Best external USB/FW hubs?

Been a little concerned by what readers have posted about the Belkin and other external USB/FW hubs -- even those posted on Apple's pages that list recommended hubs. Many folks have complained that these things get extremely hot....Anyone have recommendation. My problem with some hubs I've seen is that the way the ports are placed your cables fork out in off directions and make a mess. Some of the Belkin hubs are designed ifferently but people say these get very hot. Also, will FW devices really run properly through one of these hubs? Lastly, I see some hubs list as NOT requiring an AC power supply. Do non-powerd hubs really work reliably?

Hello David Chartrand,
Ok first a word on Hubs, especially, FireWire hubs.
Be aware that not all manufacturer's hubs are built to, or adhere to, 1394 standards, and may be damaged or cause system problems; If unsure, check with a potential supplier's support and get them to confirm that their product will comply with 1394 and work with Apple products Some don't.
The official FW specifications designate voltage from 8 - 30 Volts @+/- 10percent which means that if the vendors unit is not built to handle that voltage, it will fail.
Second, if your considering a Hub, you have a better chance of success with a Powered Hub, and, you have a better chance of success with a dedicated firewire hub rather than a combination USB/Firewire device
One example on the boards is a combo hub from IOGear which actually "popped" it's internal capacitors.
Hubs that are reported as working include but not limited to; Belkin Modelf5726slv and Belkin's 6-PortHub(F5U526APL). I use a good Macally Hub that ran about $ 80. and can be found here; http://www.macally.com/spec/firewire/connecting/hub_uf.html
Regarding iSight: I strongly suggest that you consider unplugging the iSight anytime your using any other FW device. If fact, since the iSight is never truly "off", just leave it unplugged until your actually going online to chat.
This applies weather you are using a hub or not, so unless you are chatting with a buddies, keep the iSight camera unplugged; hub or no hub. And you especially run a risk when doing backups to external FW HD's.
The only exception I've found is for some PowerBooks. From waht I can tell, the internal FW circuit/components used the other Mac series are not the same as used in my PB.
Hope this helps.
Respectfully,
Bill Gallagher

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OK. Finally i had to send the disk to my dealer. Toshiba in Spain says there is not solution. Sorry. This is an erratic product. Sometimes with one cofiguration simply works and sometimes with a different configuration does not connect in USB 2.0 mode. I don't want such a product in my desktop... and the Virtual CDrom is impossible to turn off. (I'm not interested in security tools. I only want to make daily backups)
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[Edited by: admin on 09-Jan-2007 20:51]

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