● R1MX

Hardware Reference

PCB boards, key ICs, and interconnects from the r1mx reverse engineering project

The RED ONE MX houses four primary PCB boards, one sensor board, and several supporting boards, all precision-machined into an aluminum alloy body. This page summarizes the known hardware architecture based on the ongoing r1mx reverse engineering project.

RED ONE MX camera overview
RED ONE MX body overview
Work in progress: The r1mx project is actively reverse engineering each board. Information here reflects current findings and will be updated as research progresses. See the GitHub repository for the latest schematics, component lists, and board images.

Board Overview

AUDIO_PCI Board
  • ISP1562 - USB PCI host controller
  • NET2280REV1A-LF - USB-to-SPI/PCI bridge (USB 2.0)
  • SiI3512ECTU128 - 2-port SATA PCI host controller
  • PCA9698DGG - 40-bit I2C I/O expander
  • TMDS141 - HDMI re-driver
  • DAC23 - Stereo audio DAC, 8-96kHz + headphone amp
  • PGA2500I - Digitally controlled mic preamp
  • GS2978 - 3G SDI cable driver
CPU_IO Board
  • Central processing and I/O routing board
  • Connects to AUDIO_PCI via 180-position high-speed mezzanine connector
  • Connects to SENSOR board via 240-position high-speed mezzanine connector
  • 3x flat flex connectors to Monitor, EVF, and display outputs
  • Houses the main SoC/CPU running VxWorks 6.x
SENSOR Board
  • Houses the Mysterium-X 14MP sensor
  • Connects to Xilinx Virtex-4 FPGA for sensor data pipeline
  • XC4VLX family FPGA - handles encoding and data routing
  • Connects to CPU_IO via 240-position mezzanine
UI Board
  • LTBPY - Hot-swappable 2-wire bus buffer
  • PCA9698DGG - 40-bit I2C I/O expander
  • AD5241 - 256-position digital potentiometer
  • CoolRunner-II XC2C256 - CPLD for UI logic
  • Provides physical joystick and button interface for camera operators
POWER Board
  • Manages power distribution to all camera systems
  • Interfaces with RED BRICK V-Mount battery
  • Supports AC power adaptor input
  • Research ongoing - see repository for current findings
SSD Board
  • Houses the iVDR 26-pin connector (Amphenol 10033998-002LF)
  • Interfaces REDMAG SSD modules to the SiI3512 SATA controller
  • Standard 2.5" SATA SSD internally
  • See SSD Drive section below

Board Interconnects

CPU_IO to AUDIO_PCI (180-position mezzanine)

The CPU_IO and AUDIO_PCI boards are connected by a 180-position high-speed mezzanine connector. This single connector carries:

  • HD-SDI and HDMI video signals
  • XLR audio input/output
  • USB host bus
  • SATA storage bus (CF, SSD, RED DRIVE)
Known failure point: Broken traces on the CPU_IO board at or near the 180-position mezzanine connector cause simultaneous loss of multiple subsystems. If your camera exhibits all of the following at once, suspect this interconnect:
  • No HD-SDI or HDMI video output
  • No XLR audio input
  • Unable to detect CF card, SSD, or RED DRIVE
See the Repair Guides page for diagnostic steps.

CPU_IO to SENSOR (240-position mezzanine)

A 240-position high-speed mezzanine connector carries the full-bandwidth sensor data from the SENSOR board to the CPU_IO board for FPGA processing.

Key ICs Reference

Part Number Function Board Notes
Xilinx XC4VLX (Virtex-4) FPGA - sensor data pipeline + REDCODE encoding SENSOR Handles all RAW data processing
SiI3512ECTU128 2-port SATA PCI host controller AUDIO_PCI Controls CF and SSD storage
ISP1562 USB PCI host controller AUDIO_PCI USB 2.0 host bus
NET2280REV1A-LF USB-to-PCI bridge AUDIO_PCI USB 2.0 interface bridge
GS2978 3G SDI cable driver AUDIO_PCI HD-SDI output
TMDS141 HDMI re-driver AUDIO_PCI HDMI output signal conditioning
DAC23 Stereo audio DAC AUDIO_PCI 8-96kHz, integrated headphone amp
PGA2500I Mic preamp AUDIO_PCI Digitally controlled, XLR input
PCA9698DGG 40-bit I2C I/O expander AUDIO_PCI, UI Used on multiple boards
CoolRunner-II XC2C256 CPLD UI UI button and joystick logic
AD5241 Digital potentiometer UI 256-position, I2C controlled
LTBPY 2-wire bus buffer UI Hot-swappable I2C buffer

Firmware Architecture

The RED ONE MX runs VxWorks 6.x (Wind River Systems) as its real-time operating system. The firmware image is encrypted and stored in flash memory.

Component Details
OS VxWorks 6.x (RTOS)
FPGA bitstream Xilinx Virtex-4 (XC4VLX family)
Encryption AES-256-CBC with MD5 KDF
Decryption key Public - see firmware/README.md in the repository
Build system Xilinx EDK (Embedded Development Kit)

The firmware is distributed as encrypted .zip archives. The r1mx project has documented the decryption method and extracted artifacts for all known production builds. See the Firmware page for the full build history.

SSD Drive (REDMAG)

The RED ONE MX records to REDMAG SSD modules via the iVDR 26-pin connector. The r1mx project has fully documented the SSD interface.

Identified Drive: Toshiba HG3 Series (THNSNC256GBSJ)

Specification Value
Interface SATA II (3 Gbit/s), 5V only
NAND Toshiba 32nm MLC (TH58TEG series, Toggle Mode)
Controller Toshiba TC58 “Type C” (proprietary)
Sequential read 220 MB/s
Sequential write 180 MB/s
Camera connection Silicon Image SiI3512 -> iVDR 26-pin (Amphenol 10033998-002LF)

Drive Validation

Firmware drive validation: At boot, the camera reads the drive's ATA model string and checks it against a hardcoded approved-drive list. Replacement drives must either match an approved model string or the firmware must be patched. Drives that fail validation will not be mounted.

Full research including datasheets, interface mapping, firmware analysis, and replacement options is documented in ssd_drive/README.md.

Board Manufacturing

The PCB boards were manufactured by the Sanmina Corporation. Sanmina is a contract electronics manufacturer that produced boards for many professional broadcast and cinema equipment makers during this era.

Contributing

The r1mx project is actively building out schematics, component lists, and repair guides. If you have a RED ONE MX and want to contribute measurements, photos, or findings:

  • Open an issue or pull request on GitHub
  • All board images, component measurements, and reverse engineering artifacts are welcome