I have many USB controllers connected and would like to be able to switch some on/off without the hassle of unplugging them, e.g. from a switch panel. Would this just be "as simple as" wiring the 5v line of the USB connection to a switch or would the data lines need to be switched as well?Assuming this would work okay, any source for short male-female USB extensions that could be utilised? Something along the lines of 3 inch extension cables that are supplied with some Bluetooth USB dongles.

hmmmz .. not all USB devices use the 5V power .. so I think it would not be that simple.What's the use to have a device connected to USB but have it not working ? I can't think of any good reason maybe you can tell us.

Having two joysticks or a joystick and yoke connected at the same time can cause flutter in the one you are using.I would think that cutting the ground on and off would work.John

Yep. Got yoke, Cougar setup, planning on getting a Plasma board for Talon/throttle conversion, F1 wheel, Nostromo n52, Dash2 P8000 etc.Looking at setting up a generic, multi role simpit and, for some situations, I don't/can't have all things active. Would rather be able to switch them in/out rather than fumble around with USB plugs.

>Yep. Got yoke, Cougar setup, planning on getting a Plasma>board for Talon/throttle conversion, F1 wheel, Nostromo n52,>Dash2 P8000 etc.>>Looking at setting up a generic, multi role simpit and, for>some situations, I don't/can't have all things active. Would>rather be able to switch them in/out rather than fumble around>with USB plugs.>>Put a small USB hub in between and cut its power? Would that work?//Tuomas

You could also use a USB switch box, similar to a KVM switch but only switches USB devices not video, I purchased 2 of them off ebay locally here in OZ, the one I got had 4 ports & you simply select which port you want by hitting a single button, it just cycles through ports 1-4 in sequence & back to 1 again, that should do the trick. Cost was about $15.00 Aust.Cheers Glenn.You can check out my Simpit Project here:http://www.simhardware.co.nz/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33

Here is a link to show the unit I purchased.http://www.mozillaquest.com/Hardware/Belki...ch_story01.htmlCheers Glenn.You can check out my Simpit Project here:http://www.simhardware.co.nz/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33

>Put a small USB hub in between and cut its power? Would that>work?>>//Tuomas>Not really since they are self powered from the PC-USB link anyway - most are on a hub at the moment and work fine without it being powered.I think I'll just have to give the switch idea a go - can't see any reason why it shouldn't work - maybe switch the data lines instead on a DP switch.Thanks all, nice work Glenn - I'm going down a generic pit design myself, also with twin monitors for displays (2 x 17"), also got a little 10.4" TFT for maybe a centre console.

>>Put a small USB hub in between and cut its power? Would>that>>work?>>>>//Tuomas>>>>Not really since they are self powered from the PC-USB link>anyway - most are on a hub at the moment and work fine without>it being powered.Yea, that was the worry I had too. Putting an usb-switch between the hub and the computer will work though, and the hub makes it easy to switch more than one thing with one button. But yea, switching the wires has to work - that's how the usb switch itself does its job..//Tuomas

>Having two joysticks or a joystick and yoke connected at the>same time can cause flutter in the one you are using.Interesting. Do you know what causes this ?Timing issues/bus bandwidth maybe ?Violation of USB specs maybe ? I know some USB devices do violate some specs, primarily to get more bandwidth.>I would think that cutting the ground on and off would work.I don't think this is a good idea. Since the pos. supply line and the differential D+/D- data lines are still connected. This could destroy your USB device, maybe even your USB hub or PC. I think you can send a command to USB devices to tell them to power down (sleep mode) where they consume only very few mA or less.I know that USB devices have to be able to respond to a powerdown command. Eg. when you suspend your PC this is what should happen to to connected USB devices.Manuel

Not all USB devices power down, I wouldn't have thought controllers do.

>Not all USB devices power down, I wouldn't have thought>controllers do.So what are they doing if the PC suspends ?I'm sure there are devices that don't power down. Not everybody sticks to the specs. I don't know about powered Hubs, but bus powered hubs should probably power down.Just quickly tried to find something "official" about this issue, and theres a little bit about this info here:http://www.usb.org/developers/docs/USB-IFTestProc1_3.pdfcheck page 100 (section D.6)It mentiones something about max suspend current draw of 500microAmps for low power devices, and 2.5mA for high power devices.There's probably more info if you look around. This was just a quick search.Manuel