Possible to trigger events with a temp sensor?? MX 2 Series?

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:57 am

Just wondering if its possible to trigger events when the temperature on a temp probe hits a certain threshold? What I'd like to do is stick a temp probe in my water and then once it hits a certain temperature turn on another fan on my rad, if it continues to rise turn on another fan, etc. Would this be possible?
thanks!

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 1:03 am

Additionally I think I really would like to use the GPO to switch a relay turning my fans on or off so I wouldn't want any PWM or anything on that circuit, just a simple 12v or 0v. Can this be triggered by probe readings?

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 1:12 am

So many questions.. and are there any other matrix orbital products that do the exact same stuff as the 2xx series but have more GPO's?? And that work with lcdc?

Thanks!

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 9:29 am

Hi Halcyon,

Thanks for posting.

It is quite possible to program the fans to turn on at a specific temperature. I have fans that are set up that way. You just program them in the events tab.

When using PWM the voltage does switch from 12V to 0V. The speed of the fan is determined on the duty cycle of the PWM signal. (Duty Cycle=Time High/(Time High + Time Low) *100 ) . It wouldn't be necessary to use a relay for the fans. You can use anything that takes 12 or 5V connected to the fan header because it is a general purpose output, so you can have a temperature probe programmed turn on the relay at a specific temperature.

The only other displays that have exactly the same abilities as the MX2xx is the MX4/MX5 series which have more GPOs.

All our alphanumeric displays have the ability to work with LCDC.

If you have anymore questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Best Regards,

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 9:52 am

When I look at the specs on your site im a little confused because for the 2 series I see the specs say GPO: 3 Advanced GPO: 3? I thought there were only 3 overall GPO's you can control on or off?

Also LCDC looks excellent for windows, is there any kind of software that can do similar things within linux? Or is there some ability to program those temperature events directly into the unit?

Thanks

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 10:57 am

There are a total of 6 GPOs on the MX2 displays. GPOs 1-3 are the advanced or high power GPOs (Max 12V 1000mA), and GPOs 4-6 are normal low power GPOs (max 5V 20mA) .

We currently do not have support for linux, however, the link at http://lcdproc.omnipotent.net/?continue=yes has a program that can control the display under linux.

If you have some programming knowledge, you can program the dallas 1-wire commands. Section "6 1-wire commands" will give you an idea on how to program dallas 1-wire commands. The manual can be found at http://www.matrixorbital.com/files/LK202-24-USB_02.pdf .

Best Regards,

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:15 am

Excellent thanks for the link, I was looking all over for a file with information like that in it.

Is there anyway to 'powerup' those 3 5v gpo's to 12v? Or do you know of any dpdt relays that can be switched with 5v and only 20mA? and is that 20mA a hard and fast or could you squeeze more out of it?

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:59 am

Also on your models that have a keypad on the front, is there anyway to set the keypad to toggle a GPO WITHOUT using a computer? IE standalone toggling of a GPO?

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:14 pm

Unfortunately you won't be able to change the other 3 GPOs without external circuitry. I have found a website for a relay you are looking for at http://www.fcai.fujitsu.com/cgi-bin/shP ... Type=Relay .

The 20mA rating was used for safe operation. I do not suggest trying to draw anymore than what we placed in the spec sheet.

Best Regards,

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:18 pm

Thats ok on the 5v I figured it would need to be external circuitry anyway, but you can just use relays to 'step up' the voltage. Thanks for the link to the relay. Do you have any information on my question about the models with the keypad?

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:09 pm

You can use an amplifier to step up the voltage.

You can look at the selection of http://www.matrixorbital.com/index.php? ... ies-keypad . You can use any other kind of keypad, aslong as it is a standard matrix style keypad. You can even use switches for your keypresses.

Best Regards,