, and standards. Adding a little more information like "low speed", "full speed", "high speed", 2.0, 3.0, OTG, or type C would give people a better idea if what you are looking for matches what they are thinking.

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Simon Merrett wrote 01/26/2019 at 13:46

Thanks, even the MCP24XX steer is a massive head start. I'm not sure what I need but I think 2.0 is a good place to begin.

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Michael Branson wrote 01/26/2019 at 04:27

There's this project (with a popular chinese ic)

https://hackaday.io/project/18177-4-port-usb-hub

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Simon Merrett wrote 01/26/2019 at 07:38

[face-palm] why didn't I search HaD.io first? Actually I would rather have a personal recommendation for a chip they had experience with but this is the next best thing. Thank you!

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Paul Stoffregen wrote 01/27/2019 at 10:53

If you plan to use more than 1 device at 12 or 1.5 Mbit/sec speed, really recommend using a higher performance hub chip with Multi-TT. These single TT chips are cheap, but the downside is slower devices don't properly share the 480 Mbit/sec upstream bandwidth. :(

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Simon Merrett wrote 02/06/2019 at 22:46

Thanks, I'm in slo mo territory at the moment but good to note for future.

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Bharbour wrote 01/25/2019 at 23:43

The Microchip MCP22xx series looks pretty good.

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Simon Merrett wrote 01/26/2019 at 07:35

Thanks but I couldn't see one which is a hub chip (downstream USB). They all look like USB to UART/I2C/SPI bridges. Have I missed the hub version?

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USB hub IC recommendations?

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