EtherREGEN: The long development thread. [Some Gen2 dev. pics and update starting on page 92.]

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On 4/2/2018 at 2:50 PM, JohnSwenson said:

The UASMPS provided with the switch already has the DC output grounded so no separate grounding needs to be done. The internal power network in the switch will be extremely good, the result is that there should be no advantage to using an LPS-1.2.

 

John S.

 

John: are you saying that we don't need to use your ground plug "device" with the new etherRegen?

 

But we will need to use it if using an LPS-1.2 to power it instead of the UASMPS that comes with it?

 

Thanks!

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@JohnSwenson and @Superdad: 

 

Here is what a guy I know from our local FB group said when I posted a link to this thread:

 

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OK, I work in the computer networking world...I have my hands and finger logged into routers, VPNs, firewalls, and switches every day. And I troubleshoot those devices down to the packet level, yes I know how to read a TCP/IP and/or Ethernet packet. And just my to cents, the idea of speeding $400+ on an eight port copper (CAT5 or CAT6 RJ45 cable) switch which is move a digital packet from device A to device B is a waste of funds. Please understand that I think it is super cool that they are building this super cool switch...both all those ones and zeros will still get to the place they are going. And I understand how to build networks to avoid discards/resend/jitter/too many devices doing... and any $100 8 port switch will do the same job as that super cool $400 ...

 

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His words. Not mine. 

 

Thoughts? Could you explain the benefits of an "audiophile" Ethernet Switch in layman's terms?

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Just a silly question (please delete if inappropriate here): why would this Ethernet Switch would work better than fiber optics converters? Provided the one downstream converter is powered by a nice / clean LPS of course.

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50 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

Everything is proceeding well, though a little behind schedule.  A semi-final round of test boards were just ordered, and last week we took a more serious look at the bill of materials and exact parts availability for production.  Will release more details when ready.  I'll say one thing though:

EtherREGEN is chock full of a lot of expensive parts! Without counting the case, the stock SMPS it will ship with, or the cost of the blank PCB or PCB assembly/soldering, I can see that our cost for the main chips, clocks, 15(!) LT3042/45 voltage regulators, jacks, etc. is already up over $200.  

Adding in those other elements will likely bring our cost to around $275, plus royalty for John and then our standard, very modest times 2 business model to arrive at direct sale price--I think we can set folks expectations that this is going to be a $600 switch.  Of course it is one with tech not available in ANY other Ethernet switch--and it is likely to outperform a certain 3x the price competitor. 

 

Earlier this week we went though a mental exercise of considering putting the EtherREGEN in a larger and fancier case--with all the jacks at the back.  (As opposed to the current plan of it going in the same case series/size as the UltraCap LPS-1.2.) The obvious choice for me would be a half-height version of the beautiful JS-2 case which we source customized from Japan.  But aside from that case costing us over $100, it adds assembly labor (they come unassembled), a lot of storage space requirements, and a serious amount of packaging and shipping cost.  We ship the JS-2 in a floating double-box system that measures 14" x 14" x 9".  Even if I came up with a smaller box and foam set-up, we would not be able to ship worldwide for the low freight $ we do with the UltraCap.  

So unless the final board puts off such a ridiculous amount of heat requiring a big case--which we doubt--people are just going to have to accept that we crammed SOTA tech into a modest case which will have cables going in front and rear.  It will be a crazy-great switch, it just won't be eye-candy! 

 

By the way, late last year I negotiated some fantastic small package international rates with my FedEx rep.  So now we offer fast FedEx Express to anywhere in the world for the same $34 that it costs us to ship insured Priority Mail--for an UltraCap or ISO REGEN size package.

 

That's all for now.  By the way, another dozen JS-2s just shipped out to clients yesterday--a day ahead of schedule.  My assistant rocks, so I gave her the day off today. And won't she be surprised to come into work tomorrow and see that I had the plumber here all day finally--after 2 years of occupying the space--finishing the bathroom of the shop.  I won't get into the complexities of why it got delayed, but she is going to be delighted to no long have to come into the house for her nature breaks. Okay, so maybe that's not the "news" you were asking about. Still, perhaps better than the news of the world...  

 

 

‘Very nice ...... toilet! 😉

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Guys guys guys (and girls)....

 

If you have EtherREGEN you will not need Sonore opticalModule at all.  Sonore opticalModule is just simple FMC (copper to/from optical).  This functionality is built into EtherREGEN.  

 

EtherREGEN has so very much more.  There will be no advantage feeding EtherREGEN with optical.  It will do for copper the same great things (true active isolation and reclocking) as it will do for optical. 

 

And..... there is no “clean” and “dirty” side.  Both sides are reclocked the same (with separate clock synthesizers and separate Crystal CCHD-575 XOs).  It that one side has just one copper Ethernet port, while the other side has 4 copper and 1 optical fiber SFP cage.

 

So forget the opticalModule. With etherRegen, you DON'T need any optical lines in your network.

 

I am gonna wait for etherRegen. Will not mess around with other stuff, routers, optical, and such anymore. Whatever time it takes. I am pretty sure it will be worth it!

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5 minutes ago, diecaster said:

 

John stated very clearly that there would be one super clean port that was an RJ45.

 

That was a while back. Things have changed since then.

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13 hours ago, jos said:

How abouth this device, see link? Brand new by the way and promising!

https://www.djmelectronics.com/gigafoilv4-inline-ethernet-filter.html

 

@Superdad has addressed this earlier:

"Those single port GigaFOIL devices, starting at $475 (https://www.djmelectronics.com/ethernet-emi-rfi-filter.html) are fiber-optic based isolators, strictly focused on EMI.  As detailed elsewhere, we are taking a broader approach." 

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10 minutes ago, Superdad said:

Just a reminder gents: The Ethernet cable thread is elsewhere...

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/55537-whats-the-consensus-on-ethernet-cables/

 

Thanks. 

 

‘You think it will be ready to ship in March? I can wait for a month or so. But my humble opinion: you should launch soon. The enthusiastic people on this stuff (and not many of us, considering the widespread animosity towards anything digital on Archimago type forums and disciples) are quickly getting into gigafoil v4 and SOtM. So my two cents: lost business opportunities. Please don’t take this wrong, I am rooting for you

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Hey Alex @Superdad any projected release date on etherRegen? Say April? 

 

Much appreciated!

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1 minute ago, ericuco said:

It is my understanding the the optical port is on the "dirty" side of the switch which would basically defeat the whole purpose of using the EtherRegen.

 

Incorrect! There is no "dirty" or "clean" site, as long as you go input / output across 

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1 minute ago, ericuco said:

Per Alex's first post in this thread:

 

"The goal of the unit is to provide full isolation (and very high-quality clocking) for one special "clean" port--to be the port that feeds your Ethernet-attached streamer/renderer/DAC device (be that something like a micro/ultraRendu, Aries, SOtM, Ethernet input DAC, or whatever Ethernet connection is most directly connected to your DAC)."

 

Did this change?

 

Yes it did. I cannot find Alex's subsequent post on this issue, a couple of months ago, but it is in this thread

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41 minutes ago, greenleo said:

I would rather order something that's ready to ship than to wait for the shipment forever.  

 

‘Like what?

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17 minutes ago, motberg said:

https://jcat.eu/product/m12-switch-gold/

 

😲

 

‘LOL! Right on!

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7 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

Please reconsider taking our money up front, so everybody that like to have one, will have the opportunity with the first production run. 

 

At least a list with a minor prepayment, so you have a very good estimation. 

 

 

I will be definitely be in for this!

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4 hours ago, Nenon said:

Was the final (or estimated) price determined yet? Sorry if I missed a post... kind of a long thread. Thank you. 

 

Not sure if it’s final, but $600 was mentioned a few times here recently 

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3 hours ago, Superdad said:

You are not alone.  John and I are pretty excited too.  

 

So.... July launch?

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As we are getting close to the launch (crossing fingers), I was wondering is Alex @Superdad can answer a couple of questions:

 

1 - Would the following SFP module work for etherRegen?

 

https://www.smallgreencomputer.com/collections/accessories/products/systemoptique-certified-fiber-sfp-module?variant=16612845781026

 

I am planning to use an opticalModule on the other end (upstream) into the etherRegen A side, where the SFP cage is.

 

2 - I understand it needs 12v DC power, but what amperage? 12/3?

 

3 - Is the DC input on etherRegen 5.5 / 2.1 mm? Or 5.5 / 2.5?

 

I am planning for everything, and have everything else ready to go!

 

Thanks!

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7 minutes ago, Superdad said:

Still, I am not clear about which way you plan to turn the opticalModule to feed the EtherREGEN. Are you thinking of:

a) Running optical fiber from your house router into the oM and then copper from the oM to the EtherREGEN? or

b) Running copper to the oM, then fiber from the oM to the SFP of the EtherREGEN?

 

Option B) -- Running copper to the oM, then fiber from the oM to the SFP of the EtherREGEN

 

And thank you so much for your reply! I look forward to etherRegen!

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23 hours ago, Superdad said:

Use of the ground screw is recommended only if whatever power supply you are using is “floated”—i.e. its DC output cable’s -VE (“ground”) is not actually common to AC mains ground.

 

Alex: do you know whether SOtM sPS-1000 is floated? I asked them this question directly via email, and have not received a reply yet.

 

I already have this lying around, and would prefer to not spend the money to buy a new LPS

 

And if it floated, I would simply connect a Grounding cable from the etherRegen to the wall ground outlet?

 

Thanks!

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Thanks @Superdad for the super informative post. You and @JohnSwenson rock! Literally 

 

So is September a reasonable timeframe to expect first batch of etherRegen to be shipped?

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On 7/19/2019 at 2:56 PM, Superdad said:

Thanks.

 

Ask me that 10 days from now. 

 

10 days are up 🙂

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11 hours ago, Aidagent said:

First I want to tell you that English is not my native language. I hope you have patience.

 

 

Except for the total failure to spell your own name 🤪😉

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17 minutes ago, cat6man said:

as an electrical engineer

 

I typically stop reading comments that start with this phrase, but your post is spot-on for a change, and not the usual stuff we read in such cases. I applaud you for keeping an open mind!

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Hi @Superdad can you please link an Amazon page for a compatible fiber media converter module that works with EtherRegen? Choices are confusing 

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I am one of the lucky ones scheduled to receive my EtherREGEN in November. I know there are still a couple of weeks left, but I wanted to make sure I am good to go then, so hopefully @Superdad and others can help:

 

1 - I have a LPS-1.2 already, that I plan to use with EtherREGEN. I remember reading something a long time ago here that I would need to use the 12v setting on LPS-1.2. Is this correct? I know it can also go down to 7v

 

2 - I am using an opticalModule upstream to "feed" the EtherREGEN via optical. I know it's probably not necessary, but I already have it. So I need to buy a SFP module for EtherREGEN. The Uptone site says "gigabit, either SX multi-mode, LX multi-mode, or LX single-mode", which makes it even more confusing. Any way you can post a link (or two) from Amazon on these modules that are compatible with EtherREGEN?

 

Thanks!