Electrically Isolate Your Networked Audio/Microrendu Problem!

[wklie]

1 hour ago, the_doc735 said:

5) 'forced' delivers the result in answer 4 'above', auto does NOT!

 

If you use a pair of TP-Link MC200CM, set it to forced:

https://www.tp-link.com/us/faq-1135.html

 

I'm not completely sure for MC220L though.

 

Note that TP-Link Gigabit FMC is not compatible with 100Mbps Ethernet.

 

Try this setup to verify your FMC is working:

 

Router or switch - (network cable) - FMC - (fiber) - FMC - (network cable) - computer

[wklie]

2 hours ago, the_doc735 said:

....no/invalid IP address.

 

I incorrectly assumed most PC nowadays have gigabit Ethernet, since your PC is 100Mbit only the TP-Link gigabit FMC is not going to be compatible, sorry about that.

 

Do you have any other device that has a gigabit Ethernet port to verify your FMC setup?  NAS?

[wklie]

I think it's best you ask Sonore for recommendations and compatibility with specific FMC before making any additional purchase.

[wklie]

7 hours ago, the_doc735 said:

....don't think the MC200CM requires any separate 'sfp modules'?

 

For gigabit connections, some of our users have good results with MC210CS - no SFP required so there is no converter/SFP compatibility to worry about.  For the exact product links involved, see https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/14016-lumin-audiophile-network-music-player/?do=findComment&comment=922819

[wklie]

On 2/16/2019 at 4:15 AM, the_doc735 said:

Plugged it all in (MC200CM's) fired it up on 'FIXED' and everything is 'fine and dandy'

 

So, the MC220L + Cisco compatible SFP did not work in your setup, but the MC200CM does.  Is this correct?  Any other conclusion for MC220L and SFP?

[wklie]

On 2/5/2019 at 3:03 AM, bobfa said:

First here is the spec sheet from TP-Link: https://www.tp-link.com/us/products/details/cat-43_MC220L.html#specifications

 

It appears that the Ethernet will negotiate 10/100/1000.

 

Although I think you're right, I also suspect the truth is more complicated.

 

In the past, TP-Link gigabit FMC really did not connect at 100Mbps - I believe I've read a few people having trouble with that across forums, and I even have a few in our office that behaves this way (that forced me to upgrade an old 100Mbps switch to a new gigabit one).  I think another member here actually recommended Trendnet over TP-Link for this reason.

 

If we check the web archive, we see the specification has been changed:

https://web.archive.org/web/20180114023115/http://www.tp-link.com/us/products/details/cat-43_MC220L.html#specifications

 

Not only is the MC220L specifications changed.  MC200CM and MC210CS specifications are also changed - which is not surprising.  For some reason many consumer network equipment manufacturers make really different hardware revisions continuously without making them public and clear.  I think I've also seen cases of routers using a totally different chipset without changing the model number - this makes firmware upgrade confusing and risky, and is especially bad for people who want to try third party firmwares.

 

Since @the_doc735 believes he might have got a faulty used component in the first place, the solution is not related to the 100Mbps issue, but I still want to make this clear so that people have more information when they troubleshoot their FMC setup in the future.