I am using two “old” BomeBoxes (the ones with “only” 1 MIDI-DIN-In and 1 MIDI-DIN-Out). One is connected to my Axe-FX’s MIDI In/Out, the other one is connected to my RJM Mastermind MIDI In/Out on my pedalboard. And of course both BomeBoxes are connected using the LAN interfaces.
Both BomeBoxes are powered using PoE by a cheap PoE Injector in my rack.
So far so good - everything is working as expected.
Unfortunately I still need a separate power supply on the pedalboard to power up the Mastermind (12VDC with at least 3A). This means I need a separate power cable from backstage to my pedalboard to feed the power supply.
What I wonder and hope is if it is possible to also power up the Mastermind using a PoE Splitter after the BomeBox on the pedalboard:
Is this suitable for the BomeBoxes ? Or may the amperage be too high ?
The PoE splitter would be a Linovision Industrial POE++ Splitter dealing with a demand of 90W and an output of 12VDC at 5,9A . And of course I would also replace the PoE Injector in the rack by a 90W injector.
We recommend you do not cascade power for more than 3 BomeBoxes.
A BomeBox will typically draw 150ma but if you are powering USB devices, then it would draw more. The BomeBox can provide 1 amp at 5 volts via USB which would be 5 watts. I’m not 100% sure but if wattage is the measure, it would be about 200 mW if your are outputting 24 volts via POE.
POE requires a specific protocol to negotiate power requirements, so it is unlikely that a downstream device (unless it is a POE receiver) would be able to negotiate the required power that you want and it probably would not be enought.
My recommendation is you use a different path to get your 12v DC power at whatever current your device required which would at 3A would be 36 Watts.
Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care
Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz
Some more info: I believe that the BomeBox uses PoE Type 1, which can draw up to 15.4W power (at 48V). The BomeBox itself uses 150mA @ 5V = 0.75W (if you don’t power USB devices on the USB host port). Including some other inherent loss (including voltage), the PoE Out probably provides something like 12W @ 47V. The cable and your second BomeBox will consume another, say, 2W, so the second BomeBox’ PoE Out provides something like 8.5W @ 46V. This is barely 0.7A at 12V.
The PoE chips in the BomeBox would also support PoE with 30W (class 4). I just don’t think that it is configured as such. But even then, it will not get you near the 36W apparently needed by the Mastermind. If you already have the devices, it is safe to try.
Also, 36W seems like a lot of power for a pedalboard. Maybe it would still work with less?
Thank you both Steve and Florian for clarification. I will use a multicore including a CAT cable and a power cable instead of only using a single CAT cable.