Welcome!
Thank you for purchasing our AZ-Delivery 4 Relays Module. On the
following pages, we will introduce you to how to use and set-up this handy
device.
Have fun!
Relays are used to control AC circuits, switching them ON or OFF. The
relay is one of the most important control elements. It is an electrical switch
that responds to a signal received from the microcontroller (like in
Atmega328P Board or Raspberry Pi). Relays are widely used in remote
control, communications, mechatronics devices, power electronic devices,
etc. They also can be used to separate powerful voltage/current electronics
(like AC or DC motors, or any AC device, etc.), from microelectronics (like
microcontrollers, sensors, etc.).
Inside relay, there is one mechanical switch (three yellow metal rods, with
one in the middle that is bent to one side, and is movable), which is
controlled by the second element of the electromagnet (yellow cylinder), as
shown on the image below:
In the non active state, the mechanical switch is in the OFF state, NC pin is
connected with common pin, and NO is unconnected. When the power is
being connected to the electromagnet (via transistor and rectifier diode), this
moves the switch to the active state, thus connecting the common pin to NO
pin.
The 4 relays module consists of four relays capable of handling up to 5A
50V AC. For every relay, there are aslo a LED, two resistors, a NPN
transistor, a rectifier diode and optocoupler.
On the DC side of the board there are six pins, four input pins for four
relays, one for power supply (VCC) and one for ground (GND). There is
also a two pin jumper for selecting power supply (external or VCC power
supply). On the AC side there is three pin screw terminal header, where
pins are labeled as: Normally Closed - NC pin, Common pin and Normally
Open - NO pin.
Specifications:
Maximum AC: 5A 50V
Maximum DC: 5A 30V
Contact Type: Both: Normally Closed – NC, Normally Opened - NO
Dimensions: 55 x 75mm [2.2 x 2.95in]
The pinout
External power supply jumper is used for selecting the power supply input. If
it is left unconnected, the relays will not be powered up at all, but the LEDs
on-board the module will still blink. If you connect the JD-VCC pin and VCC
pin together (with two pin jumper), the module will be powered up from the
VCC pin.
If you want to use external power supply, remove two pin jumper, and
connect the positive side of external power supply to JD-VCC pin, and
ground pin of external power supply with ground pin of the module.
External power supply
Why is there a need for external power supply?
Firstly, it is needed because sometimes a voltage regulator on-board
Atmega328P is not powerful enough to drive the Atmega328P and the
module.
Secondly, it is better for relays and microcontroller power supplies to be
separated. Because relays are used to control the AC or powerful DC
devices, and having to control electronic and powerful electronic circuits
separated is a safety precautionary measure. One of the good sides of
using relays is to protect the microelectronic circuits from powerful
electronic circuits.
How to set-up the Arduino IDE
If you did not install Arduino IDE already, this is how to do it. Go to the link:
[Link] and download installation file for
your operating system platform.
For Windows, double click on downloaded ".exe" file and follow instructions
in installation window.
For Linux, download file with extension ".[Link]", which then you need to
extract. When you extract it, go to the extracted directory, and open terminal
in that directory. You need to run two “.sh” scripts, first called "arduino-linux-
[Link]", and second called "[Link]".
To run first script in terminal, run the following command:
sh [Link] user_name
user_name - is the name of super user in the Linux operating system.
After this, you will be prompted to provide password for the super user. Wait
for a few minutes for script to complete everything.
After installation of the first script, run the second called "[Link]" script. In
terminal, run the following command:
sh [Link]
After the installation of these scripts, go to the All Apps to find the Arduino
IDE installed.
Next thing is to check if your PC can detect the microcontroller board. Open
freshly installed Arduino IDE, and go to:
Tools > Board > {your board name here}
{your board name here} should be the Arduino/Genuino Uno, as you can
see on the image below:
After this you need to select the port on which the microcontroller board is
connected. Go to: Tools > Port > {port name goes here}
If you connected the microcontroller board to the USB port, there should be
several port names. Because we are using Arduino IDE on Windows, port
names are like on image below.
For Linux users, port name is “/dev/ttyUSBx” for example, where “x”
represents specific integer number between 0 and 9, for instance.
Connecting the module with Atmega328P Board
Connect the 4 relays module with the microcontroller board as shown on
the following connection diagram:
Module pin > Board pin
IN1 > D2 Purple wire
IN2 > D3 Orange wire
IN3 > D4 Green wire
IN4 > D5 Blue wire
GND > GND Black wire
VCC > 5V Red wire
NOTE: As you can see in the red rectangle on the connection diagram,
external power supply jumper is connected, connecting JD-VCC pin with
VCC pin. This means that the 4 relays module will be powered up from
microcontroller board via VCC pin.
Sketch example:
void setup() {
pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(3, OUTPUT);
pinMode(4, OUTPUT);
pinMode(5, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
digitalWrite(2, HIGH);
digitalWrite(3, HIGH);
digitalWrite(4, HIGH);
digitalWrite(5, HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(2, LOW);
digitalWrite(3, LOW);
digitalWrite(4, LOW);
digitalWrite(5, LOW);
delay(1000);
}
When you upload the sketch to the microcontroller board, you should hear
clicks from relays. When the relay changes state from active to rest and vice
versa, you can hear switching clicks.
Both light bulbs connected to relays should blink every second.
We can change NO/NC pin states by these lines of the code:
digitalWrite(2, HIGH); - NC pin is not connected to the common pin
NO pin is connected to the common pin
digitalWrite(2, LOW); - NC pin is connected to the common pin
NO pin is not connected to the common pin
How to set-up Raspberry Pi and Python
First you have to install operating system on the Raspberry Pi, then to set it
up so that you can use it in the “headless” mode. Headless mode enables
you to remotely connect to the Raspberry Pi, without the need for PC
screen Monitor, mouse and keyboard. You can find detailed explanation in
the free eBook "Raspberry Pi Quick Startup Guide", which can be found on
our site:
[Link]
The Raspbian operating system comes with the Python preinstalled.
Connecting the module with Raspberry Pi
Connect the module with Raspberry Pi as shown on the following
connection diagram:
Module pin > Raspberry Pi pin
GND > GND [pin 6] Black wire
IN1 > GPIO14 [pin 8] Purple wire
IN2 > GPIO15 [pin 10] Orange wire
IN3 > GPIO18 [pin 12] Green wire
IN4 > GPIO23 [pin 16] Blue wire
VCC > 3V3 [pin 17] Red wire
NOTE: As you can see in the red rectangle on the connection diagram,
external power supply jumper is connected, connecting JD-VCC pin with
VCC pin. This means that the 4 relays module will be powered up from
Raspberry Pi board via VCC pin.
Python script:
import [Link] as GPIO
from time import sleep
[Link]([Link])
[Link](False)
Relay1_PIN = 14
Relay2_PIN = 15
Relay3_PIN = 18
Relay4_PIN = 23
[Link](Relay1_PIN, [Link])
[Link](Relay2_PIN, [Link])
[Link](Relay3_PIN, [Link])
[Link](Relay4_PIN, [Link])
print('[press ctrl+c to end the script]')
try: # Main program loop
while True:
[Link](Relay1_PIN, [Link])
[Link](Relay2_PIN, [Link])
[Link](Relay3_PIN, [Link])
[Link](Relay4_PIN, [Link])
print('Normally opened pin is HIGH')
sleep(1) # Waitmode for 1 second
[Link](Relay1_PIN, [Link])
[Link](Relay2_PIN, [Link])
[Link](Relay3_PIN, [Link])
[Link](Relay4_PIN, [Link])
print('Normally opened pin is LOW')
sleep(1) # Waitmode for 1 second
# Scavenging work after the end of the program
except KeyboardInterrupt:
print('Script end!')
finally:
[Link]()
Save the script by the name "[Link]" into default script directory. To run
the script open terminal in the directory where you saved the script and run
the following command:
python3 [Link]
The output should look like the output on the image below:
To end the script press "CTRL + C".
The script is self explanatory.
You've done it!
Now you can use your module for various projects.
Now is the time to learn and make the Projects on your own. You can do
that with the help of many example scripts and other tutorials, which you
can find on the internet.
If you are looking for the high quality microelectronics and
accessories, AZ-Delivery Vertriebs GmbH is the right company to get
them from. You will be provided with numerous application examples,
full installation guides, eBooks, libraries and assistance from our
technical experts.
[Link]
Have Fun!
Impressum
[Link]
