Extending a USB device.

I started a live web cam steam with Ustream.tv but I didn't like the camera in my face. I had a 2 foot USB extension cable sitting here doing nothing so I decided to extend the extension.

It's easy to do if you have the supplies and skills to do some very basic soldering. I used simple phone cable for the extension material. It works perfect because the phone cable and the USB cable both use 4 wires. All you have to do is cut and strip them. Once you do that it's all a matter of matching the colors as best you can and solder them together. I have a nice supply of items here at work so I used some heat-shrink tubing to make it all nice and neat.

I've read on the Internet that there is a length limit to doing this. I can't recall the number off hand but I (personally) won't make them longer than 100'. After than you may see some line-loss and most simple USB devices (like my web cam) need about 5 volts for power.

I'm pleased with the way this came out but I see that I need a new web cam to get a better picture to feed the masses. TechCrunch.com has a nice stream.

Here's an example of how to run USB through phone lines.