usb device to bluetooth converter/adapter/mod?

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DTSyr

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Aug 21, 2006
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Does anyone know if there's an adapter(or a way to make one) to make a usb device work with bluetooth? I tried googling and all I get are the bluetooth receivers that plug into a usb slot on the PC...
 

nobly

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I think you'd be hard pressed to find one.
Since bluetooth needs power for the transmissions, you'd need some kind of external power source as well.

Someone out there probably has it, but making one would involve getting the bluetooth spec for the power requirements.

I think the problem with that is that you kind of make it a 'wired' device if you plug it into the wall... which pretty much defeats the purpose of bluetooth. Maybe w/ a battery pack?
 

DTSyr

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*grumble grumble*

Well if logitech or someone would just make a bluetooth trackball("the ball" doesn't count) then I would buy a new product. As they have not, I am left with little choice but to build my own solution. Guess some experimentation is in order then...
 

jimgrib

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I have been looking for this for months now...
I would like a solution where I can walk into my room and access my external hard drive/ video game controllers thumb drive or what ever else is hooked up to a usb hub sitting on a nearby shelf that is wireless from my laptop. While I lounge on my bed not worrying about getting tangled up with wires I can access my stuff or pick up a controller or mouse. It would a bluetooth usb hub and it would sit near an outlet waiting until I come into proximity of it with my tablet PC.

Why Can't I find this Item? it seems like one of the first things people would make.
 

easymac79

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I am looking for something similar. I think what he means is connecting a device that already draws electricity from the wall, to the computer via bluetooth. For example, an external hard drive that takes 12 volts from the wall. but it also needs to be connected to the computer for data transfer. I am looking for a device that makes the usb port on the hdd turn into a bluetooth tranceiver. This would eliminate yet more wires from my cluttered desktop. By the way, the port is the same as on most motorolla phones, and most mp3 players (sandisk, insignia, ext.) If anyone knows of such a device, please let us know.
Thank you
 

will_chellam

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I suspect you may not find a bluetooth one, however a lot of what you want to do can be achieved over wifi - is there any reason why a NAS wont fulfil your harddisk needs? and belkin make a USB over LAN sharing device which would work.
 

easymac79

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Now, im not exactly sure what a nas is, but i suspect it is like a network drive. If that is so, i do not want to use that because then it takes too long to transfer (56mbps vs 360mpbs, and i think bluetooth is actually like 1gbps but im not sure.) anyways, if i was going to go with a network option then i would upgrade to draft n and get a cheap computer (99 refurbished at microcenter) and use it as a file server for the entire network. which then wouldn't be usb, it would be an internal 1 tb raid. which would be too expensive until i can get a job. (im 14, can work at hy vee at 15)

so basically the answer is transfer time. I tried to transfer 8 gigs of data from one computer to another, and it took more than 1 hour, over usb it only took about 1.5 minutes to trasfer to my external.

You mentioned that this may be accomplished over wifi: if you know of a specific product i could look at, that would be great, but if not, then do you think i could still use my internal wireless card to connect to a network for internet as well as connect to the device that i would be converting?
 

will_chellam

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Actually, the transfer speed on bluetooth is atrociously bad - 2.1mbps on bluetooth two compared to 50+mbps on most wifi, most LAN is either 100 or 1000 mbps. have a look on the belkin website, youll need a wireless access point and they do a device that connects usb devices to a network. If you're using it for a trackball it may not be very repsonsive over a network though.....
 

mik_i_am

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i'd like to bump this thread to keep it active. specifically, what i want to do, and which brought me here is this: i have a macbook pro, and when at home i use an apple bluetooth mouse and keyboard, and i am really bummed that apple does not make a bluetooth keyboard with a numeric keypad. i take my laptop to clients' offices very frequently, so i don't like the idea of plugging/unplugging a usb device a couple times or more every day, which i know from experience will eventually destroy a usb jack on a computer. unfortunately, i obviously have to resign myself to the frequent plugging/unplugging with my external display, as there is definitely no way around that.

i would love to find a device that i leave at my desk, plugged into the wall for power, with an alpha/numeric usb keyboard plugged into it, that will pair with my laptop whenever i get home and sit down to work.

help.
 

burgerga123

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I FOUND SOMETHING THAT SOLVES THIS PROBLEM!!!! I was excited, until i realized that the blog it was posted on had no links to buy it, no company name, no product name, no NOTHING..... Here's the link, don't get your hopes up though, i still can't find it anywhere. HELP?
 

chemmyone

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I have been thinking and asking at different stores about this sort of thing and i guess it does exist.. Thanks for the link. It'd be nice to have one that you could carry around with you that ran off a phone batter or something though.. This is a step in the right direction though.. I saw a link for another little gadget thats kind of cool as well though getting outdated.. http://www.shopxtreme.com/Bluetooth-/-USB-/-IrDA/c23/p575/USB-IrDA-Dongle-/-Adapter/product_info.html is a USB IrDA adapter.. It'd be nice to walk around with my OCZ NIA on and be able to control -everything- with my mind.. not just games, sitting chained to the comp.. heh

Chemmyone
http://automatedhome.ca
 
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Guest

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Very Interesting. I have a similar problem. I am self employed, and to cut a long story short, I need to take readings with my meter and log them on my laptop. The meter has a USB cable, but I want the flexibility of being wirless. The problem is the USB cable that plugs into the meter needs power. I don't mind soldering circuit boards and connecting a rechargable battery is not a problem. I found a device by Brainboxes (available from Misco http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=320382&CatId=312) that I thonk might be made to do the job, but I'm not sure.
The trick is to end up with a USB socket connected to a bluetooth transmitter/receiver, I am truely amazed that noone does such a thing.... The mention of Belkin doing a device is fruitless, they only have a wireless bidirectional print server, close, but as I'm not connecting a printer, no banana.....
 
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I have purchased the qvc usb hub thing, I'll let you know if it works..........
 
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for me a lightening fast transfer rate is not essential, I am only recording a single meter reading every few seconds. Fluke do a gadget http://us.fluke.com/usen/Products/2...ukeUnitedStates&Category=ACOTH(FlukeProducts) that would do the trick for lots of data, but anything with the fluke name on will cost mega bucks. The computer industry moves very fast, and the introduction of USB as a replacement for serial D connectors has caused me no end of grief, horray for USB to serial converters, but serial to USB (socket) is the problem....
 

minetymenace

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I wasted my £10 on the Cable & Wirless Bluetooth Hub. It is just a USB hub and Bluetooth dongle. The USB hub is wired and the dongle requires the drivers etc to be run on a pc/laptop etc. NOT what I'm looking for.

I want to try the Belkin device next, but do I need to connect to this wireless device via a router, or can I connect directly from my (wieless enabled) laptop (without going through a router)?
 

Try asking over in the Wireless forum over here:- http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum-43.html
 
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