The RAD-Moon is ingeniously designed with all its external components conveniently located on two sides, making it incredibly user-friendly, especially when space is limited. To easily distinguish between them, we’ll refer to these sides based on their Ethernet port types: the Conventional Ethernet Side and the Automotive Ethernet Side. This guide will walk you through each side of the RAD-Moon, detailing the function of every interface and indicator.
Exploring the Conventional Ethernet Side
As depicted in Figure 2, the conventional Ethernet side of the RAD-Moon is equipped with two key components for standard network connectivity:
- RJ-45 Port: This is an industry-standard Ethernet jack, ensuring seamless connection to conventional Ethernet networks.
- Mini-USB Port: A universal mini-USB port that serves as the power source for the RAD-Moon device.
Figure 2: RAD-Moon Conventional Ethernet Side. Featuring a standard RJ-45 Ethernet jack with integrated Link and Activity LEDs on the left, and a mini-USB jack on the right, providing power to the compact interface.
The RJ-45 port incorporates a pair of integrated LEDs that communicate the status of the RAD-Moon’s conventional Ethernet connection at a glance:
- Link LED (Green): A solid green light indicates a stable and valid connection between the RAD-Moon and another 10/100 Ethernet device.
- Activity LED (Orange): This LED flashes orange to show data traffic moving in both directions across the Ethernet cable. The rate of flashing is dynamic, increasing with higher data transfer activity.
During typical operation, you should observe a steady green Link LED and an Activity LED blinking at varying speeds, reflecting the volume of data transmission.
The RAD-Moon’s 10/100 Ethernet connection is designed for automatic speed negotiation, adapting to the speed of the connected Ethernet device. While it commonly operates at 100 Mb/s for optimal performance, it also supports connections to 10 Mb/s devices, ensuring broad compatibility. For specific speed requirements, you can manually set the speed of the connecting device to force the RAD-Moon to operate at either 10 Mb/s or 100 Mb/s.
Understanding the Automotive Ethernet Side
The Automotive Ethernet side of the RAD-Moon, illustrated in Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2, features a single, specialized interface: a Molex Mini50 jack. While Automotive Ethernet connector types are not yet standardized across the industry, the Mini50 has become a widely adopted choice for BroadR-Reach implementations. This includes Broadcom switches and various hardware solutions from Intrepid Automotive Ethernet. The BroadR-Reach connection is intelligently designed to automatically configure itself as either master or slave, simplifying setup and ensuring reliable communication.
Figure 3.1: RAD-Moon BCM89810 Automotive Ethernet Side. Highlighting the central Mini50 BroadR-Reach connector and the status LEDs positioned to its left, essential for monitoring Automotive Ethernet link activity.
For RAD-Moon units equipped with a Broadcom BCM89810 BroadR-Reach PHY, four LEDs provide detailed status information about the Automotive Ethernet link:
- Link (Green): This LED illuminates green when the RAD-Moon establishes a connection with an active Automotive Ethernet device and remains lit as long as the connection persists.
- Err (Red): A flickering red Err LED signals the detection of errors by the RAD-Moon’s BroadR-Reach PHY. This could indicate data transmission errors within received frames, prompting further investigation.
- Rx (Green): The green Rx LED flashes each time the RAD-Moon successfully receives data from the connected Automotive Ethernet device, indicating inbound data flow.
- Tx (Green): Conversely, the green Tx LED flashes every time the RAD-Moon transmits data to the connected Automotive Ethernet device, showing outbound data transmission.
In normal operating conditions, the Link LED should be consistently green, while the Rx and Tx LEDs will blink at varying frequencies depending on the volume of data exchange between devices connected through the RAD-Moon. Ideally, the Err LED should remain off, or only flicker very rarely, suggesting a stable and error-free Automotive Ethernet link.
Figure 3.2: RAD-Moon TJA1100 Automotive Ethernet Side. Showcasing the Mini50 BroadR-Reach connector at the center, accompanied by the bank of status LEDs on the left, crucial for diagnosing Automotive Ethernet connectivity.
If your RAD-Moon utilizes a TJA1100 PHY, particularly models with serial numbers greater than 023599, two LEDs are designated to indicate the status of the Automotive Ethernet link:
- Link (Green): Similar to the BCM89810 version, a green Link LED indicates a successful connection to an active Automotive Ethernet device, staying on for the duration of the link.
- Rx (Green): For TJA1100 PHY, the Rx LED exhibits a dim green light when a substantial amount of traffic is being received by the RAD-Moon from the connected Automotive Ethernet device. This requires a minimum data rate of 5Mbps to be reliably recognized, signaling significant data reception activity.
BroadR-Reach Connector Pinout Details
For those requiring detailed hardware integration, the pinout for the RAD-Moon’s Mini50 jacks is provided in Table 1, with a visual guide in Figure 4 for easy identification.
| Pin # | Label | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | No Connect | |
| 2 | TRD+ | Data transmit and receive, positive |
| 3 | TRD- | Data transmit and receive, negative |
| 4 | No Connect |
Table 1: RAD-Moon BroadR-Reach Mini50 Jack Pinout. Detailed pin assignments for the Mini50 connector, essential for custom cabling and hardware integration.
Figure 4: RAD-Moon BroadR-Reach Mini50 Jack with Pin Numbers. Illustrating the pin numbering from 1 to 4 on the Mini50 jack, viewed from the connector face, aiding in correct cable assembly and connections.
Connector and Cable Options
To support your connectivity needs, we offer compatible cables on our website. If your project requires custom connector ends, our cables can be easily modified, providing two ends for your specialized connections. Explore our BR-CABLE-1-MINI50 for more details and purchasing information. This Kmoon Obd2 Mini Interface is an essential tool for anyone working with Automotive Ethernet.
