# Bluetooth Dongle and USB Hub



## simbalala (Apr 24, 2008)

Has anyone taken a Bluetooth dongle and connected it to a powered USB hub as the input port? Does it work?

I guess the big question is &#8211; would it be discoverable? Would it receive power from that port?


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Apr 25, 2008)

Whether or not the Bluetooth dongle receives power is dependent upon whether the hub you're plugging it into supplies power to the port... check your USB hub's manual to find out  whether it supplies power or not (ie, is it a "self-powered" hub?  Do you plug it into power from the wall?).

Connecting a device to a USB hub should allow it to work exactly the same as if it were plugged directly into a USB port on the computer itself.


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## simbalala (Apr 25, 2008)

ElDiabloConCaca said:


> Whether or not the Bluetooth dongle receives power is dependent upon whether the hub you&#8217;re plugging it into supplies power to the port&#8230; check your USB hub&#8217;s manual to find out whether it supplies power or not (ie, is it a &#8220;self-powered&#8221; hub? Do you plug it into power from the wall?).


Yes, I&#8217;m talking about a powered hub, with its own AC &#8220;bug&#8221; to plug into the wall. I&#8217;m not sure though that it will supply power to the input port. I understand the output ports will be powered.

This is all hypothetical at this point, I&#8217;m just trying to figure out if I can make my own bluetooth hub to support a printer.

Edit: Manual? I don't think it even came with one, it only cost $15.


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Apr 25, 2008)

Oh, I think I see what you're trying to do... are you trying to put the USB Bluetooth dongle into the port on the hub that's supposed to be connected to the USB port on the computer?  ...and then you want to plug a printer into one of the "standard" USB ports on the hub and see if you can somehow turn the printer into a wireless bluetooth printer via some bluetooth-dongle-usb-hub magic?  

I haven't thought that through enough yet to see if that's feasible... I don't know at this point, but that certainly would be nifty if it worked.


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## simbalala (Apr 25, 2008)

ElDiabloConCaca said:


> are you trying to put the USB Bluetooth dongle into the port on the hub that&#8217;s supposed to be connected to the USB port on the computer? &#8230;and then you want to plug a printer into one of the &#8220;standard&#8221; USB ports on the hub and see if you can somehow turn the printer into a wireless bluetooth printer via some bluetooth-dongle-usb-hub magic?



Yep



> I haven&#8217;t thought that through enough yet to see if that&#8217;s feasible&#8230; I don&#8217;t know at this point, but that certainly would be nifty if it worked.



Yep 

The issues are discoverability and power. The power problem can be solved, if needed, by using a black box. Cut up two cables and provide power via a power bug, I&#8217;ve already got enough cables and power bugs. So I&#8217;d have a black box with two cables and one power lead coming out of it.

I don&#8217;t have a USB/Bluetooth dongle. Has anyone ever used two computers each with a dongle so as to communicate with each other via bluetooth?


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## mibrani (Jun 24, 2008)

simbalala said:


> Yep
> 
> 
> 
> ...




HI simbalala,

Did you menage to connect to the printer using BT dongle? 

After solving the power problem did the BT dongle become discoverable? What other challenges did you have and how you overcame them?


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