Summary
Make sure firmware is up to date. Use a good 3 meter cable. Turn charging off in the back and for longer connections than 3m use a powered hub or repeater cable
In-Depth
Note: This article is for USB 3.0 (Type-A/B).
- Make sure firmware is up to date. Phase One CCD based IQ1 and IQ2 backs should have at least firmware 5.11.36 or newer and CCD based Leaf Credo backs require Firmware 3.0 or later. CMOS based IQ and Credo backs support USB3 on all firmware versions.
- Use a compatible USB 3.0 card in the computer see KB article #1280 link at bottom.
- Use a 3 meter USB3 cable. - 3meter is the USB 3 maximum length for reliable use without a repeater.
- Disable battery charging on the back
Connecting over longer distances:
Most USB 3.0 ports are rather underpowered on modern computers and as such will be unreliable at distances longer than 3m. To improve connection reliability over long distances, use a powered USB hub, or externally powered repeater cable. One recommended cable is the
StarTech Active Extension cable when used with the supplied power adapter.
Another great choice for long distances if used together with the supplemental adapter is the: (Note: the adapter MUST be powered for the connection to work)
Unibrain active Optical USB3 cable
Charging the battery.
While Phase One IQ backs and Leaf Credo backs offer the ability to charge their battery while tethered, this is not usually possible when tethered via USB 3.0. Charging over USB 3.0 will degrade the computer connection and cause connection issues. True charging is not possible in this scenario because the power output of a standard USB 3.0 port is much less than the power consumption of the digital back.
If you connect to a USB 3.0 port that features BC 1.2, then you can allow some battery charging. The power output is still not enough to charge the back, but it will maintain charge when the back is idle - this effectively extends battery life. For this feature to work, "Charging from PC" should be set to "Slow" and "USB Power Management" should be set to "On" in Menu > IQ Settings > Power Management.
Standard USB ports in most computers, including all Macs, are not BC 1.2 enabled. Therefore, you will need to connect the back to an external powered hub that features BC 1.2
The best solution, however is to use the Phase One FireWire 800 DC power adapter, part number 50300221. It will keep the battery fully charged all day.