Magplug substitutes for PI2 PoE adaptation

Question

I am attempting the find the best solution for PoEing the Pi2, and this post How do I modify my Raspberry Pi to be powered over PoE?

was extremely helpful.

[I am trying to create a single box, single plug, solution, which means not using the micro USB jack, to avoid wires hanging out. I've successfully used the TP-Link splitter soldered to PP2 and PP5, but it takes up a lot of space, meaning a bigger case, and I still have to create a hole for the splitter's RJ45 jack, and anchor the TP card solidly above the Pi. The Xtronix HAT is elegant, but delivers 1.5A when I need 2 or more.]

On answer in particular to the post cited above (from Kuma Ober) had this tantalizing paragraph:

"A less hacky solution would be to find a PoE magjack with the same mechanical outline and pinout, and solder it in place of the original magjack. PoE magjacks can have built-in rectifiers, requiring only 2 pins to pass the power to the PoE supply - thus requiring only 8 pins total (6 for data, 2 for power). Such 8 pin magjacks do in fact exist."

So is there a magjack that is compatible, mechanically and electronically, with the Pi, at least for the 6 data lines? The power lines would obviously have to pass through an additional PoE card.

Thanks in advance,

Piers

Answer 1

Not a direct answer to your question, but have you looked at using a USB PoE adapter? It even comes with a female USB cable for power, to which you could plug a USB-micro-USB cable and power the rPi the safe, factory-supported way. According to the questions on Amazon, many customers use this device with an rPi.

If you already have 48V PoE running, this TP-Link adapter might be a cheaper option.

If you want to replace the jack itself, you will have to measure the pin setup on your rPi (distance between pins etc.) and then compare with what is available online - digikey.com has at least 45 different PoE MagJack's available - one is here: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/0826-1X1T-M1-F/380-1122-ND/1635090. The MagJack is likely bigger than the one current on the rPi, so you'll have to accommodate for that. Look at the datasheet and compare it with your metrics and you know when you have a good candidate.