Comparative review of media converters

When communicating with customers, one often hears the question, “How does your equipment differ from similar equipment from“ X “?”. And one of the times I seriously thought about the question "And really, what?" In this article, I decided to thoroughly compare the Modultech media converter with its nameless analogue (for brevity, let's call it NO NAME) in the form of the classic unpacking of devices on You-Tube.


Comparison of packages
The first thing a buyer sees for any product is the packaging and appearance of the device. From this we will begin the comparison.



We will not find fault with the quality of cardboard boxes or printing, as this does not affect the quality of the devices or the convenience of their use. We only note that the box with the Modultech media converter has one feature: not only a sticker with brief technical information is placed on the box, but also a large marking describing the transmission speed and wavelength.

Such marking facilitates the selection of the desired device, for example, in stock. In NO NAME analogues, such marking is almost never found, which means that the user will have to read a small information sticker, which is not always convenient to agree.



Opening the boxes, we see similar configurations that differ only in details. He noted that in the NO NAME box, the media converter is in a separate bathtub from Isolon. This is a more practical solution in case of careless transportation.



Before considering the media converters themselves, we’ll quickly go through the scope of delivery. In both cases, it contains:

• media converter
• Power Supply,
• instruction manual
• packaging (seal, box, etc.).

In rare cases, NO NAME media converters may not have instructions, but this is the exception rather than the rule.



We get media converters from the boxes. In both cases, the devices are packaged in antistatic bags, but the NO NAME sample is packaged in a smaller bag, as a result of which part of the case sticks out “on the street”.

The Modultech media converter is packaged in a larger package, which allows you to completely protect the device, also the edge of the package is fixed with a sticker with an information warning about the sensitivity of the equipment to static. A securely closed bag can protect the equipment not only from static electricity, but also from getting wet if the package gets in the rain or the warehouse is flooded.



Comparison of power supplies
Consider the included power supplies. Both power supplies are designed for operation in 220V power networks, outgoing current 5V 1A (in rare cases, media converters are equipped with adapters with output characteristics 5V 2A). In general, the blocks are interchangeable, but have structural differences.



In the kit from Modultech, the power supply is a cord in the middle of which the conversion unit is located. This solution has already become "classic" and has proven its reliability. Of the minuses, only dimensions can be distinguished, which can not be called compact due to the design features.

In our case, NO NAME media converters are equipped with a compact power supply unit combining the plug and the conversion unit in one housing, but they can also be equipped with a “classic” power supply unit, apparently everything depends on the delivery.

The combined unit is much smaller than the classic one, but it is not without drawbacks - the length of the plug, for some outlets the length of the plug is not enough for normal contact and the unit falls out. Also, according to our data, these power supplies do not tolerate power surges and easily fail, but this is only our value judgment and the negative experience of our customers.

It should be noted that there are power adapters with a less minimalistic “All-in-one” case. When used in a single outlet, there will be no problems with such a unit, but if you connect it to the outlet unit, the disadvantage will be immediately noticeable. To disconnect an adjacent plug, you must first disconnect the media converter adapter, since its body overlaps an adjacent outlet.



Also, it is not possible to install two such units in adjacent outlets due to their dimensions.

Case Comparison
The first thing you pay attention to when taking media converters from shipping packages is the presence of seals on Modultech media converters. Using these seals, the user can easily find out the date of manufacture of the device in his hands, and in case of failure, get quality warranty support.

Upon closer examination of NO NAME media converters, it becomes clear why the mounting screws are not closed by seals - the screw heads are not recessed into the housing, which means the seals can be damaged not only if the device is opened, but also during normal operation. Screws sticking out a few millimeters on each side can also cause problems when installing such a media converter in a specialized chassis, since most media converters have similar dimensions, the chassis are universal for them.



Any media converter is an industrial equipment, which means that we will not speak about the aesthetic side of the issue in this comparison.



But painting the media converter housing and applying labels are important practical characteristics of the equipment.

Poor application of paint to the cabinet can lead to rust, for example, when used in damp areas. And not high-quality marking can cause difficulties during installation or operation.

For further evaluation, we will analyze both samples, for this it is necessary to unscrew four screws, two screws on each side. When removing the upper part of the body, a different thickness of the used metal is felt.

Modultech media converters use thicker iron, which provides sufficient rigidity and strength of the case.



In NO NAME media converters, to reduce the cost of equipment, metal is used thinner and bends with your fingers.



Also, for the sake of reducing the cost of the case and unifying the cases for different types of media converters, there are only two mounting points for the board on the bottom of the case. If this is justified in WDM media converters, then in media converters with an SFP port this is a flaw in the case, which does not allow fully fixing the board inside.



Board comparison. WDM media converters It
is necessary to compare motherboards in two stages, first WDM media converter boards, and then media converters with an SFP port, this is due to the different design of the boards.



At WDM media converters Modultech, the motherboard is designed as a parallelepiped, a thick textolite is used.



The media converter boards NO NAME are made on a thinner textolite.



The shape of the boards is very specific - the letter "G" is connected with the production process. The boards for these media converters are made in pairs with thin perforated stripes, then the textolite breaks into two halves.



The described production technology is aimed at aggressively reducing the price of the device and increasing the volume of products.

The main danger of this approach to production is the possible occurrence of microdefects on the board when two halves are separated, the results of which may not immediately manifest themselves in production during testing, but during operation. It should also be noted that the area that is potentially susceptible to damage relates to power supply, as you can see in the photo, it is not only narrow, but also “weakened” by the mounting hole, and if the general board is inaccurately or ineptly, it will get “hit” first.



We will pass from the quality of the PCB to the quality of the layout of the boards and the quality of the materials.

Modultech media converter boards have a neat layout with a clear breakdown of the board into several areas. The area of ​​the power circuit, which includes the power connector and the harness, which also includes overload protection of the internal power circuit. The area of ​​the CPU and the area of ​​the connectors with the necessary accessories.

The board looks universal, since the wiring suggests places for stopping the DIP switch for local control of the media converter, and the SFP port, which can be installed instead of the built-in transceiver. There are no questions about the quality of soldering - on the whole board we see neat machine soldering. The components of the board also look reliable.



When considering the WDM board of NO NAME media converters, a striking simplification of the general scheme is striking, the beating of the board to certain areas remains, but each segment is greatly simplified and shrunk. The power circuit is limited to the power connector and a pair of capacitor and transistor, the CPU area and the area of ​​the connectors are also simplified.



There is no unification of the board; accordingly, other types of media converters will be organized on a different hardware platform, which deprives us of the ability to predict the quality of another model. The quality of components, such as the RJ-45 connector, the light indicator block, the integrated transceiver block, are average or highly questionable even visually. The quality of soldering on our sample does not cause complaints, but it is from batch to batch.

Board comparison. Media Converters with SFP Port
Let's move on to comparing media converters with an SFP port, the process of disassembling this type of media converters does not differ from the one described above.

Let's start again with the Modultech media converter, as in the case of the WDM media converter, the board is a parallelepiped and is attached with three wines to the bottom of the case.

The board is divided into sectors: power, CPU, RJ-45 connector with a controller and a linear connector. As with the 100Base-Fx media converter, the board of the Modultech device is universal and involves the installation of a DIP switch and an integrated transceiver instead of the installed SFP port.



Consider the NO NAME media converter board, it already has the shape of a parallelepiped, but the textolite is still thin. The board itself is fixed in the case with two screws, although there are three holes for fasteners - the unification of the cases, which was mentioned earlier, affects.



The wiring and performance of the board is very simple, but the main components are similar, but there is no protection for the power circuit, the used chipset looks used, well or badly scratched, the quality of the indicator panels is poor, the RJ-45 connector is the simplest.



The back of the board "pleases" the eye of mediocre quality by hand soldering large elements of the board.

findings
Summing up the comparison of Modultech and NO NAME media converters, one conclusion suggests that the products are similar this is an indisputable fact, but Modultech media converters are better and more reliable.

We put forward this statement on the basis of the following facts:

• The quality of the case : the thickness of the metal, the quality of painting and marking, the reasonableness of the attachment points;
• High-quality components and reliable assembly : all components are soldered to the board by a machine, manual labor is excluded, reliable components, factory level of the board wiring;
• Reliable power supply and convenient packaging labeling.

This does not mean that NO NAME media converters are not suitable for work, no. By purchasing these products, you can buy high-quality, but you can also purchase frankly second-rate goods.

If you have media converters from other manufacturers and you can make a similar photo report and share it in the comments or in the PM, I will be very grateful and will try to supplement this article!

The original article is available here .