Maximum Number of Zones

[astrogerard]

Following these directions it looks simple enough.

Can I use a solderless breadboard or is a perf board recommend?

What type of pin headers do I need to purchase?

What gauge jumper wire do you recommend?

What type of power module would I add to the breadboard to power the relays?

Thanks again for all of your assistance.

Sorry for the late reply... had some other stuff to do...

Dan already showed a nice solderless board but if possible I would use a perfboard and solder some IC sockets for the shift-registers. In my case I try to solder as much as possible but must admit that I'm also using jumper wires. 
Some "design-principles" for me are:
- Long term support and opensource software  --> SIP does so. Support from Dan is great and in case he wins the millions the code is still readable an with some Python knowledge you(we) could continue the project
- Long term support on hardware --> hardware like the Pi, relay-boards, IC's, PSU's etc. must be simple and easily to get so that replacement is easy when necessary. I live in a country where several times a year we have huge lightning so sometimes "components will change color and start smelling bad" :-)  
- The setup should be fairly tolerant to a humid climate --> Solder of crimp as much as possible. In case of jumper wires use hot-glue to fix and protect against moisture
- use separate power supplies for the Pi, relays and valves. Since the (right) relay boards have optocouplers there is separation of power and logic. --> for the 5v relays a 1 or 2A usb charger can be used (I do so for many years)
- The master-valve relay can be used to switch on/off the transformer for the valves (reduced power consumption)

All items are easily available locally or via the well known Chinese webshops.   

--Gerard

[HereComesTheRain]

Sorry for the late reply... had some other stuff to do...

- use separate power supplies for the Pi, relays and valves. Since the (right) relay boards have optocouplers there is separation of power and logic. --> for the 5v relays a 1 or 2A usb charger can be used (I do so for many years)

- The master-valve relay can be used to switch on/off the transformer for the valves (reduced power consumption)

Hello Gerard,

Thanks for the info. I completely understand about having other stuff to do life has kept me busy the past week or so.

In the process of ordering the parts today and had a question or two about powering the relay boards.

1. Would I need one power supply for each relay board or can the power be daisy chained between the relay boards.

2. Would a 5v 10amp power supply work better than a 5v 3amp or would that be overkill? 

3. Maybe this should have been my first question but just verify that the 8 channel DC 5V Relay Module w/optocoupler will work with 24v hunter or rain bird valves.

Hope you are well and thank you again for your time.

[astrogerard]

Sorry for the late reply... had some other stuff to do...

- use separate power supplies for the Pi, relays and valves. Since the (right) relay boards have optocouplers there is separation of power and logic. --> for the 5v relays a 1 or 2A usb charger can be used (I do so for many years)

- The master-valve relay can be used to switch on/off the transformer for the valves (reduced power consumption)

Hello Gerard,

Thanks for the info. I completely understand about having other stuff to do life has kept me busy the past week or so.

In the process of ordering the parts today and had a question or two about powering the relay boards.

1. Would I need one power supply for each relay board or can the power be daisy chained between the relay boards.

2. Would a 5v 10amp power supply work better than a 5v 3amp or would that be overkill? 

3. Maybe this should have been my first question but just verify that the 8 channel DC 5V Relay Module w/optocoupler will work with 24v hunter or rain bird valves.

Hope you are well and thank you again for your time.

The relay used on these boards is mostly a jqc-3ff. The 5V type has a coil resistance of 70ohm. So the current is about 72mA. To be on the safe side say you need 100mA per relay. If all 8 relays are on you need 800mA. So a psu of 1A should be sufficient for one board. For 3 boards with all relays on you never need more than 3A. I doubt if you ever will turn on all 24 relays at the same time but with a 5v 3A psu you can safely do this.

The relays are more than capable to handle the 24v valves. I myself use 24v rainbird valves for many years without any problems.

Hope this helps a little :-)

--Gerard

[HereComesTheRain]

Hope this helps a little :-)

It's a big help! 


I have a 5v 8amp and a 5v 3amp power supply I will try.

So I will bring in power to the perfboard or breadboard and the feed the relays from there.

Any issues or precautions to take to prevent over-voltage to the relays or to the valves?

Thanks again for your time and assistance.

---

You should be able to get all the parts....

Hi Dan. 

Could I get some clarification on the parts listed below as to what to order exactly.  


[*]a few pin headers


[*]a 10k Ohm resistor


[*]a 0.1 microfarad capacitor (optional)



Thanks.

[dan]

Hope this helps a little :-)

It's a big help! 


I have a 5v 8amp and a 5v 3amp power supply I will try.

So I will bring in power to the perfboard or breadboard and the feed the relays from there.

Any issues or precautions to take to prevent over-voltage to the relays or to the valves?

Thanks again for your time and assistance.

---

You should be able to get all the parts....

Hi Dan. 

Could I get some clarification on the parts listed below as to what to order exactly.  


[*]a few pin headers


[*]a 10k Ohm resistor


[*]a 0.1 microfarad capacitor (optional)



Thanks.

[*]

Pin headers would be something like:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/392
or
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/116

a 10k Ohm resistor:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2784
or
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14491

a 0.1 microfarad capacitor (optional)
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8375

[HereComesTheRain]

Thanks! Ordered the other parts.

[HereComesTheRain]

Hello Everyone.  

Was sidetracked and unable to make any headway with my irrigation project until now.

Chose to go the the DIY RELAY route as described at https://github.com/Dan-in-CA/SIP/wiki/Relay-interface 

I'm a NOOB at this stuff and could use a little more detail on how to construct the irrigation control.

Using (3) 8 Channel Relay Boards, Secondary Power Supply

For example do the jumpers go from the bread board to the 1-8 pins on the relay board?

What about the power? On the following page https://github.com/KanyonKris/relay_board/wiki a wall wart powers a 4 zone relay board/valves.

How would I configure to power (3) 8 Channel Relay Boards with 20 zones?

I'm a visual person so feel free to provide a sketch or photo.    

Hope everyone is well.

[dan]

Yes, the jumpers go from the bread board to the 1-8 pins on the relay board.

The wall wart in the diagram you refer to is for 24v AC to power the sprinkler valves only. Not the relay boards.

To power the boards you will also need a power source of the appropriate voltage for the boards (e.g. 5V DC).
Check our this YouTube video for details:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur0w7VeLX08

Dan

[HereComesTheRain]

Hi Dan

So what you are saying is that I need a total of (3) three power supplies.

1. Pi power supply. (check)
2. Relay Board(s) power supply.
3. Irrigation Valve power supply.

Will a 5V 8A 40W AC to DC Adapter Power Supply Converter Transformer work for the Relay Board(s)?

Any suggestions for a power supply that would allow for 3 to 5 valves open at a time?

Valve Solenoid Specs - 350 mA inrush, 190 mA holding, 60 Hz - 370 mA inrush, 210 mA holding, 50 Hz

Thanks again for your input.

[dan]

A 5V 8A 40W AC to DC Adapter should be more that sufficient to run the relay boards. That may even be enough to also power the Pi. The thing to avoid is drawing more than about 200mA from the Pi.

From the valve specs it looks like you have some valves of US origin (60Hz) and some of UK/European origin (50Hz). The frequency of the mains power is probably not an issue. Just be sure they all take the same voltage (24V AC). If not, you would need separate adapters for the different voltages.

Assuming all the valves are 24V, the maximum current draw would be the highest inrush current times the number of valves that are switched on at the same time. Five valves at 370mA * 5 = 1850mA or nearly 2A. The adapter should have at least an additional 10% capacity so 2.2A minimum.

Dan