REL1000 User Guide
Part 1: Setup
Welcome to the REL1000 user guide! In order to get started, make sure you have the following hardware on hand:
- REL1000 - 4x Relay Phidget
- VINT Hub
- Phidget cable
- USB cable and computer
- Power supply
- something to use with the REL1000 (e.g. a series circuit)
Next, you will need to connect the pieces:
- Connect the REL1000 to the VINT Hub using the Phidget cable.
- Connect the VINT Hub to your computer with a USB cable.
- Connect the circuits you're switching to the terminal blocks on the REL1000. If you want the circuit to be closed by default when the relay is not energized, connect the two ends of the circuit to the NC and COM terminals. If you want the circuit to be open by default, connect it to the NO and COM terminals instead. It doesn't matter which end of the circuit is connected connected to each of the two terminals in either case.
- Connect the power supply to the barrel jack on the REL1000.
Now that you have everything together, let's start using the REL1000!
Phidget Control Panel
In order to demonstrate the functionality of the REL1000, the Phidget Control Panel running on a Windows machine will be used.
The Phidget Control Panel is available for use on both macOS and Windows machines.
Windows
To open the Phidget Control Panel on Windows, find the 
icon in the taskbar. If it is not there, open up the start menu and search for Phidget Control Panel
macOS
To open the Phidget Control Panel on macOS, open Finder and navigate to the Phidget Control Panel in the Applications list. Double click on the icon to bring up the Phidget Control Panel.
For more information, take a look at the getting started guide for your operating system:
Linux users can follow the getting started with Linux guide and continue reading here for more information about the REL1000.
First Look
After plugging the REL1000 into your computer and opening the Phidget Control Panel, you will see something like this:
The Phidget Control Panel will list all connected Phidgets and associated objects, as well as the following information:
- Serial number: allows you to differentiate between similar Phidgets.
- Channel: allows you to differentiate between similar objects on a Phidget.
- Version number: corresponds to the firmware version your Phidget is running. If your Phidget is listed in red, your firmware is out of date. Update the firmware by double-clicking the entry.
The Phidget Control Panel can also be used to test your device. Double-clicking on an object will open an example.
Part 2: Using Your Phidget
About
The REL1000 has mechanical relays that will let you control the power circuits of as many as four separate devices. It is suitable for both AC and DC applications. You interact with the REL1000 through the Digital Output Channel Class to switch power to your circuit or device on and off.
Explore Your Phidget Channels Using The Control Panel
You can use your Control Panel to explore your Phidget's channels.
1. Open your Control Panel, and you will find the following channels:
2. Double click on a channel to open an example program. Each channel belongs to the DigitalOutput channel class:
In your Control Panel, double click on "Power Relay":
Part 3: Create your Program
Part 4: Advanced Topics and Troubleshooting
Before you open a Phidget channel in your program, you can set these properties to specify which channel to open. You can find this information through the Control Panel.
1. Open the Control Panel and double-click on the red map pin icon:
2. The Addressing Information window will open. Here you will find all the information you need to address your Phidget in your program.
See the Phidget22 API for your language to determine exact syntax for each property.
Starting from firmware version 110, using Phidget22 library versions 1.0.0.20190107 and later, this device supports the use of a failsafe feature to put your device in a safe state should your program hang or crash.
With this feature, each Digital Output channel on this device has its own independently settable failsafe timer.
If the failsafe is not enabled, the device will behave as it did before the addition of this feature, maintaining the last state or duty cycle it received until it is explicitly told to stop.
Enabling the failsafe feature for a channel starts a recurring failsafe timer. Once the failsafe timer is enabled, it must be reset within the specified time or the channel will enter a failsafe state. Resetting the failsafe timer will reload the timer with the specified failsafe time, starting when the message to reset the timer is received by the Phidget.
For example: if the failsafe is enabled with a failsafe time of 1000ms, you will have 1000ms to reset the failsafe timer. Every time the failsafe timer is reset, you will have 1000ms from that time to reset the failsafe again.
If the failsafe timer is not reset before it runs out, the channel will enter a failsafe state. For Digital Output channels, this sets the output to a FALSE state. On the REL1000 this switches the relay contact to the Normally-Closed position. Once the channel enters the failsafe state, it will reject any further input until the channel is reopened.
To prevent the channel from falsely entering the failsafe state, we recommend resetting the failsafe timer as frequently as is practical for your applicaiton. A good rule of thumb is to not let more than a third of the failsafe time pass before resetting the timer.
Once the failsafe has been enabled, it cannot be disabled by any means other than closing and reopening the channel.
When you use a failsafe in your program, we strongly recommend setting up an error event handler to catch the Failsafe Error Event, to allow your program to catch the failsafe event.
If you want your program to try to automatically recover from a failsafe state, you can close and re-open the channel from the error event handler after determining a failsafe condition caused the event.
The relays on the REL1000 are SPDT (Single pole, double throw). This means there is a common pin (C), a normally open pin (NO) and a normally closed pin (NC). When the relay is off (i.e. no power running through the relay coil), the switch will be resting in the NC position, as seen in the diagram. When the relay's Digital Output object is toggled in software, it will switch to the NO position. If the Digital Output object is closed (using the Close() method), the relay will always return to the NC position. For this reason, it is considered a best practice to call Close() at the end of your program.
If communication between the REL1000 and your computer is broken (e.g. if the Phidget cable is unplugged), the relay will not change state. You will get a detach event for the attached channels of that Phidget. It is recommended you handle this case in your Digital Output detach handler. Since communication between the relay and computer is already interrupted, you can not tell the Digital Output to return to the NC position unless you use the Failsafe feature. (See Failsafe section in this User Guide or in the Phidget22 API documentation)
