sofakng Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 I'd like a Control4 I/O Extender to be able to trigger an external relay. Can I make this work using the built-in relay/contact ports? More specifically, I want a trigger a relay (Digital Loggers IoT Relay) that controls a 120 VAC device and has a 3-48V control voltage input. Therefore, I just need the Control4 IOX to send 12v to trigger this external relay. One idea was to connect the +12V from one of the Contact ports into a Relay port (COM) but I don't know enough to know if it's safe, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippavisual Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Shouldn't be a problem at all. That's what the IOX was designed for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofakng Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Thanks. Are you saying that my description (+12V from Contact into Relay COM) is the correct approach? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMHarman Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Thanks. Are you saying that my description (+12V from Contact into Relay COM) is the correct approach?Exactly that approach. Steal the 12v, connect to relay so when relay closes it sends 12. That's how my external multi room amp is triggered. Like this, but this is on a different device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofakng Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Awesome. Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofakng Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Sorry, but one more (unrelated) question... The contact ports are usually used to detect is a contact is closed, right? Does it just detect if SIG and GND are connected? (i.e. if I place a wire between SIG and GND then it will be considered 'closed' and no wire means 'open') If so, what is the maximum voltage I can send through it? Can this be connected to an external trigger (+12V, etc) to determine if that device/trigger is on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegreatheed Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 11 minutes ago, sofakng said: Does it just detect if SIG and GND are connected? (i.e. if I place a wire between SIG and GND then it will be considered 'closed' and no wire means 'open') No. The SIG port is looking for +12V differential between the wire connected to ground. 11 minutes ago, sofakng said: If so, what is the maximum voltage I can send through it? Can this be connected to an external trigger (+12V, etc) to determine if that device/trigger is on? If not* you mean. This question only follows from your previous question above being wrong, but good news, it was wrong. Yes, you could Y that 12V after it is triggered into the device being controlled and the SIG port. The specs say it can handle 12V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofakng Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 @thegreatheed Sorry, my question about SIG and GND is not related at all to my initial question about the relay. I was wondering, for a different situation, how the contact sensor works. For example, can I connect an AVR +12v trigger OUTPUT to the SIG/GND ports to detect if the AVR is turned on? If so, can I connect a +5V or even a +3.3V to SIG? (sorry, does that make sense?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Why not use a Control4 Outlet switch for this job? Or other types of IP controlled "smart" outlet switches. It might be cheaper and cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofakng Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 @zaphod, if this were for a client I would install something cleaner. I'm a new Control4 Partner (writing drivers, etc) and learning about how everything works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofakng Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 One more question... I have a four channel relay device (Sonoff 4ch Pro R2) which is connected to four devices including an arcade power supply unit. (not important) I've installed Berto's Sonoff 4ch Relay driver which provides 4x RELAY (OUTPUT). I also have a generic UI Button ("Arcade Cabinet"). I want to add programming so that when the UI Button is selected it activates the relay but this doesn't seem possible. Do I need to add a Generic Relay and connect it to the Sonoff 4ch Relay driver? ...then my programming will trigger the "Generic Relay" which will send the command to the Sonoff driver? This seems like an extra unnecessary step? Can I have my UI Button directly trigger the Sonoff relay output to turn on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Lowe Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 there are some experience buttons with relay connections. however if the one you are using does not you will need a generic one in order to trip the relay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPiccione Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Help! Good evening. I hooked up my mini door station and everything is working as planned except my interior doorbell. I hooked to my relay and N/O but when the bell is activated it just keeps ringing. I read that I should have it set to monostable which I have done. Any suggestions on what I am doing wrong? Thanks, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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