3. A Tour of RAD-Epsilon Hardware
Before learning how to configure and set up the device, let’s examine the device from all sides to understand all of its interfaces and status indicators.
3.1. RAD Epsilon / Epsilon-T
3.1.1. LED Indicators
Power/Status
| Color | State |
|---|---|
| Orange | Device is Powered |
| White | Connected with a USB host |
| Blue/Green Flash | Online with VSPY |
| Magenta | Embedded Script Running |
HS CAN 1/2
| Color | Status |
| Green | Message Transmitted |
| Blue | Receive Received |
| Cyan | Messages Transmitted and Received |
| Red (flashing) | Errors at slower message rate |
| Red/Green (flashing) | Errors at a higher message rate |
LIN
| Color | State |
|---|---|
| TODO | TODO |
Ports 1-6, (and 9/10 on Epsilon-T)
Green LED (Link Speed) |
1x Flash | 10 Mbps |
| 2x Flash | 100 Mbps | |
| 3x Flash | 1000 Mbps | |
| 4x Flash | 10 Gbps (Ports 9/10 of Epsilon-T only) | |
Amber LED (Link Status) |
Inactive | Link Inactive |
| Solid | Link Active | |
| Flashing | RX/TX Activity | |
Blue LED (gPTP Config) |
Solid | gPTP Master |
| Flashing | gPTP Slave |
note
SW1 and SW2 are mechanical buttons intended for future use. They currently have no functionality aside from playing a tone from a sound generator contained in the design
3.1.2. Front Panel Connector Interfaces
Barrel Jack (RAD Epsilon only)
RAD Epsilon can be powered by the 2.1 mm barrel jack on the left of the front panel. See this section for the power requirements.
DB9 Pinout:
The DB9 is both a power connector as well as contains the CAN FD and LIN networks.
| Pin | Signal | Pin | Signal | |
| 1 | LIN | 6 | GND | |
| 2 | CAN 1 L | 7 | CAN 1 H | |
| 3 | GND | 8 | CAN 2 H | |
| 4 | CAN 2 L | 9 | VBATT | |
| 5 | GND | |||
USB C :
This connection serves 2 purposes
- GIGE / USB Bridge (Port 8 of the 88Q6113)
- Data Connection for VSPY 3 and configuration using neoVI Explorer
Ports 9/10: 10GBASE-T Ports:
The 10GBASE-T connections differ between the RAD Epsilon and RAD Epsilon-T. RAD Epsilon uses a standard RJ-45 connector, while RAD Epsilon-T uses a more compact IX industrial connector.
RAD Epsilon RAD Epsilon-T
The standard RJ-45 jacks on RAD Epsilon have a pair of integrated LEDs that provide information about the RAD-Epsilon’s conventional 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections. (The 10GBASE-T ports on RAD Epsilon-T use the same LED indicators as ports 1-6)
Green LED (Link Speed) |
Inactive | Link Inactive |
| 1x Flash | 10 Mbps | |
| 2x Flash | 100 Mbps | |
| 3x Flash | 1000 Mbps | |
| 4x Flash | 10 Gbps | |
Amber LED (Link Status) |
Inactive | Link Inactive |
| Solid | Link Active | |
| Flashing | RX/TX Activity |
CPU:
This port is not connected to the 88Q6113, but a peripheral for the optional use of an NVIDIA Jetson.
note
For a map of switch ports to physical connectors reference the Device Overview (by variant)
100/1000BASE-T1 Ports
The 100/1000BASE-T1 ports on RAD Epsilon and RAD Epsilon-T both use MATEnet Connectors located on the right side of the front panel. Port assignments are shown below
RAD Epsilon RAD Epsilon-T
The pin assignments in each connector cavity are identical for both RAD Epsilon and RAD Epsilon T. (looking into the connector )
| Left Pin | Right Pin |
|---|---|
| 1000BASE-T1_N | 1000BASE-T1_P |
10/100/1000BASE-T Ports (Ports 3-6 on RAD Epsilon-T only)
The 10/100/1000BASE-T ports on RAD Epsilon-T use the same compact IX industrial connector as the 10GBASE-T ports.
Power over Ethernet
Ports 3-6 of RAD Epsilon-T support PoE! (Power over Ethernet)
3.1.3. Rear Panel
NVIDIA Jetson Nano Peripherals
The following interfaces are all peripherals of the optional NVIDIA Jetson Nano.
- HDMI Port
- Display Port
- 2x USB Host Ports
- SD Card slot
RAD Epsilon-T Power Connector
RAD Epsilon-T has an alternate power connection on the right side of the rear panel.
| Pin | Signal |
| 1 | VBATT |
| 2 | NC |
| 3 | GND |
Following is the mating connector information.
| Manufacturer | Phoenix Contact |
| Description | FKCVW 2,5/ 3-ST-5,08 |
| Part Number | 1873663 (Spring Connection) |
note
The Video SerDes Connectors on the rear panel of RAD Epsilon are intended for future use and have no functionality at this time
3.2. RAD Epsilon-Express
RAD Epsilon-Express has the same base design of RAD Epsilon and RAD Epsilon-T but in a completely different form factor. It connects the port 11 of the 88Q6113 directly to a Linux computer over PCIe 3.0 X2.
3.2.1. Connector Interfaces
100/1000BASE-T1 Ports (Epsilon-Express)
The 100/1000BASE-T1 ports on RAD Epsilon-Express are located on the end opposite to the external face of the PCIe card. It is a row of 3x dual-cavity MATEnet headers with port assignments shown below. The cable of each port connection is routed out of the PC through a slot in the external face of the PCI card.
The pin assignments as seen looking into each connector cavity are shown below.
| Left Pin | Right Pin |
|---|---|
| 1000BASE-T1_N | 1000BASE-T1_P |
Ports 9/10: 10GBASE-T Ports (Epsilon-Express)
The 10GBASE-T ports are the RJ45 connectors the external face of the PCIe card.
| Top RJ45 Connector | Port 10 |
| Bottom RJ45 Connector | Port 9 |
The following table describes their behavior.
Green LED (Link Speed) |
Inactive | Link Inactive |
| 1x Flash | 10 Mbps | |
| 2x Flash | 100 Mbps | |
| 3x Flash | 1000 Mbps | |
| 4x Flash | 10 Gbps | |
Amber LED (Link Status) |
Inactive | Link Inactive |
| Solid | Link Active | |
| Flashing | RX/TX Activity |
CAN FD and LIN Ports
The CAN FD and LIN ports are located on a micro-DB9 header on the external face of the PCIe card.
| Pin | Signal | Pin | Signal | |
| 1 | LIN | 6 | GND | |
| 2 | CAN 1 L | 7 | CAN 1 H | |
| 3 | GND | 8 | CAN 2 H | |
| 4 | CAN 2 L | 9 | NC | |
| 5 | GND | |||
A cable converting the micro-DB9 connector to a standard DB9 connector is available for purchase here.
Micro-USB Connector
The micro-USB connector on the external face of the PCIe card connects the embedded processor of the RAD Epsilon-Express to a USB host port of the computer. This allows the use of Port 7 of the 88Q6113, 2x CAN FD ports, and LIN port by Intrepid’s Vehicle Spy Software or by applications written using Intrepid’s Open Source API located on GitHub.