Belkin F5U231 TetraHub USB 2.0 Hub (4-port)

by Belkin

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 6.2 x 2.6 inches ; 1.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000DC662
• Item model number: F5U231
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,244 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 16, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

What is TetraHub 4-Port Hub T4 Technology? TetraHub T4 (Turbo Transaction Translator Technology) provides you with the best of USB 2.0 and 1.1 technology in one solution! What is the difference between the standard USB 2.0 hub and the Belkin TetraHub Hi-Speed USB 2.0 4-Port Hub? The TetraHub provides 480 Mbps for all your Hi-Speed USB 2.0 devices such as Hi-Speed USB 2.0 scanners and hard drives.

Unlike other USB 2.0 hubs, the TetraHub Hi-Speed USB 2.0 4-Port Hub also supplies a guaranteed 12 Mbps to each port so you can connect full-speed USB 1.1 products, like USB speakers and USB video-capture devices that require full bandwidth to operate. Traditional hubs share 12 Mbps bandwidth among all the ports.

Product Description

What is TetraHub 4-Port Hub T4 Technology TetraHub T4 (Turbo Transaction Translator Technology) provides you with the best of USB 2.0 and 1.1 technology in one solution What is the difference between the standard USB 2.0 hub and the Belkin TetraHub Hi-Speed USB 2.0 4-Port Hub The TetraHub provides 480Mbps for all your Hi-Speed USB 2.0 devices such as Hi-Speed USB 2.0 scanners and hard drives.Unlike other USB 2.0 hubs, the TetraHub Hi-Speed USB 2.0 4-Port Hub also supplies a guaranteed 12Mbps to each port so you can connect full-speed USB 1.1 products, like USB speakers and USB video-capture devices that require full bandwidth to operate. Traditional hubs share 12Mbps bandwidth among all the ports.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Belkin has another winner in Tetra Hub!, November 26, 2004

By 

Victor Healey (Marietta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Belkin F5U231 TetraHub USB 2.0 Hub (4-port) (Personal Computers)

Here are a few details you should know about the Tetra Hub. You have to buy the darn thing to figure this out.

The Tetra Hub must be connected to a USB 2.0-compliant host in order to function in high-speed mode (480Mbps data rate). If the Hub is connected to a USB 1.1-compliant host, it will operate only in low-speed or full-speed mode (1.5Mbps/12Mbps).

Note: The Hub itself will always connect to the host as either a full- or high-speed device, never as a low-speed device. Any idiot that tries to use this with an old USB 1.0 PC port will find it does not work, duh! These are the people who write Amazon reviews denigrating a product and they have not a clue as to how it is supposed to function. I really like the one where someone at Belkin tech support said to take it back and go buy someone else's hub, i.e. "GO AWAY!"

The Belkin Tetra Hub provides four downstream USB ports that offer backward-compatible, Plug-and-Play connectivity with all USB devices, including USB 1.1 (or low- and full-speed) devices, as well as with USB 2.0 (or high-speed) devices. This includes such peripherals as scanners, printers, mass-storage devices, and high-resolution cameras.

The Hub is self-powered if you use the supplied AC adaptor, which allows the cascading of devices with additional hubs, so that up to 127 USB devices may be connected to a single port.

The Hub features neat multicolor LEDs that indicate the operating speed of each connected USB device and the speed of the link to the host computer. More on this feature in a minute.

The TetraHub offers several important advantages over traditional USB 2.0 hubs. Most important is its implementation of the new "Quad TT" architecture. Simply stated, when connected to a USB 2.0 host controller, each of the TetraHub's four downstream ports deliver a full 12Mbps of USB bandwidth for low- and full-speed devices while still providing total support for high-speed devices. This is especially important when connecting multiple, bandwidth-intensive, full-speed devices such as USB webcams, speakers, scanners, and external storage devices.

BACKGROUND

The USB 2.0 specification includes three separate modes of data transmission. These are defined as low-speed (1.5Mbps), full-speed (12Mbps), and high-speed (480Mbps).

The Belkin TetraHub appears to be the only USB hub on the market today that provides a visual indication of a connected device's speed. This is accomplished using Belkin proprietary speed indication circuitry. Each downstream port on the Hub has a corresponding LED that changes color according to the speed of the connected device.

Connection Speed - LED color
Low - Green
Full - Red
High - Amber

In addition, the upstream port has a corresponding LED that indicates the speed of the computer's USB host controller.

Host Controller Speed - LED color
Full - Red
High - Amber


IMHO this is an unusual USB hub that is worth every penny Belkin gets. I just wish they had built this technology into the 7-port hub that features two ports on top for my flash drive.

I do not work in the computer industry or for Belkin. As I look at my desk, I notice I have a few other products from Belkin that have been very ssatisfactory over the last few years. I hope this Tetra USB HUB continues that experience over time.


Vic

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works fine, May 23, 2007

By 

B. Ramani (Detroit, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Belkin F5U231 TetraHub USB 2.0 Hub (4-port) (Personal Computers)

Bought this hub and installed per directions provided with item. No problems for Windows XP Pro, recognized and installed with no issues. Connected up all four ports and have no problems at all - I have a multi-card reader installed in one, two ports use my Apricorn portable HDD (one power, one power+data, usb Y cable), and one has a UPS attached (for status monitoring.) Hub is running at 'high' (orange), UPS is running at 'low' (green) and the Apricorn & card reader are running at 'high' (orange), based on LED colors for each port. I have no spacing issues for the standard USB cables that came with each piece of equipment attached. No heat issues but I found an old stand from my external DVD writer that I am not using and and have put the hub on top of that to provide some air space underneath. So far no heating issues after 2 days of use. It is barely warm. Portable HDD is on auto sync every day and no problems transferring data. I like the fact that I can connect any level of USB to this without having to figure out at what speed the USB runs, which was my primary reason for buying this hub.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great hub, August 2, 2007

By 

Mark D. Schnittman "mschnit" (Rocky Point, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Belkin F5U231 TetraHub USB 2.0 Hub (4-port) (Personal Computers)

Unknown to a lot of folks, these hubs are unique in the respect that they have a separate controller chip for each USB port on the device, exactly like the design of the ports on your mainboard. Most hubs use 1 controller for all of the ports to save money, which causes all of the ports to run at the LOWEST COMMON SPEED. This is a huge performance hit, in addition to causing lots of the USB problems that folks have with the devices connected to them. I don't know why these aren't more popular, but these hubs are awesome. I wish I could say that about some of Belkin's other products.