USB Relay Controller

**Zac** · 04-26-2005, 10:02 AM

yeah - software side...should be simple...
(uh-huh...) Learning how to program pretty stuff for Windows....the only Windows gfx program I've ever wrote used the free and awesome libSDL using Dev-C++ so this will be interesting. From what I can tell - to mesh into frontends I need a window with no titlebar/border and the ability to choose an image for the background and button pictures. This will be fun for a newb like me

Sparkfun's PCB price went up...I knew I should of sent my design off earlier

**Peoples** · 04-26-2005, 10:22 AM

just make a nice win32 dll and all will be happy

**Chris31** · 04-26-2005, 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by Stonewall78

I get stuff in with blow 2003's all the time. Stupid installers forget to put a diode on the horn relay all the time

Thats one of the reason why I insist on putting the ULNs on IC sockets. Poeple can short it out to +V accidentally. But so far I never have problems with the ULN2803A, no diodes, just connected directly to the relays.

**Skuzzle** · 04-28-2005, 08:52 AM

I'd happily have 1 if the price was right

**strohj** · 05-06-2005, 02:49 PM

ill take one too if i could afford it ...

do you have a ballpark figure on how much these might cost?

**thecommiser** · 06-10-2005, 04:41 AM

any news on these?

**Zac** · 06-10-2005, 04:38 PM

Hey wow I didn't even have to bring this thread back from the dead :-P

I've been slowly getting it put together. I have all of the simple bulk parts minus relays and the 18f2455s. I'm sending a 2"x2" pcb over to sparkfun in the next few days to make sure I got the drill spacing and sizes correct for the relays (and also so my next order which will be the prototype PCB can get in on the $2.50xsq in instead of the $5 deal.)

How do you guys want the relays done? So far I narrowed it down to 2 to choose from - one that claims 25-30A (and looks like it could handle it) and it has standard connections on top the relay (see photo of maestro's ac controller it's the same relay I think he used) and the other one is a smaller one by NEC that claims 35A (I doubt it could handle that amount of power continuously though.)

With the ULN2003AN I've got 7 drivers...There's always room for more though - I have All of PORTA and PORTC (minus 2 D- and D+ for USB) unused currently. Do you guys think 7 relays would be enough? If not how many? And how do you want them power-wise? All huge ******* relays or like half and half? (I planned on sticking to the 2 mentioned above but to make it a few bucks cheaper I could always add some 1-5amp relays.)

The software is comming along slowly - Basically I've never written anything for windows and using some demo code got a quick program that I could enbed in Centrafuse with a background and image buttons and crap. (Don't like that solution...I have no reason to learn MFC or any of that **** right now and I've had some trouble with messages between the classes if you saw my post in sw dev.) So I'm not sure where that's going yet but something will get done...My goal for this app is that you guys decide what buttons go where and what they're labeled and how they work (simple on off toggle, on while holding button down, timed button, etc) all through a simple config file. And of course the graphics will just be bmp/gif/jpg/whatever files in the directory that you can change to suit whatever frontend.

Damn thats a big post....I did kind of let this thread die though :-P

Oh yeah - After seeing a convo about dudeman selling the XM cables I've decided I'm going to talk with the admin before offering any of these for sale...hell I'd be cool if I could get it stocked in the mp3car store

**markopolo311** · 06-10-2005, 06:16 PM

just a note, you should have an option to send a momentary signal instead of a relay being flipped (many ppl will want this for door locks and such)

If it's been mentioned oh well, i'm too lazy to go back and read it =P

**Zac** · 06-11-2005, 05:17 PM

Will do. Now everyone - how many relays? How much power handling? Etc?

**Rickertsen2** · 06-13-2005, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by Zac

Digitial In will be easy - the analog in will be interesting (altho it should be fairly trivial...there's plenty of sample code) I would end up being paranoid and add optoisolators for dig and any random stuff I could think of...

Currently (meaning "when I'm at home instead of the appt and when I'm really bored") I'm working on controlling the volume and x-over controlls for my bazooka amps and the gain for the jbl amp...Which I think would be effing awesome (I'm far too lazy to ever finish that though

)

And I really want to make this project public...but at the same time I'd like to sell it (again, for as cheap as I can get it+a few bucks for my VERY poor self atm)....I'll def give it some thought (I mean it's all based off of the sample code anyway so it's not like it was hard to whip up.) I could at least give anyone with questions pointers :P

Just release the source and then sell a PCB. You will still have alot of people buying the PCB. source code source code.... Is it in assembly or are you using a C compiler?