USB hub for Raspberry Pi with built-in Ethernet adapter

While preparing various components to modify my electronic load, I ran into the problem of connecting USB devices and a local network to a tablet with just one USB port. The simplest solution is to use a USB hub, which is what I want to tell you about today.


At first, I was thinking of using something ready-made in an enclosure. There are plenty of options, and they cost quite reasonable amounts. But it turned out not to be so simple. After reading reviews from “satisfied” customers whose cheap hubs overheated, disconnected, or simply didn’t work at all, I decided to look at more expensive options, such as Ugreen.
My search gradually led me to the “$10 to $15” category, which didn’t suit me at all, either in terms of price or design. Buying a device just to use its internals didn’t seem very appealing.

Quite by chance, while searching, I came across a hub with the right features, and it was available as a board. It’s actually intended for various “Raspberry Pis,” but by then there was no stopping me: I ordered it, paid, and received it.
The seller had some kind of coupon at the time, which let me buy a couple of LED modules for almost the same price, while the hub itself came to $9.12.
In principle, I could have bought one locally, without paying much more, but since I wasn’t in a hurry, I didn’t want to pay extra.


The package includes the board itself, a set of mounting hardware, and a U-shaped microUSB-to-microUSB adapter.
There’s also a version that comes with a microUSB-to-USB cable, but this one doesn’t include it, and I don’t need one anyway.


The board is very small and, importantly, has mounting holes. This is especially useful when installing it in an enclosure; the lack of mounting options on regular hubs was one of the things that had put me off buying one.
The board measures 65 × 30 mm.


The full dimensions are shown in the drawing.


I really like the build quality. It’s genuinely neat and well thought out.


The connectors, status LEDs, and the Ethernet adapter’s isolation transformer are on the top of the board.
There’s also an extension of the connector used to connect the board to a Raspberry Pi. As I understand it, different modules can be stacked on top of one another.


The chips, their supporting components, and the connector used to connect the adapter to the Raspberry board are on the underside.


The Ethernet connector and one of the three USB ports are on the same side, which is exactly what I need: I can put the network connector and a USB port for flash drives and the like on the rear panel. But there was a catch, which I only noticed while writing this review and turning the board over in my hands: the microUSB port is on this same side, and that’s the port used to connect the board to the computer that will be inside the device.


Five LEDs are also on this side. The two on the left indicate Ethernet activity and power, while the three on the right show when something is connected to the corresponding USB ports. I don’t really need these indicators, but they’re quite handy.


Here’s a diagram showing what’s where:
1. Raspberry Pi interface
2. USB ports ×3
3. RJ45 port
4. USB HUB interface: connects the hub to a USB port on the Raspberry Pi
5. TS8121A 10/100 Base SMD
6. RTL8152B: 10/100 Ethernet chip
7. FE1.1S: USB hub chip
8. Power, Ethernet, and USB port indicators.


As you may have gathered from the previous photo, everything is handled by two chips: a four-port USB 2.0 hub, with a USB-to-Ethernet adapter based on the Realtek 8152 connected to one of its ports. This is a classic setup, plain and simple.
It’s a proven, well-tested design, which is partly why I chose this particular board.


It also helped a lot that a schematic for this board is available, since I wasn’t sure whether the microUSB port was used for data or just for power. I found out that everything goes through it.
For anyone interested, here's the page for this board; it also has the schematic in PDF, which is very handy.


I connected it to a PC running Windows 10 x64, and everything was recognized and installed automatically. Nice—almost a little boring :)


Network adapter options. WOL is disabled by default. I wanted to test it, but at some point realized I'd forgotten what I needed to "nudge" to get it to turn on.


And now for the tests—what would a review be without them?
At the top is a network interface speed test: downloading and uploading a file of about 3.5 GB to my home "server." The speed is fine, but copying takes so long after getting used to gigabit Ethernet...
The same test, but through the USB hub, with an SSD connected to one of the ports, so the speed was limited only by the USB connection. A steady 40 MB/s.


And power consumption.
1. The board's own power consumption
2. With an Ethernet cable connected
3. The same, but during the Ethernet speed test.

It would be good to check power consumption with devices connected to the USB ports too, but the devices themselves introduce too much measurement error. The board gets slightly warm in use, with no overheating.


Conclusion.
I have no complaints about the seller, the delivery, or the product. It's almost too uneventful: I ordered it, received it, connected it to the computer, and everything works fine without messing around with drivers or a soldering iron.
The only thing I'll have to do in my case is connect to the hub chip directly instead of using microUSB, but that's my problem.

Of course, USB 2.0 and 100 Mbps look a little archaic these days, but I personally don't need anything faster—and neither does the device itself. A 10 Mbps connection would probably be enough, but it would put noticeably more strain on the Radmin.