[RWP] Questions about long USB cables and keyboards

[Jayson Smith]

Hi,

I have an M-audio Keystation 88 Pro 88-key USB/MIDI keyboard. I have it 
across the room from my computer, so a few weeks ago I bought a 30-foot USB 
cable (actually a cable with a single-port USB hub) to hook it up to my 
computer. It's going into a powered hub on the computer end. Going directly 
into the keyboard, it just didn't work. After putting another powered hub at 
the keyboard end of the cable, it connects and will let you play a few notes 
but then it just dies. Since there are two powered hubs involved, I'm 
assuming the problem is the length of the cable. My room is such that it 
would be a real headache to get the keyboard to within fifteen feet of the 
computer. Questions here are, is there any way to boost the range of a USB 
signal? Any other things to try?

This keyboard does have MIDI in and out ports, so another option would be to 
buy a wall wart to power it and run it to the computer over MIDI. Questions 
here are, do they make 30-foot MIDI cables? Does MIDI have length 
restrictions like USB?
Thanks for any help!
Jayson