Only 8 Relays Working

[bertoos]

Hi Guys,
Phew what a fun night this was. But got my setup going and almost perfect. 
I just have 2 issues . One minor I can work around but would like to know how to fix it and the other more of an issue...

General Info:
 - Raspberry Pi 1 B+
 - Arduino Relay Board 16Ch power with a separate 12V 3A PSU
 - Latest Software Installed (OS Raspbian and SIP latest version: 3.2.40)
 - Relay Board Plugin installed and enabled

1. Master not switching off in Manual mode:
I have Master Pump setup on station 1. When running a program, the master switches off after the last station configured completes. However, when running manual mode, if I switch on a station configured to use master, it switches on the master, but when switching off the station manually (No stations active), the master does not switch OFF. This is a big problem for me as master is my borehole pump and with all stations closed and the pump running things could get nasty.


2. Only first 8 Channels switches.
This one is weird... All 16 relays on the board works. if I connect the Pi GPIO's to Relay 8 - 16 on my board they work. if I connect them to relay 1-8 they work. But, whatever i connect to channel 9 - 12 does not switch. This is true for Program, run once as well as manual modes. The strange thing is... If I set station 9 to 12 to activate master, then the master relay is activated when the program reaches those stations, but relays 9 - 12 is not activated.
I have attached screenshots of my setup as it is now..

Thank you again for a great product. Holding thumbs that its something stupid I did and that this can be sorted easily... I am just out of options. I have tried everything - Including rewiring the boards twice but cannot seem to get relays greater than 8 to work.

   
   
   
   

[dan]

#1 Looks like a bug. I will look for a fix and report back here.

If you need to run the stations manually you can also use the Run Once menu item until manual mode is fixed. I tested Run Once with your configuration and it does stop the master.

#2 should work with up to 12 stations with the relay_board plugin. I guess you have looked through the documentation:
https://github.com/KanyonKris/relay_board/wiki

Double check the wiring. Also be sure 12 relays is selected on the relay_board plugin setup page.

Another option is to use shift registers as described in the SIP documentation:
https://github.com/Dan-in-CA/SIP/wiki/Relay-interface

This requires getting some parts and building the interface which will take a little time but it can allow 16 or more relays to be used and does not require a plugin.

if you need to use all 16 relay channels it may also be possible to modify the relay_board plugin to handle 16 relays. I will look into that after fixing #1. Of course that option is limited by the number of GPIO pins on the Pi and would not work with all models.

Dan

[dan]

I pushed a fix to GitHub for the manual mode problem of not turning off the master.

You can update the software by going to the PLUGINS menu and clicking on the SYSTEM UPDATE plugin then click the update button at the bottom of the page.

Dan

[bertoos]

Hi Dan,
Thx for your Replay and prompt push of the fix.
I am at work right now and will only be able to have a look tonight when I am back home, but i am sure your fix will work.
Regarding option 2.... I will have to call in some favors to see if I can build the shift register board. I am not clued up on the electronics side of things thats why I did not go down that route in the first place. I did triple check my wiring and all seem fine. I can swap out any of the wires on 9 - 12 with any of 1 - 8 and the correct corresponding relay on the board switches on. I am convinced its on the Pi side. Tonight I am going to do a new install on my Pi2 (currently being used in another DIY project thats why I did not pick it initially for this project) and see if it makes a difference.
Still holding thumbs for your modification of the relay board plugin to support more channels. 

Thank you again for your assistance with this.

/Bert

[dan]

Bert,

I did some testing with a Pi 2 B1 and was able to use 16 pins to control relays.
The Relay_board plugin looks like it will be easy to modify for 16 channels.

It will probably take me a couple of days to get it together. I'll let you know as soon as it is ready.

Dan

[bertoos]

Hi Dan,

Thats great news. Will keep an eye on this thread. 
On a side note. I Updated to the latest version you pushed and the Master not switching Off issue is solved. Thx for that.
ALSO, After I updated and without making any changes to my setup, All 12 relays now fire in my program. No idea why... but hey... I am happy. Everything is working.

Next step is to get my hands on some solenoid valves and wire them up. My supplier is currently out of stock so it might be a week or 2. Will post my setup once I have everything installed.

Again and as always - Thank you

/Bert

[dan]

Bert,

I added a new plugin named "relay_16" which handles up to 16 relays connected directly to the Pi. It requires SIP version 3.2.43 or later because I added a new images folder for the plugin documentation.

The wiring is different from the original relay_board plugin. Click the "setup help" button on the plugin's setup page for wiring info.

Of course you can not have the relay_16 and relay_board plugins installed and enabled at the same time.

Let me know how it goes and especially if the documentation is not clear.

Dan

[bertoos]

Bert,

I added a new plugin named "relay_16" which handles up to 16 relays connected directly to the Pi. It requires SIP version 3.2.43 or later because I added a new images folder for the plugin documentation.

The wiring is different from the original relay_board plugin. Click the "setup help" button on the plugin's setup page for wiring info.

Of course you can not have the relay_16 and relay_board plugins installed and enabled at the same time.

Let me know how it goes and especially if the documentation is not clear.

Dan

Hi Dan,

Thx allot, I will have a look at it and get back to you. Moving house right now so tinkering time is limited. Thank you for your efforts with this. Will keep you posted. I am also looking at the Shift register option as I might need to control more boards for the Veg garden. 

/Bert

[atkellyx]

Hi Dan

The Relay_16 plugin is exactly what I need. The image Relay_16-connect.png appears to be corrupt though and I can't see the wiring diagram.

Any help appreciated mate.

Cheers

Anthony

[dan]

I'll take a look at the files on GitHub.

For now I have attached the Relay_16-connect.png file here.

   

Click to view full size.

Let me know if this helps.

Dan