ADP3450 Communication Faults on USB after time

[David Wells]

I'm not having any luck getting Waveforms to run more than a few seconds up to a minute before it crashes telling me there is a USB communications problem

I tried cleaning the USB port on the unit. No luck. I also bought two new USB cables and tried them out. No luck.

Has anyone else had this problem?  I'm running Windows 10 on a HP Elitebook.

I am sending the unit back to Digikey, where I bought it, and am very sad about this. Please help if you have seen this issue. Otherwise I guess it is a defective unit.  Here is the screen:

[attila]

Hi @David Wells

This is most likely a connection issue, the same error is reported on USB disconnect or device power toggle.
Make sure the USB and power cables are fully plugged in, try using a different USB port on your computer, cable, different computer...

I don't know which software version you are using. Here you can find the latest:

 

[David Wells]

Thanks for the suggestion. I downloaded the version you suggested. Things worked for several minutes, but after a while the unit crashed again. Here is a snip of the diagnostic that was reported: 

[David Wells]

I am wondering if my HP Elitebook 650 G9 is maybe running other programs that could be causing the program to hang up.  I'm a professional engineer and work remotely with Microsoft Teams typically running in the background.  Do you recommend suspending Teams or any other program that is a known cause for problems?

[attila]

Hi @David Wells

3 hours ago, attila said:

This is most likely a connection issue, the same error is reported on USB disconnect or device power toggle.
Make sure the USB and power cables are fully plugged in, try using a different USB port on your computer, cable, different computer...

Other application or computer performance should not cause transfer error.
WaveForms application can be used even on low performance single board computers. On these, the slowdown is felt when capturing or streaming lots of samples and/or performing hungry post-processing or views.

[David Wells]

I did try Waveforms on another computer, and it works flawlessly.  The other computer was another older HP laptop, HP Zbook 15 G3.  It is running Windows 7.  I'll continue to use it from now on and will occasionally check out whether the Windows 10 Hp laptop can be made to work, but I already wasted lots of time on this so probably won't do it soon. It would be nice to find out if someone else is using a HP Elitebook and having issues and get their issues solved.  In any case, I'll hold on to my Digilent ADP3450 and start using it.  Thanks so much, Attila, for helping me get this far!!  Best regards, David

[David Wells]

After further testing, I did find a solution that others will definitely find interesting if they are having similar issues.

 

What I did was to purchase and install an externally-powered USB 3.0 hub.

The particular one I got on Amazon and the manufacturer is Atolla. It has an external 5.0 volt power supply that plugs into it rated 3.0 amps. It solved the problem!  Maybe Digilent needs to make this simple solution known to more users by posting something about it. Here is a snip of the features of this particular hub that sells for $20 on amazon. Note the external supply is rated at 3.0 Amps: 

[attila]

Hi @David Wells

I'm glad it's working now.

I still think it was a USB cable contact problem on the computer side. The ADP3X50 does not require USB power, it uses less than 1mA for host detection.

[David Wells]

I did a further test with another non-external powered USB Hub and it also worked. So, as you say Attila, it is not the power draw that is the issue.

What I do now think is going on is that both of these USB hubs have a much better USB plug with far more spring force contact on their prongs, and it is this that is actually the reason why they are fixing my problem.

I can definitely feel a much higher physical holding force when I plug these two USB hubs into any of the sockets on my HP Elitebook.

I inspect the cable sockets and do see a clear difference: The internal tongs on the connectors for both of the hubs stick up more, and that is why they make better contact.

 

The non-external powered hub is the ACER ODK350 which is a little cheaper at around $15 and is shown here: 

 

When you plug this thing in, it takes a higher force than just plugging in the USB cable that comes with the ADP3450 and that, I think, solves the actual problem. This is true no matter which of the three USB ports on my HP Elitebook are used.  Maybe the manufacturing specs on the USB sockets are a bit off.  I hope others find this saga useful if they have a similar problem.