Firewire hub?

hey everyone!
i have an imac and have run out of firewire ports for all my external hds.
does anyone have any experience with firewire hubs? for some reason i am weary of hooking one up but am sick of plugging and unplugging this mess of wires and cords.
any advice on if these hubs are ''safe'' or not??
thnks

does it matter if the brands etc are different?
No.
aren't the two ports on the firewire hds-one is 400 one is 800??
Not always. Some have two FW400 ports, some have one of each and some also have a USB port. If one or more of the drives has only one FW 400 and one FW800 port, use a cable made for connecting the two.
does it matter which port you connect to?
No.
does each drive mount on the desktop?
Yes ... as long as it's functioning properly.
connect drive a to mac firewire 800 port/connect hd B to drive A firewire port/ and so on??
Yes, that will work.
-DH

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Can anyone recommend a good firewire hub?

We have a 2009 imac with one firewire 800 port, also I will soon be buying a new 15 or 17" Macbook Pro. I have run into problems trying to connect several firewire devices up at the same time due to there only being the one firewire 800 port. For instance, I might have a firewire audio interface, a DV camcorder, and a firewire hard drive that I use together when editing music and video.
I reliable powered firewire hub would make life a lot easier.
Can anyone give me some recommendations?
Thanks.

something like this might work for you:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/431605-REG/KramerVS_81FW_VS_81FW_8_PortFireWire.html#features
+The VS-81FW 8 Port FireWire Switcher from Kramer is a simple yet versatile bi-directional switcher for 6-pin FireWire (IEEE 1394) data signals. This unit allows you to connect up to (8) devices and then enable a connection between any two ports as needed. Use this solution to save time, space, and money by connecting your varied devices under the management of a single switch. This switcher is ideal for small digital video editing systems and data switching systems.+
+It works with mechanical (passive) switching, so no power is required. Transfer rates will fall within the range of 100, 200, and 400Mbps. This unit's small footprint allows you to mount up to (2) units side by side in a 1U space in your rack with the optional RK-81 adapter.+

Firewire hubs recommendations please...

I have 2 x LaCie Mini 250G firewire drives which I have been using with my Mini G4 by daily chaining them. I occasionally get I/O errors when the drives are under high load. I then need to do a hard reset to get the machine responding again.
I have tested without the 2nd drive connected and the problem seems to have been resolved. It appears the LaCie drives do not work well if daily chained - problem with the firewire bus <?>.
I am thinking about getting a firewire hub which I am hoping will solve the I/O error problem.
Does anyone have an experience or recommendations on which type of firewire hub to purchase?
Thanks.
iBook Dual USB (600Mhz)/640MB, Mini 1.42/1GB Mac OS X (10.4.7) Airport Express, iPod G1, iPod Shuffle, 20' ACD, 2 x LaCie Mini 250G

Hello Hattori Hanzo,
Based on personal experience,and a lot of correspondance with others in the forums over the last couple of years, I would recommend a Belkin Mfg. hub. Others may work as well, but it seems that Belkin has a completely clean track record to date, of being compatable with Apple products.
Cory Cooper's suggestion seems like an elegant solution for a mini. If it were any other mfg. but Belkin, I would suggest that you stay away from combo USB/FW hubs as there have been reports of problems. But again, based on the above recommendation, and the product coming from Belkin, I'd say you've got your answer.
Respectfully,
Bill Gallagher

Are FireWire Hubs ok w/ FCP ?

Any known problems with firewire hubs and FCP HD ?
i'll be using:
mac mini dual intel
external firewire 400 lacie hard drives
external DVD burner (firewire 400)
canopus ADV100
thank you

thanks Robbosaur
problem is that one of the lacie drives has only one FW 400 port (other port is FW800) and the canopus box has only one 6pin FW400 port.
I can not use the 4pin FW400 port on the canopus while using the 6pin FW400 port.
i'd also like to hook up the video camera.
i'm hoping the FW hub will solve all of this. but sometime these hubs introduce more problems that they solve.
Should be fine.
Daisy chain, well you'll have to
Mac>Drives>Canopus on the end.
Once you're done editing and looking to generate the
m2v and audio I'd probably opt to have those saved on
the boot drive.
Unplug the drives then hook the burner up at that
stage.

PCI Firewire / Hub Firewire or Daisy chain Which one will be a good idea

I'm starting to run outta room for firewire
so i decided to buy a PCI firewire card
so now i wanna know if its smart to plug my drives in there so as my isight or just stay with daisy chain or buy firewire hub ?
thanks in advance
any quick answers are appreciated
stash

The Firewire PCI card i got has like a power connection port on it
I was wondering if i needed to connect it to anything or it gets enough power from the motherboard
I mean they didn't supply the cable to connect it to the power supply
and the G5 doesn't have any extra cable lying inside there to connect to it
and so far all hard drives including the isight is running smooth
Just wanna know before something happen
stash

Hollywood Dazzle and Firewire Hub killed FCP

I made the mistake of running DV devices through a FW hub into the same port on my PowerPC G5 and now FCP 5 won't open at all.
I've unplugged everything and reinstalled FCP to no avail.
How can I fix my problem?
System Profiler says my FW ports are still active and DVD studio pro and other associated applications still work.
please help!

The Dazzle has anecdotal evidence of being very problematic and don't use a firewire hub in conjunction with any firewire devices and Final Cut Pro.
Do a forum search for the Guinness Solution, you may find the answers within the results. Also do a search for Dazzle and firewire hub and you'll find anecdotal evidence.

Thunderbolt firewire hub

Has there been a thunderbolt firewire hub put out on the market yet? I want to try it with Wirecast 4. Wish to connect two firewire cameras

sonnet technology announced early intentions of putting out ThunderBolt adapters.
Now that they have had some time to decide what that really means, the product family has taken the form of a ThunderBolt to Expresscard/34 adapter and their existing cards:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/echoexpresscard34thunderbolt.html
Shipping in Oct 2011, including their existing dual FireWire 800 card.

Trouble with Firewire Hub

I've been using a Belkin 6-port Firewire hub for 6 months with no troubles, but in the last week, I suddenly stopped seeing icons on my desktop when I connect. I assumed the hub had gone bad, so I just bought an IOGear 6-port hub to replace. Still am not getting a connection. I then thought the Firewire 400 port on the MacBook Pro went bad, but when I connect a hard drive directly to that port (without routing it through the hub) it comes right up on my desktop. I am using the hub with the AC adapter to power it.
I'm generally running three hard drives and a deck through the hub. No problems until last week, but suddenly two separate hubs, one right out of the box, don't work. I tried both Disk Utility and the "About this Mac/More Info" routes - neither recognizes the devices attached to the hub.
Any advice would be deeply appreciated.

Thanks for your concern..and yes it was confusing indeed! The hub is in no way connected to our ether-internet configuration here at home. But what has become clear it that I do not have to have both units together at once, the Duet/interface is just for recording and the Liquid Mix for post production.
My Duet simply can not share the firewire port..! Finito

Is there an 800 to / from FireWire Hub ?

Apple in their wisdom(?????????) have provided only one 800 FireWire port in the iMac i purchase recently.
I had to buy a cable to connect my FW drives and devices that have 400 ports to the 800 port.
However there are issues/problems daisy chaining my FW drives and devices.
Is there a 800 to/from 400 FireWire hub ?

lakewoodlawnman wrote:
I use a 400 hub and the 400 firewire cable that goes from the hub to my iMac has an 800 adapter on the end. Works great. May not have the 800 speed but I have 2 HD and 2 Optical drives hooked up to the hub. I got my adapter at Micro Center for $14.99 US.
Technically it's a 6-pin to 9-pin FireWire Adapter.
Thanks.
This is how i picture your setup/hookup, as follows:
☑ you have the FireWire Adapter plugged into the 800 port of your iMac
then
☑ you cable the 400 powered HUB to the FireWired Adapter.
If this old goof has it right then great because then i can turn on the device i really need to work with.

ISight with External Drive or Firewire Hub

Hello,
I am interested in purchasing an iSight for multiple reasons. I have been reading in the forum that iSight may not work with certain firewire devices which is unfortunate since I utilize external firewire devices on a daily basis and it would not be beneficial to disconnect them to utilize iSight.
I have a external firewire DVD burner which is connected to my miniStack, which in turn is connected to my Powerbook. I also boot off of the miniStack and do not want to change that fact.
I can't seem to find a straight answer to this question, "Will my iSight work with the firewire hub in my miniStack?" If not, will it work with a powered firewire hub? If so, what hub is recommended, or at least is know to work very well?
If iSight will not work at all in my situation, can anyone recommend a camera that works well with iChat, iMovie, and Skype.
Hopefully I am not beating a dead horse with this subject!
Thanks
Powerbook G4 1.33 Mac OS X (10.3.9) 5G iPod, Airport Express, Airport Snow

Hello Akuma,
I strongly recommend Belkin Hubs. My experience and that of others that have posted indicate that they work well w/Mac's 25V power.
That said, there is no reason for you to replace the miniStack, which seems to play well with the iSight: however I'm baseing that on reports/conversations w/others; not personal experience.
The iSight is designed to work w/Mac and the chances are that you have a better than 50/50 shot at it working w/your particular "flavor" of other non-Apple FW devices. The only way you will be able to tell for sure is to try it. The final outcome, good or bad, really can't be qualified as it seems to be dependent on what non-Mac FW devices use for their logic chip (Oxford having proven to work in most cases).
James A. Weston's suggestion is correct and a lot simpler than mine. Let us know if you do try, and the results so others may benefit. Good Luck.
Respectfully,
Bill Gallagher
ps-I'm in WI a lot, and would be glad to let you try my iSight if you can't find a friend or neighbor w/one.

External HD as Firewire Hub

I ordered a new Firewire external hard drive that has 2 Firewire 800 ports. Can I use those ports as a Firewire hub??

i expect you will need one of the ports to connect the HD to your Mac. you can use the 2nd to +daisy chain+ other firewire devices.
JGG

Macbook Pro OS 10.6.8 will not recognize IOGEAR GUH420 combo usb/firewire hub

My IOGEAR GUH420 combo usb/firewire hub is not being recognized by my MacBook Pro. I have changed usb ports and cables and still no luck.
I have another unpowered Belkin hub that it sees, but not the IOGEAR. I bought the IOGEAR based on Mac forum recommendations.

My IOGEAR GUH420 combo usb/firewire hub is not being recognized by my MacBook Pro. I have changed usb ports and cables and still no luck.
I have another unpowered Belkin hub that it sees, but not the IOGEAR. I bought the IOGEAR based on Mac forum recommendations.

Problems with the Firewire Hub at a Cinema Display

The Firewire Hub on my "23 inch Apple Cinema HD Display" doesn't work when connected to my "Power Mac G5 DualCore 2,3 Ghz Double Lay" - the hub works when connected to a Mac mini (or before to a G4 867). The Firewire-Port at the G5 works, too. Who can help me?

There seems to be not as much power at the monitor ports, use the main ports instead.
Dont forget to clone that boot drive occassionally
http://homepage.mac.com/hogfish

Belkin MacMini 6 Port USB/Firewire Hub F5U507

Does anyone have the Belkin F5U507 6 Port MacMini USB/Firewire Hub?
I want to buy it but I'm hesitating, being concerned that it doesn't have its own AC power unit to attach to the wall socket.
It does look nice, matching up to the Mini, but I don't want it to be a case of more form than substance.
Any recommendations?
Thanks.

Well, this may be an "oopsie" for me then. I just purchased this hub a couple of days ago from the Apple store (my powered Belkin hub - the lozenge-shaped one - just failed).
I was wondering how they got around the fan-out issue with the new hub being unpowered. Well, I have time to cancel the order.

A question about Firewire Hubs.

I am going to be getting a 24in Intel iMac soon. I have a G4 500 and recently replaced my 17in studio display with an inexpensive 19in LCD. This cleared enough space on my desk for the iMac. Since a number of the apps I need only work /w OS9 I will be keeping the G4 & my new LCD will fit neatly behind the iMac until I need it.
My question is this,.. I recently saw a Fire Wire hub at Comp USA, and I was wondering if I can use this to connect some of my periferals to "both" computers. Items like external HD's and media card readers?
If this works it would eliminate the need for constant plugging & un-plugging of the devices back & forth between the 2 computers.
My idea is that if both computers are connected to the hub along with the HD & reader, then whichever computer is booted up 'n running would be able to access the device. (and as long as both comps. aren't "on" at the same time, there shouldn't be any issues?)
Is this right, or am I barking up the wrong tree?
TIA,
Craig

Hello Craig
Google: "firewire hubs" just for example the first one is Mac compatible with 4 usb and 3 firewire ports. But for that 24" iMac you'll want the second one just a firewire hub.
http://www.meritline.com/7-port-combo-hub-repeater-4-usb-3-firewire-1394.html
http://www.epinions.com/pr-BelkinFireWire_6-Port_Hub_F5U526-APL_NetworkingHub
Besure the one you are looking at say's mac comp. and the verson.
Dennis
17" iMac Intel Core Duo 1.5GB Ram Mac OS X (10.4.8) Maxtor 300GB FireWire 2G Nano

Firewire hubs

Currently I have a Buslink Firewire H6FW hub that gives me 6 ports and a power adapter, but not much improvement of allowing me to act as though I had two Firewire buses. I have at least four Firewire devices I like to plug in regularly, two of which need uninterrupted access to the computer's power. One, an iSight, another a Firewire DVD burner (which while it has its own power interrupts burning if I try to iChat while it is burning), and another an EyeTV 200. Periodically I may hookup my Firewire hard drives for backup, and I don't want to have to hook and unhook Firewire into my 2 Firewire ports of my iMac G5. So it seems like I need a Firewire port with more power. What's the best kind of Firewire hub that people have used?

Hello a brody,
I can only share my experience w/firewire FWIW, but I'm not sure about what you want to accomplish.
You have an existing 6port FW hub(powered), but if I'm understanding the problem as stated, you cannot run the iSight at the same time as the other FW devices are running without iSight causing the data transfer to the other device(s) to be interrupted and fail.
If that's what your trying to do, I'm not too sure "power" is the issue, but rather a conflict with the iSight switching/interface locking priority over the other FW devices.
The official 1394 FW specifications designate voltage from 8 - 30 Volts @+/- 10percent. I've checked Apple's specifications and measured the two "powered" leads in the 6-wire ports on most of the current Mac, coming in nearly exactly at 25V. This is important if a hub vendors unit is not built to handle that voltage.
Be aware that some manufacturer's hubs are labeled as adhering to 1394 standards(technically true), but may not be compatible (powered) with the Mac and may be damaged or cause system problems; If unsure, the hub supplier's support should be able to confirm that their product will comply with 1394 and work with Apple products and tell you exactly what voltage they are running the twin power-leads at in their powered hubs.
One sorry example of this failure on the boards is a combo(usb+fw) hub from IOGear which actually "popped" it's internal capacitors.
I personally had success with a Macally Hub that ran about $ 80. and can be found here; http://www.macally.com/spec/firewire/connecting/hub_uf.html
and more recently for another family member, installed a Belkin F5U526-WHT 6 port hub(powered). Others reported as working include; Belkin Modelf5726slv and Belkin's 6-PortHub(F5U526APL.
So, if your problem is power, then you should check to see exactly what spec the Buslink hub is running your hub at, just to make sure it is not causing a problem. But as said above, this will probably not fix any conflict with timing priority on the iSight. I'd still suggest that you consider unplugging the iSight when your using any other FW device.
Respectfully,
Bill Gallagher

Firewire hub?

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