USB 101 help please

In a nutshell I'm wondering if I'm simply over-loading my USB hub or maybe the quality of the extension cable is causing interference.

I have apprx. 5m & 3m USB extension cables coupled together that runs from the back of my PC to where I'm sitting. A USB powered small hub is attached to the end of this.


On the hub,I connect a wireless dongle for my keyboard, bluetooth dongle that connects to a mobile phone, headset and mouse (sometimes), wireless dongle for a mouse, charger for my headset, data cable for my mobile phone and any storage device that I'd like access to such as a micro flash card reader.

Are there limitations to using one USB port on a PC or a certain extension cable length?

The reason for thinking that it maybe because of the quality of the cable is that when I plug in a wired headset to one of the ports, there's a load of interference coming through the earphones - I do not know if this is because there's too much traffic on the cable or the signal gets weak because of the cable length or the lack of any quality.

Can the problem be solved if I attach the optional power inlet to the mains?

I hope someone can help please because I rely entirely on this!

Well I have to admit, that is quite a lot of devices sucking power on one port. Have you tried inserting your headphones on your other USB ports that are on your PC?