hrvach/deskhop

extending deskhop by an open hardware usb-c hub

chri2 opened this issue · 3 comments

chri2 commented

I'm waiting for my PCBs and parts and hopefully will soon be able to test the deskhop. What a nice project, thanks a lot!

My use case seems to be a bit different from what I read here:

mobile device desktop stand

I'm using a Librem5 mobile and a tablet running Lineage. Both offer convergence: I can use a usb-c hub and connect mouse, keyboard and even another display if the hub offers the right hdmi/displayport pass out.

This is all nice, but it doesn't cover my major use case:

Working on my desktop and wanting to just answer some chat message or look up some contact on my mobile that sits beside it.

I already tried waypipe, but this has a lot of downsides and pitfalls and needs network connectivity between the two devices.

But now I found deskhop that gives me the hope to be able to put together a setup like this:

  • deskhop to share my keyboard and mouse between desktop and mobile
  • an extension to the case to have a stand for mobile devices on top of the deskhop case
  • a usb-c hub included into the extended deskhop case
    • usb-c pd power in to optionally charge the mobile device, power one deskhop rpi, power connected usb devices
    • a usb hub port to connect to the deskhop for mouse/keyboard
    • optional:
      • another usb hub port to connect anything like a memory stick
      • usb-c port to connect devices like a Nitrokey usb-c, a yubikey, a modern memory stick

I could put a usb-c hub like this inside the case, but for its use case I wouldn't need ethernet nor hdmi and it is missing the optional usb-c port to connect my Nitrokey.

I started looking around for an open hardware design of a usb-c hub that could integrate with the deskhop into the device I'd like to put together, but didn't find any.

The projects I found are:

I'd be thankful for any suggestions, opinions and help.

hrvach commented

I'd advise to get an external hub with features you need for the mobile (USB-PD, video output, usb 3.0 ports etc) and connect the box output to one of its usb2 ports, then test if everything works to your satisfaction. If you need a single box solution, perhaps extending/redesigning the case to incorporate a hub of your liking might be the easiest thing?

chri2 commented

Yes, that is the way I'll take. I'll report back whether this works.

But in the end it would be nice to have the usb-c hub part also in open hardware and maybe in pcb format that could find its place in the same casing.

chri2 commented

I tried now with two usb-c hubs: A Hoyoki CB-C71 and an Icy Box IB-HUB1426-CPD. Both worked nice and the mobile phone I used as a second device got charged. The usb-c port on the icy box one works for e.g. a NitroKey I regularly need.

The icy box usb-hub - even though quiet expensive and not open hardware - would fit nicely with the project. Its longest side is ~9cm. If I'd make the deskhop case a bit bigger to hold the hub on top of it, it would fit nicely.

Still: I'd rather prefer to add an open hardware board for the usb-hub.

If anybody comes along this issue and knows an open hardware usb-c board with the above specs (or those of the icy box one) I'd appreciate very much reading about it!