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Design Guide

Connectors and Pinouts​

Ethernet Header (8 Pin)​

PE-515 Ethernet Header Pinout

PE-515 Ethernet Header Pinout Diagram

See the Connectors section for the recommended pin configuration for the ethernet ports. Coloured CAT5 cable can be wired as shown.

Longer Distances

For longer distances (>1.5m) using shielded cable is recommended. Shielding can be attached to the Functional Earth mounting points on the bottom corners of the board.

Each port has an Activity Indicator LED and an Activity Indicator Output. The output current must be limited through a resistor. The resistor must be selected to limit the maximum draw to 5mA @ 2.5V. The LEDs must be powered from the LED Power Pin. No other devices should be powered through this header. The LEDs function in an active LOW configuration and should be connected as shown below.

External LED Wiring

LED Power Draw

The power draw of any supplementary LEDs is in addition to the specified power on the datasheet. Should it be impractical to implement an electronic-based Link LED forwarding, there are holes of ⌀1mm under each indication LED suitable for housing optical fibres or light pipes of a length less than 50cm.

Mounting Holes​

The 4 x M3 mounting holes are connected to Functional Earth (FE) or Ground (GND) and labelled accordingly. If the device does not share a common ground with the rest of the system it is recommended to use a nonconductive standoff or isolated mounting point.

Mechanical Outline​

Scale drawings available to download on the Brainboxes website.

PE-515 2D Drawing

3D Step File​

The full 3D model can be downloaded from the Brainboxes website.

PE-515 PCB Footprint

The mating LED Header and Port Header are not essential and can be excluded if not required. We recommend using through-hole mating connectors for applications where the module is frequently inserted and removed. Avoid placing components within the 55x55 square occupied by the PE-515 where possible. Where not possible, ensure that the Keepout zones given in the 3D Design resources are strictly adhered to. Failure to do so can potentially cause issues with future compatibility.

Clearance Requirement

The device should be given 20mm of clearance from the mating surface.

Header Coordinates​

Alternatively, a set of 8-way IDC style headers as detailed in Connectors with centre coordinates of:

Ethernet Ports:

  • Port E — (4.5, 8.5)
  • Port D — (13.5, 8.5)
  • Port C — (22.5, 8.5)
  • Port B — (31.5, 8.5)
  • Port A — (40.5, 8.5)

Power and Link:

  • Power — (2, 35.5)
  • Link — (18, 40)

Mounting Holes (M3):

  • FE — (0, 0)
  • FE — (45, 0)
  • FE — (0, 45)
  • GND — (45, 45)

Routing​

When designing custom boards for the PE products, it is important to make considerations for routing the device to connectors or interfaces across a board.

Routing Recommendations​

  • Keep pairs at uniform distance
  • Keep pairs at as close a length as possible
  • Place a GND plane between different pairs
  • Ensure pairs do not cross plane boundaries
Further Reading

For more information we recommend reading:

  • Microchip AN2054 (Ethernet Differential Pairs)
  • Texas Instruments SNLA387 (Ethernet PHY PCB Design Layout Checklist)