Price : Too low to display
Ultra Products 7 Port Buddy Hub ULT31808 USB Hubs
This review is from : ULTRA PRODUCTS ULT31808 Buddy Hub 7
Almost . I like the individual switch ability, but the switches give no tactile feedback and the led's take a sec to change.
I am losing the connections to both my ex HD's, that may be the Ultra's fault, it may not.
The design is poor. It looks slick until you hook it up, then you have up to ten lines coming out in two directions, this makes it hard to place. The best I could find, was draped over my tower like a saddle, which made accessing the switches a grope job. There is no neat way to label each switch, so memory (human) or a cheat sheet is useful.But it is light years ahead of my previous arrangement and the price was right.
Peter
Almost . I like the individual switch ability, but the switches give no tactile feedback and the led's take a sec to change.
I am losing the connections to both my ex HD's, that may be the Ultra's fault, it may not.
The design is poor. It looks slick until you hook it up, then you have up to ten lines coming out in two directions, this makes it hard to place. The best I could find, was draped over my tower like a saddle, which made accessing the switches a grope job. There is no neat way to label each switch, so memory (human) or a cheat sheet is useful.But it is light years ahead of my previous arrangement and the price was right.
Peter
ULTRA PRODUCTS ULT31808 Buddy Hub 7 Reviews
What I needed . I wanted a device that would allow me to share my USB devices between 2 computers. Well it does that and it is very easy to use. Every once in awhile I need to restart a computer as it don't recognize my external hard drive. I would recommend it though despite that.
What I needed . I wanted a device that would allow me to share my USB devices between 2 computers. Well it does that and it is very easy to use. Every once in awhile I need to restart a computer as it don't recognize my external hard drive. I would recommend it though despite that.
ULTRA PRODUCTS ULT31808 Buddy Hub 7 Opinions
USB hub for 2 PCs to share several devices . What it is: a USB 2.0 hub with 2 "PC" host connections and 7 device connections (printers or disks, etc), and a power-in. Each device connection can be individually switched between the two host circuits.
What it does: allows seven devices to be connected to either of two hosts, each device can be individually switched between one of the two PC connections at a time.
Each connection has a status LED that lights red or green to indicate which PC connection it is tied to. Each port has a small push-button switch to change the connection. If you eject the device using, for instance, windows "safely eject" tool, the connection indicator will go dark.
Pluses:
Sharing: by pressing a button you can switch a device from one host to the other. You don't always have to mess with cables.
Parallel access. It makes it very easy to split the load of several devices between two USB ports on one PC for faster parallel operation. When copying one USB disk to another, you could attach this switch to two USB ports on the host side, and connect one disk to each USB channel. By balancing the load between two channels you may get higher overall throughput.
Longevity. I've had one for over four years, give or take, in my work system. It's outlived some work laptops.
Robustness - the sockets on the hub seem to hold up to use pretty well.
There are USB cables strung along a cable-guide under a work desk. The hub hangs from the USB cables along the flat front of the work desk; I can switch devices as needed on the work desk. All 7 of the device ports and both host ports still work fine. During the same time I have had this switch, I have chewed my way through several other USB hubs on my home system.
Minuses -
The PC and power ports are on one long side of the box, the device ports along the other. Though this is almost a nice "flow through" appearance, I would rather have one or two device ports out the front (for USB-keys, other temp connections) and all the other ports on the back. Because of this it does take up a bit of real estate.
There isn't enough spacing to plug in two USB-keys or thumb-drives in two adjacent receptacles, it is best to use short extension cables for this. It is easy to connect most USB cables.
Considering all the above, I just ordered a second one of these. Though they require a bit of space, given they last a lot longer any of the cheaper ones I've tried, I think if the second one works as well at home as the first does at work, the cost will be worth it.
I am a pretty harsh critic and would only give a five to an exceptional device. Though the minuses can be an annoyance, they are the only things holding this device from being five-star.
USB hub for 2 PCs to share several devices . What it is: a USB 2.0 hub with 2 "PC" host connections and 7 device connections (printers or disks, etc), and a power-in. Each device connection can be individually switched between the two host circuits.
What it does: allows seven devices to be connected to either of two hosts, each device can be individually switched between one of the two PC connections at a time.
Each connection has a status LED that lights red or green to indicate which PC connection it is tied to. Each port has a small push-button switch to change the connection. If you eject the device using, for instance, windows "safely eject" tool, the connection indicator will go dark.
Pluses:
Sharing: by pressing a button you can switch a device from one host to the other. You don't always have to mess with cables.
Parallel access. It makes it very easy to split the load of several devices between two USB ports on one PC for faster parallel operation. When copying one USB disk to another, you could attach this switch to two USB ports on the host side, and connect one disk to each USB channel. By balancing the load between two channels you may get higher overall throughput.
Longevity. I've had one for over four years, give or take, in my work system. It's outlived some work laptops.
Robustness - the sockets on the hub seem to hold up to use pretty well.
There are USB cables strung along a cable-guide under a work desk. The hub hangs from the USB cables along the flat front of the work desk; I can switch devices as needed on the work desk. All 7 of the device ports and both host ports still work fine. During the same time I have had this switch, I have chewed my way through several other USB hubs on my home system.
Minuses -
The PC and power ports are on one long side of the box, the device ports along the other. Though this is almost a nice "flow through" appearance, I would rather have one or two device ports out the front (for USB-keys, other temp connections) and all the other ports on the back. Because of this it does take up a bit of real estate.
There isn't enough spacing to plug in two USB-keys or thumb-drives in two adjacent receptacles, it is best to use short extension cables for this. It is easy to connect most USB cables.
Considering all the above, I just ordered a second one of these. Though they require a bit of space, given they last a lot longer any of the cheaper ones I've tried, I think if the second one works as well at home as the first does at work, the cost will be worth it.
I am a pretty harsh critic and would only give a five to an exceptional device. Though the minuses can be an annoyance, they are the only things holding this device from being five-star.
Excellent Device Sharing USB Hub! . I selected this product to replace an inexpensive 7-port hub which recently failed, hoping to find something of better quality. I am very glad I got this one! The main feature of this product is that it can share each of 7 USB devices plugged into it between 2 PCs. I have had prior experience trying to share USB devices using a Manual USB Share Switch, and some devices would not be correctly detected when I switched between PCs, so did not work. But this Ultra hub works perfectly! I have tested it sharing a Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard, Canon LiDE 700F Scanner, and Logitech Cordless Trackman Wheel, using a PC which runs Windows 7 Home Premium, a notebook which runs Windows XP SP3, and another PC which runs either Windows XP SP3 or Linux Ubuntu (it is intended to be used between the 2 PCs) and it flawlessly switched the keyboard and the trackball in all cases. It switches the scanner flawlessly between XP and Win7, but this scanner has no Linux driver support so I can't used in with Ubuntu.
Switching each device is accomplished independently of the other 6 device connections, by simply pressing a button. A red or green LED marked A or B indicates where the device is currently connected. This is a powered hub, and unlike some I have seen, this one has a power cable of reasonable length (nearly 6 feet long). It has a nice gloss and flat black case and appears to be well made.
I would recommend this product to anyone looking for an easy way to share USB peripherals between PCs.
Edit - I did encounter one problem with this device after writing this review. I have a Kingston 9-in-1 USB 2.0 Flash Memory Card Reader which I use to read Micro, Mini, and standard SD cards. When I tried plugging it into the Ultra to access some photos on my camera's SD card, it completely scrambled the folder names it was trying to access on the SD and would not access any of the files. I 'safely removed' the Kingston, and then plugged it into a case-mounted USB jack on the same PC, and the SD card files read perfectly. After emptying the card to my PC for storage, I even tried re-formatting the SD card on that same PC. But when I once again tried to access the SD card via the Kingston adapter plugged into the Ultra, the only result was an error message saying I needed to format the card. Of course the Kingston adapter and SD card still works just fine if plugged into other USB ports, or on other PCs, and the card works in the camera. So there is something about the Ultra Buddy Hub that apparently makes it incompatible with USB SD card adapters.
Switching each device is accomplished independently of the other 6 device connections, by simply pressing a button. A red or green LED marked A or B indicates where the device is currently connected. This is a powered hub, and unlike some I have seen, this one has a power cable of reasonable length (nearly 6 feet long). It has a nice gloss and flat black case and appears to be well made.
I would recommend this product to anyone looking for an easy way to share USB peripherals between PCs.
Edit - I did encounter one problem with this device after writing this review. I have a Kingston 9-in-1 USB 2.0 Flash Memory Card Reader which I use to read Micro, Mini, and standard SD cards. When I tried plugging it into the Ultra to access some photos on my camera's SD card, it completely scrambled the folder names it was trying to access on the SD and would not access any of the files. I 'safely removed' the Kingston, and then plugged it into a case-mounted USB jack on the same PC, and the SD card files read perfectly. After emptying the card to my PC for storage, I even tried re-formatting the SD card on that same PC. But when I once again tried to access the SD card via the Kingston adapter plugged into the Ultra, the only result was an error message saying I needed to format the card. Of course the Kingston adapter and SD card still works just fine if plugged into other USB ports, or on other PCs, and the card works in the camera. So there is something about the Ultra Buddy Hub that apparently makes it incompatible with USB SD card adapters.
Lots of connections . This works so much better than trying to share a printer on a network for home use between an Apple and PC.
Really superior option.
Really superior option.
ULTRA PRODUCTS ULT31808 Buddy Hub 7 . I work from home part time and work with a personal laptop and a business laptop. I occasionally want to transfer data from one computer to the other. In the past it would mean plugging a device into one computer and tranferring the data, then unplug it, plug it into the other device and do it all over again. Now after I transfer the data, I just push the appropriate button on the hub and complete the transfer. I also use a wireless keyboard and mouse for both laptops. In the past, I had to switch back and forth between two keyboards and two mice. Now, I just use one. I just push the button on the USB hub to go from one computer to the other. I am extremely pleased with this buddy hub and highly recommend it.
USB Hub for 2 Computers . This is a good unit that works fine if you have 2 computers and one USB printer. You have to manually push a button for whatever computer you want to print from, but other than that it is transparent.
Efficient and organized . I love it! Using a laptop and desktop computer with one scanner and one printer was a hassle when I had to plug and unplug the cables each time. This ULTRA ULT31808 Buddy Hub 7 has all my USB peripherals organized and plugged in. A readily accessible push on the button to switch computers is all that is required to scan or print from either computer. Both work perfectly. Five vacant spaces remain for other peripherals.
Great!
Great!
Cons Review
Mac problems . I bought this hub under the impression that it would work with a Mac. It doesn't. I hooked it up to my PC laptop and the Mac laptop hoping to share the printer and mouse USBs that I always have to switch back and forth many times a day. The PC required a restart to recognize it, but once it did, it worked just fine other than a popup telling me that it would work faster if it was a USB 2.0 I was hooking it into. The Mac simply ignores that anything has been plugged in. The company tech support replied that Macs aren't supported and pointed me to their ULT-31806 which doesn't even come close to what I was hoping to use this for. I'm sending it back.
Mac users avoid . The bottom line is that this device is not reliable for Mac users. I had several Logitech web cams, that all work when plugged directly into the Mac together, but only one-at-a-time work when using this device even though they do all appear as recognized devices. For a powered hub this should work correctly, especially since USB is a standard.
Product Image
Feature ULTRA PRODUCTS ULT31808 Buddy Hub 7
- Contents - 2 USB Cables, Power Adapter and User's Manual.
- Share up to 7 devices with dual LEDs
- LED Lights up accordingly
- Individually control each device
- USB 1.1 compliant
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Product Details
EAN : 0022769318080UPC : 022769318080
MPN : ULT31808
Brand : Ultraproducts
Weight : 1 pounds
Height : 2 inches
Length : 9 inches
Width : 8 inches
Binding : Personal Computers
Manufacturer : Ultra Products
Model : ULT31808
Publisher : Ultra Products
SKU : 2552016
Studio : Ultra Products
Where To Buy
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