USB hub locks and isolates
-- Test & Measurement World, 4/23/2007 12:41:00 PM
Several companies have added USB to their bench instruments and industrial data-acquisition devices. While USB is easy to use, engineers have long questioned the cables’ ruggedness, calling them “flimsy” and “too easily removed.”
Sealevel Systems has solved part of the problem with its SeaI/O270U a seven-port isolated USB hub. The hub’s connector openings have tapped holes that accept the company’s custom USB cables. A screw on each connector holds the cable firmly to the hub.
The hub is compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 devices although its maximum throughput is 12 Mbps. It also provides electrical isolation, rated to 1500 VAC, which eliminates potential ground loops that can produce measurement errors. It operates on 9 V to 30 V DC power and includes an external AC adapter.
Price: $379. Sealevel Systems, www.sealevel.com/product_detail.asp?product_id=1283.
Editor's note: On April 25, Sealevel Systems also announced five USB digital I/O modules that include the tapped holes for the latched USB connectors.
