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

[R1200CL]

....and if the first 250 is gone that Tuesday, the next batch is ordered and about another 4 week delivery time, and so it will be going on until a few is finally left is in stock. 😀

 

 Edit. 

I think calculated wrong. I think I better leave it up to you Alex. 

[Superdad]

11 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

....and if the first 250 is gone that Tuesday...

 

To paraphrase: "From your lips to [audio] god's ears."  

 

But really, I avoid counting chickens while they are still in the eggs...

We might make it look easy, but there are so many details to get right in launching a new product.  We only want happy customers loving the results. Hopefully that will be the case.

Humbly and happily yours,

--Alex C.

[Forehaven]

I think any discussion of any other switch should be on another thread.  I'm checking in for updates on the switch, not how to use/implement a Cisco router.  

 

Thanks!

Chris

[Superdad]

30 minutes ago, Forehaven said:

I think any discussion of any other switch should be on another thread.  I'm checking in for updates on the switch, not how to use/implement a Cisco router.  

 

Yes, I created a new thread for such discussion and moved most of the relevant posts to it:

This way we can stay on EtherREGEN here. Thanks! 

[PR13]

Might be a silly question but how big will this EtherREGEN actually be? And what will it look like, can I assume similar to other Uptone products? 🤔

[jcn3]

19 minutes ago, PR13 said:

Might be a silly question but how big will this EtherREGEN actually be? And what will it look like, can I assume similar to other Uptone products? 🤔

 

i'm thinking it's going to have to be around the size of an 8 port switch.  a ubiquiti us-8-150w is 9 inches wide.

[R1200CL]

20 minutes ago, PR13 said:

Might be a silly question but how big will this EtherREGEN actually be? And what will it look like, can I assume similar to other Uptone products? 🤔

 

The exact size as the Ultracaps 😀

(same box). 

 

Any drawings or picture available Alex ?

[elan120]

18 minutes ago, jcn3 said:

 

i'm thinking it's going to have to be around the size of an 8 port switch.  a ubiquiti us-8-150w is 9 inches wide.

 

18 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

The exact size as the Ultracaps 😀

With each RJ45 port is 15.24mm wide, and EtherRegen has 4 ports on A side, technically, it is quite possible to fit all 4 ports to a case as wide as Ultracap at 110mm.  My speculation would also be the size of Ultracap or something very similar to this size.

[jcn3]

21 minutes ago, elan120 said:

 

With each RJ45 port is 15.24mm wide, and EtherRegen has 4 ports on A side, technically, it is quite possible to fit all 4 ports to a case as wide as Ultracap at 110mm.  My speculation would also be the size of Ultracap or something very similar to this size.

 

turns out, the board size was discussed several pages back -- 100 mm x 106 mm (3.94 in x 4.17 in) -- so looks like you are correct in assuming it's probably going to be lps-1.2 sized!

 

 

[Tintinabulum]

For your friends across the water, a rough idea of shipping would be useful. For the Optical Module  (bundle) shipping is more than 20% of the unit cost, so I don’t want to get all excited and then bummed out because I’m getting gouged on shipping...

[Superdad]

1 hour ago, R1200CL said:

The exact size as the Ultracaps 😀

(same box).

 

Correct. Same case. As stated in the very first post of this thread (though I see now that some other details in that first post very much need to be updated...)

 

1 hour ago, R1200CL said:

Any drawings or picture available Alex ?

 

Just got off a call with my friend (talented architect and industrial designer) as he has been working on the layout of the openings of the case--based on I/O part positions and dimensions we provided.  Once he does those first CAD drawings and renderings, we will figure out where to fit the silkscreen lettering for everything.  After we are done tweaking all that I'll probably post an image.  Not much to get excited about.  Not doing an expensive case--for a whole bunch of previously stated reasons.

[Superdad]

Just now, Tintinabulum said:

For your friends across the water, a rough idea of shipping would be useful. For an Optical Module shipping is more than 50% of the unit cost, so I don’t want to get all excited and then bummed out because I’m getting gouged on shipping...

 

Sorry, not following how shipping of an opticalModule could be so much.  

 

As for the EtherREGEN, shipping rates will be exactly the same as for the UltraCap and ISO REGEN:

$9 for 2-day Priority Mail in the USA;

$25 for either fast FedEx or Priority Mail Intl. to Canada;

$34 for either fast FedEx or Priority Mail Intl. to all other countries.

The above are for one unit.

Shipping actually costs us slightly more than we charge.  

 

[jamesg11]

Alex, does it overly complicate matters if other orders are included in this ether regen batch (ie lps-2) or is it just easier to order separately ...?

[Superdad]

7 minutes ago, jamesg11 said:

Alex, does it overly complicate matters if other orders are included in this ether regen batch (ie lps-2) or is it just easier to order separately ...?

 

No problem at all!  We are pretty good at shipping logistics these days. 

[LowMidHigh]

SuperDad... Assuming one uses an external clock, is there a LED on your device to indicate a successful lock? In other words, how can the user know the device gets the clock information from outside as opposed to the internal chip? 

 

If you could share, I'm curious in general about the existence of LEDs on your device. 

[Superdad]

On 6/21/2019 at 5:14 PM, LowMidHigh said:

SuperDad... Assuming one uses an external clock, is there a LED on your device to indicate a successful lock? In other words, how can the user know the device gets the clock information from outside as opposed to the internal chip?

 

There is no "Clock Lock" LED on the EtherREGEN.  If the Internal/External clock switch (next to the BNC jack; but it is only a trigger for other circuitry and clock programming--the clock does not go through the switch!) is set to External, then the unit will look for an external 10MHz reference clock.  It won't work (with the switch in that position) if it does not find and lock onto one.

 

On 6/21/2019 at 5:14 PM, LowMidHigh said:

If you could share, I'm curious in general about the existence of LEDs on your device. 

 

There is one Power LED indicating that the unit is receiving external DC voltage.  Other than that the only LEDs are the ones surrounding the RJ45 jacks--which indicate the usual: Network activity, speed, etc.

[jos]

How about testing; is everything going fine?

[Superdad]

3 hours ago, jos said:

How about testing; is everything going fine?

 

As previouly indicated, the pre-production boards are due to arrive to us this week.  Would be tomorrow except that the wonderful (and pricey) LT3042/45 regulators are in short supply (we use 12 per board) and are just now arriving to our board house.

You can bet we will keep everyone posted.  Expect to see photos of the board even before we begin final testing.

[Bernstein]

On 7/1/2019 at 4:17 PM, Superdad said:

 

As previouly indicated, the pre-production boards are due to arrive to us this week.  Would be tomorrow except that the wonderful (and pricey) LT3042/45 regulators are in short supply (we use 12 per board) and are just now arriving to our board house.

You can bet we will keep everyone posted.  Expect to see photos of the board even before we begin final testing.

Some pictures would be nice

[thyname]

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!

[GryphonGuy]

I am waiting patiently for the product launch as I know how things can change during development and even sometimes in testing. I am expecting deliveries to be in August so you guys in USA can celebrate your hot August nights but here in Malaysia, EVERY night is a hot night, not just in August. LOL.

[Superdad]

23 hours ago, thyname said:

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

Sure, I'll try. 

 

23 hours ago, thyname said:

1 - Would the following SFP module work for etherRegen?

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

That one looks fine.

 

23 hours ago, thyname said:

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

That is fine but due to EtherREGEN's design it is really not necessary to front it with an opticalModule.  But if you have one already I suppose a modest benefit may be possible.

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?

Direct from your router (with copper or fiber) into the EtherREGEN may be just as good.

 

23 hours ago, thyname said:

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

EtherREGEN fed 12V should run fine from a 1 amp supply.  We have worked hard to make that a reality--and very soon will know if we succeeded in doing so. 

 

23 hours ago, thyname said:

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

5.5mm x 2.1mm

 

23 hours ago, thyname said:

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

Awesome!

 

 

[thyname]

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!

[Superdad]

On 7/7/2019 at 2:27 PM, Bernstein said:

Some pictures would be nice

 

Well here are some pictures, but not the ones we hoped to be publishing this week.  Received an e-mail from our board house last Thursday morning, July 4th (our board house is in Canada, so they did not know I was on my way out of town for our holiday here).  I thought the message was going to be high-res photos of the first pre-production EtherREGEN board before they ran the rest of the beta test boards. They always do that for our approval.

Instead, the pics were of a last minute catch of some parts that do not physically line up.  What?! How can this be?  We went over and over this layout.  Well the first pic was just an obvious screw-up on the part of one of our parts distributors.  Clearly they sent the wrong part:

The expensive 600MHz low-jitter differential isolators we use across the moat have pins.  So what is this QFN package part of unknown function which you see set across the moat?  Who knows...

 

More troubling was the second issue.  Allow me to explain:

In the datasheets of 98% of the silicon chips and modules sold in the world, the mechanical and pinout diagrams show the part from the top, and everyone expects to count and assign the pins--starting with pin 1--from the top.  John said he has see a very few where for some dumb reason they give you the pinout as if you are looking at the chip from its bottom-side (and I hope they show or tell you which way it is turned relative to the top view).

Of course we managed to choose the one part where not only are the pinouts given from a bottom-view, but they do not say in the data sheet that they are doing so!

Do you see anything called out?

Now this was an improved--and more available--part which we chose in the last days before finalizing the board.  John had worked with an earlier version of the part, but managed to get the pins correct on that module mostly because he physically had samples and the pins on that one were asymmetric, making it hard to goof.  He had worked from the samples with that one.  So here is what happened:

Our board house reads the pin assignments this way (maybe the pin-1 dot is stupidly on the bottom of the part?):

 

And here is how the bare 6-layer PCBs we just paid a lot to have a few made were run:

 

Ugh!  

Luckily the boards were never populated and sent to us. If they had something would have made some nice smoke immediately. We would have been scratching our heads and out another pile of money.

John quickly rerouted the board to match this voltage-reg module, fixed a couple of other minor errors elsewhere, and resubmitted the files.  I paid another rush fee to have the PCBs respun with a 6 day turn, and the drama was mostly over by the time my wife drove our family into the parking lot of hotel.  

Of course this is why we ALWAYS run pre-production boards! Hopefully this event means we are "pre-disastered" and the beta boards will sail through all tests.  I try not to hold my breath too much.

 

[rickca]

21 minutes ago, Superdad said:

Clearly they sent the wrong part

Does your distributor have the required quantities of the right part?