USB connectors multiplied beyond reason

I've completely lost track of all the different USB interface and connector standards.

If a Raspberry Pi 2 can power a 2.5" drive with a Micro B SuperSpeed port, will a Pi Zero be able to do the same?

It's possible to run a drive with a Micro B SuperSpeed socket using just a Micro B plug, does that mean that a cable with Micro B connectors on both ends would also work with it (connected to a Pi Zero)?

Thanks,

Daniele

Reply to
D.M. Procida
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That's just a regular micro-B cable plugged into an OTG cable.

Reply to
Rob Morley

Sorry, that's not clear to me. Do you mean that what I need is "a regular micro-B cable plugged into an OTG cable"?

Then to find out what an OTG cable is.

I did say that I had lost my grasp of USB...

Daniele

Reply to
D.M. Procida

On Fri, 21 Apr 2017 22:34:03 +0100, snipped-for-privacy@apple-juice.co.uk (D.M. Procida) declaimed the following:

As I recall, OTG sockets can accept either micro-A or micro-B; the type of connector used defines if the socket operates as a host or a client.

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Reply to
Dennis Lee Bieber

I've never seen a micro-B-to-micro-B cable for this purpose, so unless you fancy soldering your own cable I'd suggest that's the way to go.

"On the go" It's a micro-B plug on one end (ISTR with pin 4 shorted to ground, to signify that your phone/tablet is the host device) and a full size socket on the other end into which you insert your standard USB device e.g. thumb drive, keyboard. Obviously only works with a USB socket that has OTG functionality as that's where the detection and mode switching happens.

Reply to
Rob Morley

I think this: will do the job then - the Host end plugged into the Pi Zero's USB port, and the other into the hard disk drive.

Daniele

Reply to
D.M. Procida

Yes indeed - I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that these are readily available, I just never needed to look because the cables I already have work just fine. In a situation such as the one you propose, where power may be an issue, the shortest cable with the fewest connectors is going to do a better job (always assuming there's some copper in there).

Reply to
Rob Morley

With a one Amp wall wart, my piZero would continually restart when it got to the rainbow splash page (with the following attachment configuration) With a 1.5 Amp or more the configuration worked fine.

piZero Three TerraByte external USB 3.0 hard drive connected solely with the supplied USB3.0 cable and a USB2.0 female to male OTB adapter. - which also powers the drive. Wireless Mouse&Keyboard USB dongle WiFi USB dongle OTB power supplied thru OTB/USB hub to OTB port - bypassing piZero OTB power port. Additionally a Mini to HTMI adapter converts a really cheap HTMI cable to the TV.

I had the same concerns. My piZero is grinding around the clock massaging filenames with a python program I wrote to standardize the titles of nearly 2TB of MIDI and MP3 files. My CPU felt hot to the touch so I used a daub of thermal paste vampired from an old PC to attach a copper penny as a rudimentary poor-man's heat-sink - which performs it's cooling job just fine.

Using the TV USB as a power supply may not be sufficient. I don't think the piZero will burnout if you attached a wallwart designed for the pi3 supplying 2.5 Amps - which may supply a continuous power which the TV will not. My concern is the piZero scrambling the microSD/TransFlash with frequent unscheduled power interruptions. My piZero projects use a momentary switch soldered onto the board which, when pressed, starts a full-power shutdown - then I wait for the little green light on the piZero corner to stay dark before removing power. Prior to installing the shutdown trigger the OS would exhibit intermittent/random glitches which were difficult to rectify, if not impossible given the time to trace - the reliable solution being - replacing the TF/SD Operating System card with a fresh duplicate (that gets frustratingly tired in a hurry.)

If it were me, I'd add an external hard drive to the setup along with a WiFi dongle and make it an entertainment server which loads the movie automatically to the hard drive when a disk is inserted and control the rig with a remote VNC or SSH on my iPad/iPhone. I say that because my TV has an integrated DVD player slot in the top back, if the device fails (it's beginning to have trouble ejecting) it would be quite an operation to replace the drive - whereas a pi/hard-drive/DVD configuration using discreet components is more versatile and upgradeable (to BluRay for example.) I visit the local lending library each week to stock up on DVD's I run as background noise while I work, and often desire such a configuration to recall some bit I watched last week. My phones, tablets and laptops would also become streaming devices with such a configuration. My problem is trying to find the time to code the automatic movie storage function. Does anyone have a suggestion for existing solutions?

In your case, Procida, think Jeffersonian and plan for expansion, once your piZero configuration is in place, you will likely find much more you can or would like to do with it. You might even find that Velcroed to the back of your TV set is not as convenient or handy as Velcroed to a kitchen cabinet next to an HDMI switch. (I initially parked all my WAN/LAN gear on the credenza where the original rotary phone was installed in 1954, but soon found that set-it-and-forget-it clutter was best suited hung on a post in the attic, which also improved the WiFi all about. The projector likes the kitchen video stack as that's usually where the evening is planned and executed. )

On 4/21/2017 9:56 AM, D.M. Procida wrote: > I've completely lost track of all the different USB interface and > connector standards. > > If a Raspberry Pi 2 can power a 2.5" drive with a Micro B SuperSpeed > port, will a Pi Zero be able to do the same? > > It's possible to run a drive with a Micro B SuperSpeed socket using just > a Micro B plug, does that mean that a cable with Micro B connectors on > both ends would also work with it (connected to a Pi Zero)? > > Thanks, > > Daniele >

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Reply to
DisneyWizard the Fantasmic!

On 29/04/2017 10:22, DisneyWizard the Fantasmic! wrote: [Snip your reply] [Snip original post]

You've been around here long enough to know we don't top post.

Get with the program.

---druck

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Reply to
druck

Oh, if it isn't my little bitch, presuming to tell me what to do, in the manner of a bitch. [bitch slap]

And that's all the constructive criticism you could think of, o' yea who's mind is not yet free? Please meditate upon 'Why bother?' with such questions as: if my actions only fester hate, why bother? and 'If it changes nothing, why bother?' Try not to fall asleep, young padawan, as you lube your ass and chant "it's not the meat, it's the movement." (i.e. try to be not a big dick. butt gfy]

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Reply to
DisneyWizard the Fantasmic!

*plink*
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mm0fmf

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