We opened up the middle of a short Ethernet "port saver" cable and tapped into the appropriate wires. The plug end went into the roboRIO, the power wires went directly to the VRM, and the jack end accepted a patch cable to the radio.
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Originally Posted by Jon Stratis
What I would like to see, personally, is a redesigned VRM with two ethernet ports on it - it would pass through data and inject POE for the radio.
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That would make the VRM larger and more expensive, for a feature that wouldn't always be used. I believe in modular design -- that's why the VRM itself is a separate component and not part of the PDP.
I made a small passive POE connector as a proof of concept. It's just a normal Ethernet coupler with a short pair of wires coming out the side. A bit of hot glue would attach it to the side of a VRM and provide basically what you're looking for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Stratis
So the barrel plugs aren't horrible if you use them right.
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We jumped at the chance to use POE. Not because of potential connector issues, but because it meant we simply didn't have to worry about routing the power wires. The single Ethernet cable going to the radio made it easy to find a place for it, and to move it if necessary.