Belkin Bus Station

Author : Wayne Date : 20th November 2000

So we know the Belkin BusStation lets you remove the top three modules. Big Deal huh! Well yes actually, it's a very big deal. You see, each of those modules can be replaced with others from Belkin's range that may suit your needs better. For example, if you replace those three single port modules with three 4 port modules, then you have a hub capable of handling sixteen devices. Alternatively, slide in a serial port module, a SCSI module or even an Ethernet module, then mix and match to your heart's content to build a configuration that's right for your needs.

The modules themselves look stylish, and feel surprisingly sturdy. Internally, the connectors on the station with which the modules make contact are elongated, helping to guide them into place and ensure they "dock" properly every time.

They slot into place with a reassuring click and more importantly, they stay in place. Also, because they stack vertically, this frees up valuable desk space for you to clutter with other things.

Even the power supply seems to have been well thought through. The adapter is not your typical power brick, nor is it of the "wall-wart" variety, sitting mid-cable instead. It is actually quite compact compared to most, and the lead between the wall socket and the adapter can be unplugged, allowing you to place the adapter where you want it then feed the supply through to it. Ideal if threading the adapter itself through the narrow spaces around your computer and desk is the kind of exercise in dexterity it often is

.

Belkin have not skimped on the length of lead either. The run from the wall socked to the adapter measured a healthy 60 inches plus, and while I didn't uncoil the section from the adapter to the BusStation, it certainly looked to be of a similar length.

Installation :

In theory, there should be no need for an installation section during a USB hub review, as the whole idea of USB is that you plug in a device and it works, no rebooting, it just up and runs (unless it needs drivers of course, in which case that's done first). But I know from bitter experience that some hubs can simply refuse to work. Either they have poor quality cable, or are faulty in some way, or simply don't comply with the current USB specifications.Question is, how did the BusStation behave? Here's the step by step :-

1/ Situate the hub - check!

2/ Plug power supply into wall and opposite end into hub - check!

3/ Plug one end of USB cable into port on computer or other upstream device and plug other end into BusStation - check!

4/ Plug devices into bus station - check

5/ See if they function - check!

Effortless is probably the only word to describe the whole process, from feeding the power to the well hidden adapter to plugging in the devices, which for the record were a keyboard, a Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer rodent, an Epson 870 Photo Printer, a Sidewinder Precision Pro joystick and a digital camera.

At this point, I was a little concerned that the whole process had been just too easy. Adding peripherals to your computer, even something as simple as a hub, isn't supposed to go without at least one small hiccup somewhere, so I decided I was going to torture it until it could take no more.

Pulling the unit nearer to me so I could get at it, I went into "1940's telephone switchboard operator" mode, plugging and unplugging like a madman. I then started clicking out modules and slotting them back, changing the order of the connectors and the modules themselves, unplugging the power and plugging it in again, and generally being a hub's worst nightmare. It never even flinched! It just sat there being all cool and efficient and probably smiling to itself.

WARNING : it states quite clearly in the manual that modules should only be removed in an order running from top to bottom and that you should never remove the middle modules first. Despite my crazed attempts to make the BusStation falter, I followed this rule without fail.

One thing all this cable swapping brought to my attention was the quality of the BusStation's ports. One gripe I always had with USB was the the connectors never felt secure in the ports of your average PC. They always seemed like they'd drop out with the slightest provocation. The Bus station however seems to take a very firm hold of the connectors, and again there's a reassuring click as they slotted into place.

I did run a few speed tests by transferring large image files from my camera onto the hard disk, both via the hub and straight into the PC's port, but the graphs would have made boring viewing because, as expected, there were no perceivable speed differences.

 

 

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