I am working on a project that has 6 12V motors (each about 20W). The motors are controlled by a relay board (12 relays total). These relays are activated by a USB DAC that is plugged into a USB Hub.
Here's where it gets tricky: All this stuff is about 100' from the controller computer. A USB over CAT5 extender is being used to handle this. All the cables for the motors and the CAT5 must be bundled tightly together at the far end. Also, all the devices at the far end are being powered by the same 12V battery (some voltage regulators are being used to get 5V for the USB Hub and relay boards).
The CAT5 and the USB extender devices are shielded but, the motors are causing the USB connection to drop out routinely. Does anyone have any recommendations on what I can do to the CAT5 or the motor cables to remove this interference?
When I plug the USB Hub directly to the computer everything works perfectly which makes me wonder if there is something I can do with the CAT5.
Here's where it gets tricky: All this stuff is about 100' from the controller computer. A USB over CAT5 extender is being used to handle this. All the cables for the motors and the CAT5 must be bundled tightly together at the far end. Also, all the devices at the far end are being powered by the same 12V battery (some voltage regulators are being used to get 5V for the USB Hub and relay boards).
The CAT5 and the USB extender devices are shielded but, the motors are causing the USB connection to drop out routinely. Does anyone have any recommendations on what I can do to the CAT5 or the motor cables to remove this interference?
When I plug the USB Hub directly to the computer everything works perfectly which makes me wonder if there is something I can do with the CAT5.