Faulty LILIN PoE switch

[Tobes]

Hi there,

So I have been working with a client and getting a wired network setup in his home. He has a LILIN IPTV system with 7 cameras and they used PoE injectors. However some of these injectors were not turned on and I informed the client we could remove them and free up power sockets. He said lets turn them on and see what happens. A couple of weeks later I come back to fit the equipment in a server rack and notice a strange smell. It's the LILIN switch. With the injectors off the switch no longer delivers power to the cameras.

LILIN don't repair equipment and the company he bought it from wont cover it as it's not under warranty.

I have opened up the switch and this is what one of the boards looks like on the 1 - 8 group.


This looks like it wouldn't be too hard to replace but I have no idea where to find a spare part. Have googled but nothing comes up.

Obviously this is a bit awkward with the client. It's a £200 switch that is bust and needs to be replaced. I assumed the switch would not send power down the lines if it detected power already so allowed him to turn on the injectors. At the same time. I wasn't the electrician that fitted it and if I did fit it I would never have used injectors as I knew it was a PoE switch.

Anyone know where I could get a spare part?

 

[Ploppy2k3]

it shouldn't have blown - simple as that.

If you have 3 PoE switches and you connect them together with a crossover or auto-x then as the device doesn't need power/request it then they wont wend power.

the only time I have seen damage like this is with Polycom power units. even then you have to cut the tab off the connector that STOPS you plugging it in to a cat 5 but people do it anyway.

looks like its a new switch

 

[Tobes]

OK so I shouldn't feel guilty about allowing the injectors to be turned on then. This is a fault with the unit?

Well LILIN I thought had good customer service but the reply was:

"Unfortunately we can not repair faulty switches. If the switch has failed then you will need to dispose of the switch."

Awesome. OK so dispose of £200...

It looks like I can remove this mini board and it not effect the switch side of things. So one groups 8 - 16 would work with PoE and groups 1 - 8 will just work as stand alone ports. Seems like it would be so easy to replace this mini board though which is really annoying as there's no way it costs more than £10 to make.

 

[Caged]

Hopefully you realise this but in case not, cheap Chinese stuff like that is designed to come off a production line, work for long enough that it's not dead on arrival, and then be turned into landfill or burnt on a beach somewhere in the third world so kids can poke it with sticks to get the metal out. These sorts of manufacturers have things like "service department" even lower down the list than the QA team or the "original ideas group".

 

[Tobes]

Yeah I mean you should see the opened case. A main board which is clearly used for other products, the larger switch. So much empty space in the case. Just ugh.

Will speak to the client and chances are he will want to replace it with another switch. I would like to convince him to pay the extra for a PoE switch but I think he's quite happy using 7 injectors. I dunno myself I like to remove power when I can haha.

 

[Caged]

You could always meet in the middle and grab a multi-port power injector (midspan). Have a look at eBay item 301330945166

 

[Avalon]

For the sake of a few pence of capacitors millions of items have gone the same way.

I don't see the problem as I read that as a 16 port switch with 2x8 port poe boards, remove the duff board, move the camera's onto the 'good' module and it'll all work.

 

[Tobes]

Yeah if this was my switch I would be happy to do that. But as the client has smelt burning and I'm no electrician. I don't think he would be happy knowing a faulty unit with a bit ripped out of it was in his second home. Fire n all would be very costly. I will look at the power injectors thanks Caged.