# Internal USB hub mod **URL:** \ **Category:** DevTerm\ **Created:** [June 13, 2022, 1:05pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/internal-usb-hub-mod/8643 "2022-06-13T13:05:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yatli](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/yatli/32/6253_2.png) [@yatli](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/yatli)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 1:05pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/internal-usb-hub-mod/8643/1 "2022-06-13T13:05:11Z")
This is a quick way to add extensions inside the chassis. With a 1x4 usb 2.0 hub, we could host a sound card, a usb-pcmcia adapter, parallel/serial port, etc. etc. The hub is small: ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/7/7ae890977c0af260655ed8760c8a19669866a590.jpeg) To connect the hub, one USB port on the EXT board has to be removed: ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/1/1da4cbd34a2d9ece5d1467352e00c5f3b0835cd9.jpeg) (I broke the pad for GND so I have to flywire to the nearby ground 😂) Wired up: ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/7/7a1ba62894e911cf6d9bb941adcb846bf3d0648b.jpeg) Note: The pads for the original usb port are not spaced evenly 2.54mm, so I have to break the connector pins into individual ‘needles’ and adjust the position one by one, to fit the 2.54mm cutehub. I don’t want to leave a hole on the outside, and I want to control the power of individual devices, so I added a few switches where the original USB port was: ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/d/d31369ce85ccbd51aff9b53fc8e2c38d3152eef1.jpeg) First resident: a Teensy 4.1 to run M8 Tracker 😃 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/e/eb87a182be1a46a747375ef3f525626e06f879c4.jpeg) Putting it all back: ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/0/079ecbe02b90e5c2adb2c5341ba45155a1d4d83e.jpeg) The switches turn out to be very useful: Teensy draws about 500mA(!) so when not used, better turn it off. With switches off: ```auto Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 001 Device 004: ID 1a40:0101 Terminus Technology Inc. Hub Bus 001 Device 009: ID 1eaf:0024 Leaflabs DevTerm Bus 001 Device 002: ID 05e3:0608 Genesys Logic, Inc. Hub Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub axp20x_battery-0: 3.941V, 1.002A ``` With Teensy switch on: ```auto Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 001 Device 011: ID 16c0:048a Van Ooijen Technische Informatica M8 Bus 001 Device 004: ID 1a40:0101 Terminus Technology Inc. Hub Bus 001 Device 002: ID 05e3:0608 Genesys Logic, Inc. Hub Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub axp20x_battery-0:3.906v, 1.325A ``` ---
**Author:** ![andypiper](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/andypiper/32/7970_2.png) [@andypiper](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/andypiper)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/internal-usb-hub-mod/8643/2 "2022-06-13T15:54:31Z")
Cool, where did you find that board? I’m not finding it when I search… I like the reuse of the USB slot for switches 🙂 cunning! Would you put a schematic online somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![yatli](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/yatli/32/6253_2.png) [@yatli](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/yatli)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 4:56pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/internal-usb-hub-mod/8643/3 "2022-06-13T16:56:20Z")
@andypiper here: > **[淘宝网 - 淘！我喜欢](https://login.taobao.com/member/login.jhtml?redirectURL=https%3a%2f%2fitem.taobao.com:443%2Fitem.htm%2F _____tmd_____ %2Fpage%2Flogin_jump%3Frand%3DS3WxGHAgAt756EpznwfNzJq2AFA2qBNla3j6EINUS8We9dazM_iKElp8DwVSHZUevpC41Bx7RzivXIj9RnZgdg%26_lgt_%3Dd7c8cfd1266c4773706fedb07b110bc1 ___150202___ 6ee4d00f722c703feab7c83dcf311045___99083bda5d56ec87266c4ce0569daf06254facd14bb5207b2f4873ebc10a73c154ca108f5af14608caea993432e6050d53b8568a3b95049b3641155db964afbdba0b58404f9f7ff59cc385f0eceb8f4d58b87742e505d3c3fbee86c28d24c91c1ff2527aa06266359782ce8a3f12cfdc%26x5referer%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fitem.taobao.com%252Fitem.htm%253Fspm%253Da1z09.2.0.0.52082e8dmsQZdp%2526id%253D526933963654%2526mt%253D&uuid=d7c8cfd1266c4773706fedb07b110bc1&spm=a1z09.2.0.0.52082e8dmsQZdp)** > > 淘宝网(Taobao.com)作为专业的购物网站拥有全球时尚前沿的消费者购物集市,100%认证网上商城及超值二手商品区，同时购物安全，产品丰富，应有尽有,任你选购,让你尽享网上在线购物乐趣！ (posted another taobao link here and there was a login problem – guess they just don’t want new customers anymore😓) So cheap that I bought 4 to make shipping worth it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![andypiper](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/andypiper/32/7970_2.png) [@andypiper](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/andypiper)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 6:41pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/internal-usb-hub-mod/8643/4 "2022-06-13T18:41:35Z")
ah, not able to order from there :-/ shame. ---
**Author:** ![yatli](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/yatli/32/6253_2.png) [@yatli](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/yatli)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 7:02pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/internal-usb-hub-mod/8643/5 "2022-06-13T19:02:53Z")
oww. Then try search for this chip: [FE8.1 USB2.0 High Speed 4 port hub controller | Terminus USA | Fabless IC Design House](https://terminus-usa.com/product/fe8-1-usb2-0-high-speed-4-port-hub-controller/) This is the core of the cutehub. wrt. schematic: sorry I mostly improvised the connections 😃 😃 anyway the wiring is simple, and the most challenging part is to remove the original usb port… I ended up cutting the “landing pads” which are too cumbersome to unsolder. After removing the usb port, 4 pads are exposed: 5V, DM, DP, GND. The EXT board marks 5V as 1 and GND as 4, straightforward. For power control: connect a switch between hub downlink 5v and device 5v. When 5v is floating, by usb standard the device won’t connect (it becomes unpowered in our case) ---
**Author:** ![Petrakis](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/petrakis/32/256_2.png) [@Petrakis](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Petrakis)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2022, 8:56am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/internal-usb-hub-mod/8643/6 "2022-06-14T08:56:20Z")
I remember seeing those kind of hubs over tindie > **[Tindie is a marketplace for maker made products.](https://www.tindie.com/search/?q=hub)** > > Tindie is a marketplace for maker made products. From Raspberry Pi to Arduino to drones, Tindie's goal is to bring innovation to the masses faster than ever before. ---
**Author:** ![andypiper](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/andypiper/32/7970_2.png) [@andypiper](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/andypiper)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/internal-usb-hub-mod/8643/7 "2022-06-14T16:53:26Z")
Oh, thank you for that pointer - the TinkerBOY looks like an option, albeit a lot more expensive than I was seeing the other board, similar footprint at least. Interesting. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![TinaStormcaller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@TinaStormcaller](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/TinaStormcaller)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/internal-usb-hub-mod/8643/8 "2022-06-30T16:15:53Z")
I remember back in the day we’d desolder one USB port from an Asus eee, flip it upside down and glue it to the PCB, then wire the PCB pins to a usb hub and then one of the hub ports back to the upside down USB socket so we could still use it, but have some internal USB ports. This looks like a better version of that. I know the intention was for folks to make their own expansion boards for the devterm, hopefully someone comes along with one that just has an internal usb socket or two so we can do things like put 4g dongles and SDRs inside easily ---
**Author:** ![scm](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/scm/32/11911_2.png) [@scm](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/scm)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2022, 1:14pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/internal-usb-hub-mod/8643/9 "2022-07-05T13:14:28Z")
I’ve been wondering why 1 USB port wasn’t exposed somewhere internally. Not putting an internal USB port on that expansion board was a missed opportunity for the design. I’ve had a small USB hub (not that small) and thinking about how to get something similar going. Thanks for the post. ---
**Author:** ![AverageZac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9a28c/32.png) [@AverageZac](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/AverageZac)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2022, 5:28pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/internal-usb-hub-mod/8643/10 "2022-07-05T17:28:46Z")
I did something similar with my RTL-SDR addition (there’s a thread on it here somewhere), this looks like a much cleaner way to accomplish this; I get the feeling I’ll be ordering one of these to try. I went full caveman and removed the plastic shell off a cheap unpowered hub I had