Relays and the BASIC Stamp and AC voltages

Buck Rogers

Hello from Buck Rogers
This is being typed in at a time when I should be, ah, asleep.
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That being said, here's my question. For using the stamp to switch anything other then DC voltages in the range it uses, I should be using an appropriate relay. Correct?
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I have here some relays which were designed for AC based industrial control systtems and I'd like to use one of my BS1 units to set them. I also have an SSR that was designed ostensibly for controling AC voltages from logic circuits. I also have access to the entire family of relays that were designed for that same trade. Basically where I live there's a store in Manhattan's Canal Street district that's famous for such stuff.


This will be my first foray nto some of the things that the Stamp was designed for, and I want to get things just right. Even perfect.

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Buck Rogers

www.gregg.levine.name

m_fabio2

What type of relays are they ?

First, check the voltage of the relay. I think if your using a industrial relay you'll find it will not be a 5V coil in which case you'll need a small circuit to up the voltage for the relay.

Second, is it a electromechanical or Solid state relay ? SSR depend on a load before they switch, so don't hook it up and expect to check it with a meter, you'll need some kind of load connected.

Mel

I have had good luck using Opto 22 type I/O modules.· They come in a variety of types both DC and AC input or output and are designed for 5 volt logic.· They are made by several manufactures and are interchangeable.· You can buy an interface board from Parallax that the modules plug into or you can mount the modules directly on a perf board and hard wire them.· The AC outputs are Optically Isolated and handle around 3.5 amps depending on manufacturer.

Mel

Ken Gracey

Hey all,

I've used the StampCI board and the Opto22 relays to control individual neon elements on our trade show sign, which is now mounted on the wall in our office.

See the Neon Display project. This is a safe way to control 120VAC.

It was a lot of fun to build that sign.·We found a local guy who did the neon and our job was final assembly and control system. Don't think I could do it as easily today due to commitments,·children, etc. as you can·probably imagine.

Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc. ·