Can any problems be expected from attaching the USB for a Saitek Yoke or Rudder Pedals to my keyboard (two USB inputs available) or to a monitor (two also available)rather than making a direct connection to the USB input on the computer (HP Blackbird 002)?I have four USB inputs on the back of the comp currently being used and two inputs on the front (which I do not want to use for the yoke).I cannot experiment because I have not yet purchased the yoke...-George

Can any problems be expected from attaching the USB for a Saitek Yoke or Rudder Pedals to my keyboard (two USB inputs available) or to a monitor (two also available)...Largely depends upon the power supply quality from your keyboard and monitor. If they aren't sufficient you'll experience device drop-outs (i.e. one minute they'll function fine and appear in Device Manager, the next they'll be gone).Usually the best USB source is the motherboard directly (this too depends upon the quality of the motherboard and its chipset).Regards,

Thanks for your reply Greg.I guess it makes sense that there would be some signal degradation when not connecting directly to the comp. Maybe when I buy a new yoke I'll make the 'acid test' and see what results...-G

George,You have two other options...1) Buy a powered USB hub and attach the yoke and rudder to it.2) Buy a PCI card with USB ports. I use both types for my hardware. For GoFlight kit it's more or less mandatory because of the power draw.Cheers,

It's probably better to not have things like the Yoke running through the same USB port as other essential hardware for the reasons already stated... You could buy a powered USB hub but here's another option:Most motherboards have two internal USB headers which can each support two USB ports... one of these will be linked to the two front ports of your PC case but unless you have an internal card reader (or similar) attached, the other one will be free... You can buy (I forget where I got mine) a small device which allows you to use this header for to two extra USB ports - it fits at the back of the PC. This way you will have 6 USB ports at the back without the need for hubs.The alternative to this (which I use myself as I do have an internal card reader) is to loose the two front ports in preference to these ones at the back. If, as you say, you have a USB port on the keyboard for memory sticks etc., you'll not miss the front ports...Hope this is useful,Geoff

FWIW. I found the GoFlight Modules I have were not reliable on a hub so I use the motherboard ports for those 3 modulea and another for the Track IR. My ChProducts Yoke and Pedals are working fine (along with my printer) on a $15 powered hub.

Well, prior to initiating this post, I did not know that USB ports had their own power requirements and if they did, I'd guessed that those requirements would be supplied from the computer's main power supply... (you can tell I'm not a techie!!!).Just by coincidence I received yesterday the April issue of "PC World" and a short article on p.124 discusses 'Avoid Underpowering Your USB Devices.' It mentions USB root hubs and the procedure to identify the power consumption for each device; timely advice.Thanks to each of you for your additional comments/suggestions.-George

George,Glad to have been of help. Some USB devices draw more power than others as you have discovered. Better to err on the side of caution as powered hubs are relatively inexpensive.

Thanks, Ray....and to anyone following this thread that needs the path to view their USB power data here is an extract from the same magazine article that I previously cited:"Check your power needs in Windows by opening Device Manager. In XP click START, right-click MY COMPUTER, and select MANAGE. In Vista click START, right-click COMPUTER, and select MANAGE. In the COMPUTER MANAGEMENT window, select DEVICE MANAGER from the left pane. In the right pane, double-click each instance of USB ROOT HUB listed under UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS CONTROLLERS, and open the POWER tab for each one. On that tab you'll see a listing of how much power each USB port or attached USB device uses..."-G

George,Useful advice indeed! Also, make sure the option in the Power Management tab is switched off. "Allow the computer to turn off the power..." can cause yokes etc. to go to sleep if the a/p is engaged.Cheers,

Got it! Thanks.-G