I tried to use a micro relay with a 5VDC coil on the output of the SSC-32.
I set it up this way:
The channel was set as an SSC-32 relay (In VSA software)
I used the Ground output pin and the Pulse output pin and sent them to the two sides of the relay coil.
When I activated the switch in the software (VSA) the 5 Volts came on between the GND and the Pulse wire as expected. It did Not activate the external physical relay I needed to turn on.
Here are the specs on the relay I tried to use:
Coil Voltage: 5VDC
Nominal Coil Current: 89.3 mA
Pickup/dropout voltage: 3.5/0.25 VDC
Coil Resistance: 56 ohms +/- 10%
The relay is from Radio Shack. (I bought 3 and tried them all, so I doubt I have a defective relay). It is Radio Shack part number: 275-0240
What I need to know is how can I use the SSC-32 Relay setting in VSA which produces a 5VDC signal between the GND and Pulse wire to turn on and off a relay?
I think the pins on the ssc-32 are rated for 40ma max. You will probably need to use a transistor to control the relay. Google has a lot on this type setup.
Not sure. To activate, most relays need either 0V or V (5V for example). The SSC-32 however sends 5V pulses of between 500us and 2500us, repeated every 30ms - not the best to connect a relay to.
I can control a single LED directly from the SSC-32 using the SSC-32 Relay setting, but I am trying to use Tri-color LEDs. They have a common anode and when you hook up all the cathodes to the GND wires and the 3 pulse wires get tied together because of the common anode, it stops functioning. Apparently, if they were 3 separate LEDs, this method would work, but because the anodes for each color are shared, they mix the channels together somehow and it does not work as expected, or not at all.
Given that description, I don’t NEED 10A of capacity, but it would work fine anyway. I am only trying to use the relays to isolate the inputs and allow me to switch between colors. I do understand that I can not successfully ‘mix’ the colors using this method. I am using these tri-colored LEDs in the eyes of robotic characters and want to change the colors during a routine to help portray the mood of the character.
Does understanding the application better help come up with a useful solution?
Of course you can also specifically simply set the IO pin high or low like #3L or #3H… As shown in the manual: lynxmotion.com/images/html/b … tm#discout
I have also been able to set it low by #3P0
Did not study the spec on the relays enough or have any experience with them, to know what other issues there may be…
The explanation helps a lot. So to confirm, you have the anode connected to GND or a signal pin set to 0V?
The three cathodes are each connected to a signal pin?
That is the problem. It would probably work fine if the LEDs were common Cathode.
Since they are common anode, the cathodes are all connected together through the common GND track on the SSC-32. Then on the Pulse wire, even though there are 3 separate Pulse signals generated by the SSC-32, there is only ONE anode to connect them to. So all three tracks are essentially tied together.
That is why I need to turn on Relays instead of the LEDs directly. The Relays can isolate the 3 colors and switch them independently.
I hope that clears it up.
Since I am already using VSA software to control the SSC-32 card, directly manipulating the IO pins and controlling the card with a different process is impossible to do at the same time.
If it can be done, it would be impossible to synchronize it to the rest of the programming that is happening in VSA which is synchronizing all the servo actions to an audio file.
