Noob Questions

[packetbob]

I'm new so forgive me if the answers are obvious but I'll ask anyways..  I plan to order a couple Lynx Express units (wheneever the next coop happens) to control lighting via DMX from Vixen. However I also have the need to control devices via "hard contacts", this is mainly for various Halloween displays. Is there a Vixen compatible DMX capable board with just normal relays? SSR would bbe nice but these contacts will have to handle various different low voltages (AC, DC, 9 to 24 volts). I'd like to have a stand alone controller just for low voltage devices (non dimming, just on/off)

Also can Vixen be triggered by external events? Again for Halloween I'd like to kick off various sequences as people move past various points. Is there a Vixen compatible DMX capable board that can detect contact closures?

Anyways I hope to work towards getting something setup for next Halloween and Xmas...

Bob

[rrowan]

I'm new so forgive me if the answers are obvious but I'll ask anyways..  I plan to order a couple Lynx Express units (wheneever the next coop happens) to control lighting via DMX from Vixen. However I also have the need to control devices via "hard contacts", this is mainly for various Halloween displays. Is there a Vixen compatible DMX capable board with just normal relays? SSR would bbe nice but these contacts will have to handle various different low voltages (AC, DC, 9 to 24 volts). I'd like to have a stand alone controller just for low voltage devices (non dimming, just on/off)

Also can Vixen be triggered by external events? Again for Halloween I'd like to kick off various sequences as people move past various points. Is there a Vixen compatible DMX capable board that can detect contact closures?

Anyways I hope to work towards getting something setup for next Halloween and Xmas...

Bob

Hi Bob,

I would guess the coops would start around February but that is just my guess. It would depend on RJ or Bill or someone else.

Vixen can be controlled by external triggers

I use  the MR-16 controller to control a puck type relay for some hi-amps last year. If the relay could be controlled from 12v dc or less if you adjust the amount of power needed using a dim value. Like set the channel for 25% dim and then use a voltmeter to see what the output voltage would be. Adjust from there higher or lower to get the required voltage.

hope that helps some

Rick R.

[theavguy99]

I have tested a small 120 vac relay directly driven from a ssr4 channel.  I believe it has a coil current of around 20 mA but I have not measured it.  Most smaller relays have contact current ratings from 5 to 15 amps so you can control some pretty large loads, but you could drive a much larger relay such as a contactor using the smaller relay as a 'pilot' relay if you required more capacity. 

When I was considering using a relay to switch inflatables in my display, I was concerned about possibly damaging the triacs in the ssr4 or lynx due to the inductive kickback of the relay coil, but this has proven not be a factor since I setup a looping test sequence in vixen where the relay clicked on and off every 3 seconds or so and let it run for several days without any problems.  However, a larger relay with more coil inductance could certainly be an issue...

Just be sure to run the channel in vixen at either full on or full off to control the relay.

I don't think driving the channel at a reduced level to achieve a lower drive voltage would be a good idea, but I haven't tried this.

[tbone321]

Actually, it should never be an issue.  IIRC, a triac switches off at the zero point of the AC signal so there should not be a voltage on the relay coil to cause a kickback.  As for controlling the inflatables, I have seperated the lighing power from the rest of the inflatable so that I can run them during the day without wasting power on lights that cannot be seen and include them in future automation sequences.

[RJ]

Actually, it should never be an issue.  IIRC, a triac switches off at the zero point of the AC signal so there should not be a voltage on the relay coil to cause a kickback.  As for controlling the inflatables, I have seperated the lighing power from the rest of the inflatable so that I can run them during the day without wasting power on lights that cannot be seen and include them in future automation sequences.

Please do not hook big coils up to the stuff based on this theory. If you hook a scope up to a relay coil that does not have a diode across it. then do this and trigger on it to see. The magnetic field takes far more time to collapse then you are thinking it does. You can see some larger voltages beyond the ratings of the triacs and you can damage them. Does not mean you will with a given setup but you can. Best thing to do is make sure your relay has a protection diode (many do) or add it to be on the safe side.
You guys might just be lucky or your relays may have diodes in them and your not aware. But the next guy reading this that trys it may not be and hurt his equipment.

RJ

[tbone321]

The theory is not mine.  I got it from You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login  when I was looking into how well a SSR would deal with inductive loads.