PFSense on a Qotom Q310P mini PC computer

[pete_c]

26th of August, 2019
 
Removed XFinity combo box today and switched over to:
 
1 - Arris SB-6190
2 - PFSense Firewall (Qotom box)
3 - Ruckus POE WAP
 
Xfinity technical support was excellent today.  I was impressed.
 
All on the network is working fine. 
 
Next steps are to install
 
1 - UPS next to the equipment wall.
2 - POE power to the Ooma box and Panasonic DECT base
3 - site to site VPN tunnel
4 - KODI box tweaked a bit with a limited menu mostly to stream live EU TV.
 
28th of August, 2019
 
Switching over to an 8 port managed switch with 4 ports that are POE.  Will utilize the TP-Link 8 port Easy switch.  I am currently utilizing the 24 port Easy Switches (for years now) with no issues.
 
 
 

 

[pete_c]

16th of September, 2019
 
Installing the TP-Link TL-SG108PE 8 port Gb Easy POE switch this week. This has 4 ports which are POE.
 
1 - POE port will be utilized for Ruckus WAP
2 - POE port will be utilized for the Ooma box (with a power splitter)
3 - POE port will be utilized for Panasonic DECT phone base
4 - POE port - spare
5 - Gb port to Desktop computer
6 - Gb port to Roku box
7 - Gb port to mini NAS combo KODI box
8 - Gb port spare
 
PFSense/Arris SB-6190 and GPS / PPS is working fine with a 7 satellite view.
 
After the above will be installing one UPS by network / firewall stuff.

 

[pete_c]

3rd of October, 2019
 
Switched the non managed 8 port switch to a managed with POE 8 port switch.
 
Using a TP-Link Easy managed 8 port switch as I have had good luck with them.

It is the same size as the unmanaged switch only a tad heavier and it has a larger power supply.
 
Now looking for POE power splitters to provide power to the Ooma box and the Panasonic DECT phone base.
 
Ooma box is using a standard 12VDC power supply.  Not sure on the Panasonic base.  The old ones used to use a coaxial adapter except that the positive and negative leads were opposite of standard.  IE: positive went to the outside and negative was the center post.
 
Going baby steps here as the next venture will be to purchase a UPS.

 

[lanbrown]

I've used three different POE splitters.
 
I have two TrendNet TPE-104GS.  They are 10/100/1000 and are switchable in their output to 5VDC, 9VDC or 12VDC.
 
I have two PoE of Texas GAF-USB2.  They are 10/100/1000 but it has two USB ports on it.
 
One Tycon POE-SPLT-4824AC - This output 24VAC and up to 80 watts.
 
I would look at PoE of Texas first.  The splitters I have from them, you don't need to have something plugged into the Ethernet for it to work.  The TrendNet will remove power to the device if the Ethernet is not seen after 10 or 20 seconds.  So something to keep in mind if you're just looking at powering something via PoE only.

 

[pete_c]

Thank you Lanbrown.
 
Very first power splitter used here was the Tycon 5VDC style for touchscreens many many years ago.  As I upped the number of touchscreens went to using the TP-Link power splitters which are similiar to the TrendNet's you mention above.  Much more reasonable in price compared to the Tycon.
 
Here from a long time ago still have Tycon mid stream POE switches and a 24 port heavy duty managed Tycon power injector.  Never saw one of these before buying this one a few years ago.
 
For the Ooma will probably utilize the TP-Link power splitter.  For the Panasonic not sure as thinking the PS is 9VDC.  (reversed polarity) such that I will probably just cut the leads on the wires, swap the two and solder, heat shrink them together.
 
Next too is ample UPS to power the firewall, modem, POE switch, Ooma and DECT phone base for a couple of hours or so.  Power requirments are not really high which is a good thing.

 

[lanbrown]

I believe the TrendNet gives you a couple of different barrel connectors; I believe one of them swaps the polarity.  When I buy a splitter, I always look for the following:
 
10/100/1000 support
Can switch the voltages.  Having 5, 9 and 12VDC capability means you can redeploy it in the future for a different device.  The PoE of Texas was bought because well, a few things actually are powered by USB connections; so why not just buy a splitter that outputs that
 
The TrendNet also supports 7.5VDC as well on the ones I have.  The newer model doesn't support 7.5VDC.  I don't know if they no longer provide the cable that swaps the polarity either.  The switch is recessed sightly so you can accidentally flip the voltage.
 
https://www.trendnet.com/products/poe-splitters-injectors-extenders/tpe-104GS
 
I went with the Tycon (some other company actually produces it as I saw their site; mainly in Chinese though) because it was one of the only splitters that output 24VAC.  It wasn't cheap but it also support 4 pair PoE; so I feed it via a 60w UPOE switch but the device would never take over 18 watts.  Plus that one also used a terminal block which is more compatible with the device used with it.

 

[pete_c]

Thank you Lanbrown.
 
Yes got the Tycon splitters a few years back when there was only a couple of MFGs doing this.
 
 
 
You convinced me to look up the Trendnet from Amazon tonight...only see the TPE-104GS  but not the Version v1.0R.  Probably will go with that one if I can utilize it for the Pansonic DECT phone base.
 
I am using one USB port on the firewall to provide power to the GPS.  I put a USB blocker device on this connection so the PFSense box doesn't see the USB port as I am using the RS-232 port / PPS for the NTP server.

 

[pete_c]

So looked at the Panasonic DECT phone that I purchased this past year on Amazon.
 
PANASONIC DECT 6.0 Expandable Cordless Phone System with Answering Machine and Call Blocking - 3 Handsets - KX-TGE433B (Black)
 
It is a 5.5VDC.  Replacements are sold on Amazon. 500mA to 1000mA.  Guessing  / checking that a 5VDC supply will work??

I have a two line Panasonic DECT system here and ran a separate pair of wires to the phone jace from the media panel carrying the voltage over using the original transformer.

 

[lanbrown]

Ouch.  I don't anyone makes a 5VDC PoE splitter; that is a really odd voltage.
 
The good news, it is DC.  So if you tried 5VDC, it is either going to work or it won't.  Too much voltage can kill things, not enough usually means they may just not work at all.  I would go with 1000mA; so that is a maximum of 5.5 watts.  So as long as the PoE splitter can output 5.5 watts; I'd give it a go.  If the base doesn't power up, then it is a no go.  Chances are, it will power up.  Even the OE power adapter probably has some leeway in output.
 
On the side of my house is an ONT (essentially converts fiber at 2.5Gbps to copper at 1Gbps) and it said 12 volts.  The previous power supply was a box in the closet (farthest away from the ONT it could be) and you could put a 12V battery in it.  I put an enclosure on the side of the house for a few different things; like the smart irrigation controller but also put in a 12VDC DIN power supply.  When I checked the voltage coming from the power supply it was 13.82 VDC.  So I tuned the 12VDC power supply in the enclosure to match it.  A 12V battery is around 13.2V by itself.  5 months later the ONT is still running.  Have you thought about actually checking to see what actual output of the PS is?  It may not be right at 5.5VDC.
 
Looking at the specs, if it can run on two rechargeable AAA batteries, it can survive on 5VDC.  A rechargeable battery is 1.2VDC; so if they were in series, it would be 2.4VDC.  SO try a 5VDC PoE splitter and see what happens.
https://shop.panasonic.com/cordless-corded-telephones/cordless-telephones/KX-TGE43B.html?dwvar_KX-TGE43B_handsets=3

POWER CONSUMPTION

• Base Unit Standby Power Consumption1.0 W
• Charger Standby Power Consumption0.1 W
• Rechargeable BatteryNi-MH(AAA x 2)

•  

 

[pete_c]

Thank you lanbrown.
 
I read that the odd 5.5VDC voltage is unique on purpose.
 
If it doesn't work then will go the long math way of pulling up two more wire leads to a barrel connector on the wall plate.  I did this a few years back for the garage camera (days before POE).

 

[lanbrown]

Probably, so they can sell power supplies.
 
Two other options:
1) Feed 2.4 volts (that is what the rechargeable batteries are capable of; you could probably get by with 2.5V though
2) Use 6 VDC or 7.5VDC and then a resistor to drop it to 5.5VDC.  So find a PoE splitter as close to 5.5VDC and use resistors to get to it.
 
The suggestions here might help as well:
https://community.ui.com/questions/Options-for-powering-UVC-micro-camera-in-fixed-install-/41a93789-7d54-4c91-8074-6435e89c927e

 

[pete_c]

Thank you lanbrown.
 
Gonna try first with the TPE-104GS and see what happens.  Ordered it today from Amazon.

 

[lanbrown]

You have the LAN input side that is Ethernet and power in.  On the output side, you have the barrel connector and LAN.  What is the output of the LAN going to connect to?

 

[pete_c]

What is the output of the LAN going to connect to?
 
I patched two cat 5e cables to the wall plate from the Leviton patch panel in the basement.  One is going to the Ooma box and one is going to the desktop PC.  Gonna use the Ethernet port for the PC while concurrently making it a POE port (like the Ooma port).  I can also run another cat5e cable if needed as it is an easy run with the un finished basement.  I still have to run a Ruckus WAP POE cable to the upstairs.  I have left the WAP in the basement rafters. (works fine).

 

[lanbrown]

Just wanted to make sure the port is used for something.
 
On the TrendNet if nothing is connected, after 10 or 20 seconds, power output is turned off.  So if the PC is off, then the device being powered will be turned off.  The PoE Texas products don't do this.  I asked them in the past and they said they continue to provide power.  I had a scenario where I wanted to do something similar to what you're doing so I didn't want the dependence on the network device to be active for the power to be applied to the ancillary device.