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μDiff: 10mbps over 1km on a single pair of wires

A simple 46mmx22.5mm module to route power and differential signals (RS-485) over RJ-45.

Stacked modules

This project is also described in detailon Hackaday.io

It can be purchased as a kitfrom Tindie

Buy a kit

This project iscertified open hardware:

OSHW_mark_JP000009

How it works

μDiff provides an easy way to reliably transfer power and a digital signal over a long-distance using an inexpensive RJ-45 cable.

Watch a demo

It uses RS-485 differential signaling and 802.3af Power-over-Ethernet pinouts to achieve this. It can accept an input voltage between 6.5V-12V, and provides outputs of 5V and 3.3V. All signals and voltages can be accessed through a 10-pin header.

Current is limited to 1A. Beware of current limitations on the RJ-45 cable, it's typically ~350mA for an AWG26 shielded wire.

PCB features

  • Form factor 46mm x 22.5mm
  • Lead-free, RoHS compliant
  • Stackable with 4xM2 holes (1x grounded)
  • Open Source Hardware underCC BY-SA 4.0
  • Easy to source off-the-shelf through-hole components
  • On-board (SMD 0603, 0805) capacitors, resistors, and diodes
  • Solder bridge jumpers to enable fail-safe biasing, termination, grounding.

board-v05

Top view

PCB Top

Bottom view

PCB Bottom

Seeimagesfor more views.

BOM (through-hole)

Quantity Item and Description Datasheet
1 RJ45 Connector Assmann-RJ45-connector.pdf
1 10-pin (2x5) 2.54mm male of female header
1 3-pin (1x3) 2.54mm male or female header

BOM (surface mount)

Seedatasheets

Schematic

The schematic is availablehere

Notes

This PCB was designed withKicadv6.0 from thedebian buster-backportsrepository.

I take no responsibility for any problems that may occur with your use of this PCB or design files. Create and use at your own risk.

License

μDiff: 10mbps over 1km on a single pair of wires © 2021~ byAlexander Williamsis licensed underCC BY-SA 4.0(Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International).