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New Zealand, Wellington
1 Level
708 Review
66 Karma

Review on πŸ’» Plugable AB Switch - USB 3.0 Sharing Switch for Instant One-Button USB Device or Hub Swapping Between Two Computers by Dylan Aaronson

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Works well but switches can be intermittent; difficult to modify for a remote logical operation.

The top of the case can be snapped off (4 clips on both short ends). The circuit board is not attached to the case and can be easily removed. Built-in snap-action switches short the control line to ground to activate a specific USB port. These control lines are pulled up to about +4.8 VDC. However, the USB switch function is only activated with a rising edge (e.g. when switching from ground to open). Also, the alternate control line must remain high for the other line to activate. When controlled by logic, you need a pulse to activate each of them. So I don't have to build the whole logic circuit, I use two instantaneous control lines and a ground. Another reviewer here used a simple SPDT switch, but I suspect the switch's action activates the opposite port (which is normal) and may cause bounce issues. Some problems with this device: 1. The built-in A/B switching function can be intermittent, sometimes requiring you to press the desired switch multiple times. This suggests that Plugable didn't properly fix the switch toggling, but most users don't mind; The LED lights seem to constantly show the actual working port. Use with an external logic control line that operates at 100% on the rising edge.2. The device sends 5VDC from type B ports to a normal port (type A?) (not sure if it also goes from B to B). This may be required by most users; I don't know as it is connected to a Raspberry Pi3 (controversial info on whether this spare power/passthrough is an issue). However, I plan to cut an A/B wire to expose the RED line (+5VDC).3. Looking at Ports B, switch up, it appears that rightmost Port B is used by default on power-up, no matter which Port B is connected (or both). until he's gone But don't trust that 100% because they forgot to debounce the switches.

Pros
  • Great for me
Cons
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