MiSTer FPGA Forum

I have been reading threads about the USB hub/OTG host issues in recent months, but they all seem to peter out with no firm conclusion or resolution.

Is a stable USB setup possible right now using the latest MiSTer software? Assuming I have enough power supplied to the board, what is required to achieve reliable USB?

I started with a mister setup that used a cheap-as-possible OTG hub, and it was fine to start with, but after a while the hub wouldn't initialise on power-up unless disconnected and connected again from the mister's flimsy OTG port.

That was annoying, and sooner or later it would break the port through repeated plugging/unplugging, so I upgraded to the proper mister USB hub. Since then, no issues at all.

The moral of the story is, don't cheap out on the USB hub, get the proper one that stacks below the DE10 and has a fixed rigid connection to the OTG port. It'll cost you maybe $25 more, but it's worth it.

So the official 2.1 USB hub works reliably? I thought I saw some posts from users that had issues with that as well.

Many off the "official hub" problems tread have turned out that they where "mister hubs" bought on aliexpress/ebay/etc.
And there is likely a big chance that those hubs are not made 100% according to the official mister spec but often made with cheaper components.

Also a big reason the hubs started having problem was when mister did update to a newer linux kernel and if i remember right after a couple of days they did change something and did an update that did fix the problem for many.

If bought from a well renowned mister seller there probably is way less chance of ever seeing this problem.
Or you can buy a Blisster have not seen any reports about any usb problem on them and mine works fine.

Blisster had issues when the new linux was released - the issues were resolved with an updated Blisster firmware (the confusion was the biggest issue for most people).

I see. I assume this is legit? https://ultimatemister.com/product/usb- ... idgeboard/

caad wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:39 pm I see. I assume this is legit? https://ultimatemister.com/product/usb- ... idgeboard/

Ya, that's a good one.

Any "issues" you are reading about are likely due to cheap hubs from Chinese sellers, or just random issues people have when they mess with menu options.

dshadoff wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:36 pm Blisster had issues when the new linux was released - the issues were resolved with an updated Blisster firmware (the confusion was the biggest issue for most people).

I agree it was confusion on most users part.

The recent linux update specifically effected blisster owners who never updated the onboard blisster firmware. But the blisster firmware update was not released specifically to address this issue, as the blisster update was actually posted back in July well before the recent mister linux update.

My personal recommended suppliers:

USA - https://misteraddons.com/products/usb-hub-v2-1
UK - https://misterfpga.co.uk/product/usb-hu ... ster-fpga/
EU - https://ultimatemister.com/product/usb- ... idgeboard/

You should be good if you have one of these.

aberu wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 11:37 pm My personal recommended suppliers:

USA - https://misteraddons.com/products/usb-hub-v2-1
UK - https://misterfpga.co.uk/product/usb-hu ... ster-fpga/
EU - https://ultimatemister.com/product/usb- ... idgeboard/

You should be good if you have one of these.

I also build them correctly to spec
https://www.legacypixels.com/mister

I use a ~10USD powered OTG hub. Apart from the brief moment after the Linux update, never had any problem with it.

DiamondDave wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:44 pm

caad wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:39 pm I see. I assume this is legit? https://ultimatemister.com/product/usb- ... idgeboard/

Ya, that's a good one.

Any "issues" you are reading about are likely due to cheap hubs from Chinese sellers, or just random issues people have when they mess with menu options.

My own issues with USB hubs have been due to neither of these things. Tried one cheapo and one HP USB hub (both unpowered) with the same result: sporadically the devices would not attach at power up. Could work for days and then suddenly not. The MiSTer USB OTG controller seems to be a bit flaky, and I believe I read some quote from Sorgelig or some other dev to this effect.

I'll try another powered hub soon, but if that doesn't work I'll go with the official.

legacypixels wrote: ↑Sun Oct 31, 2021 1:00 pm I also build them correctly to spec
https://www.legacypixels.com/mister

Oh right, forgot about you!

I don't have experience with your boards, but I've heard you are quite good!

I tried yet another powered USB hub, this time one of good brand and quality. My devices showed up fine, but after a "reboot" via ssh, neither my JPAC nor the wifi dongle would work anymore... Just dead. It's all very familiar.

Seriously, the USB OTG port of the DE-10 isn't working as it should. It's getting difficult to blame all the different hubs at least.

I can confirm the problems are still there. It is IMO ridiculous to blame the brand of the USB since it is clearly a software issue.
Best to roll back to the July version and don't update the kernel again any time soon.

I think acknowledging there may be a problem is a good first step. There is no paid support obviously, and I'm making no demands, but having the ear of the people more closely involved with the project is useful if we're gonna solve it.

I have now been using an old powered USB hub (original spare part for a point-of-sale PC, so it should be high quality) for a couple of weeks, and so far I'm happy to report that I have had no problems yet.