All you need to know about remote power switching.

Frequently Asked Questions for DIN Relays
Last Updated 04/13/2010.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the contact ratings?
What is the power dissipation?
What are the power requirements?
What's the Scripting Language all about?
What's syslog? How can I keep an event log?
What are the mounting dimensions?
What is the physical size?
What is the current firmware version?
What is the default IP address?
How do I reset to defaults?
What is the default password?
On initial setup, I can't establish a Ethernet communications from a Windows PC. Help!
How can I control the switch from my own applications?
Can you develop custom firmware for my application?
Can you develop custom hardware for my application?
Do you support PowerMan?
Can you explain the auto-ping settings?

Question: What are the contact ratings?

Answer: All eight internal T-90 Relays have the following ratings:

Relay Contact Ratings
Voltage	NO	NC
240VAC	30A	20A
277VAC	20A	15A
30VDC	20A	10A
250VAC	1HP	1/2HP

Relays are RU and CE approved, and rated at 250,000 operations MTBF at 50% load. Case terminals are rated at 12A. Only stranded wire of appropriate gauge should be used. Terminals must be well torqued. It is wise to recheck torque after completing the installation. Heavy traces and gold plating are used to minimize internal resistance between the terminals and relay contacts, typically 25m Ohms, so internal contact power dissipation is not normally a consideration. For maximum flexibility, relay contacts are unprotected. For high current inductive switching, consider adding an external snubber circuit to extend contact life. Download contact protection information from www.dinrelay.com/relaycare.pdf

Question: What are the power requirements?

Answer: The relay dissipates a maximum of 10.48W at 8VAC input with all relays on. Power dissipation decreases with input voltage due to the use of an efficient switching power supply. Typical dissipation with relays off is 3.1W. Although the case is well ventilated, ambient air temperature should not exceed 130ºF for maximum reliability. Surges over 40V P-P may damage the internal regulator. Add an external MOV or other protection device across the power input terminals in noisy environments. Power consumption below does not include any load on the +5V accessory output.

AC Power Consumption
RMS Input	Current	Power (W)
8	1.31	10.48
9	1.11	9.99
10	0.97	9.70
12	0.76	9.12
14	0.64	8.96
16	0.55	8.80
18	0.49	8.82
20	0.44	8.80
22	0.40	8.80
24	0.36	8.64
26	0.33	8.58

Maximum relay power dissipation occurs at 9V input with a DC power input. Care should be taken to ensure that DC voltages below 8V are not used, as relays will drop out below this voltage. The switching supply will survive input voltages up to 40VDC, but 24V is the maximum recommended. Power consumption below does not include any load on the +5V accessory output.

DC Power Consumption
RMS Input	Current	Power (W)
8	1.10	8.80
9	1.30	11.70
10	1.14	11.40
12	0.88	10.56
14	0.72	10.08
16	0.61	9.76
18	0.54	9.72
20	0.48	9.60
22	0.44	9.68
24	0.40	9.60
26	0.37	9.62

The +5 output is protected by an auto-resetting polyfuse. Overloading this output will thermally shut down the polyfuse. Remove the load and allow 60 seconds for the fuse to reset if this occurs.

Question: What are the mounting dimensions and physical size?

Answer: Mounting holes are located on 5.672x2.522” centers per this diagram:

Question: What is the current version of firmware?

Answer: The current version is on the update page Find the revision history here, and firmware update instructions here.

Question: What is the default IP address? How do I reset to defaults? What is the default password?

Answer: If you have lost the IP address or admin password or selected DHCP when it is not available, follow this procedure to reset to the default IP address of 192.168.0.100:

Press and hold the reset button for 5 seconds to reset the network settings, user name and passwords.

The default master login is "admin" and default password is "1234". This procedure resets the admin login and IP address and lockout, but doesn't affect outlet names and links.

Question: On initial setup, I can't establish a Ethernet communications from a Windows PC. Help!

Answer: If your default Windows settings won’t access the controller, use a crossover cable and follow these steps to reach the controller’s IP.

METHOD 1

Before adding an IP, close network programs and browsers.
Go to the Network Settings – Local Area Network or use the keyboard shortcut <Windows-R> - type “ncpa.cpl” and click OK.
Right click on your LAN connection and choose “Properties”
Highlight “Internet Protocol” and click the “Properties” button.
Make note of the current settings.
Select "Use the following IP address".
Enter an IP address such as 192.168.0.5.
Enter a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.
Delete any gateway entry.
Close all windows for the configuration to take effect.
Start your Browser and type 192.168.0.100 in the URL field. The index page should be displayed.
The default user name is "admin" (lower case) and password is “1234”
Set the IP address of the unit to your network, then restore your settings.

METHOD 2

Before adding an IP, close network programs and browsers.
Go to the Network Settings – Local Area Network or use the keyboard shortcut <Windows-R> - type “ncpa.cpl” and click OK.
Right click on your LAN connection and choose “Properties”.
Highlight “Internet Protocol” and click the “Properties” button.
Click the “Advanced” button.
Under the IP Address settings, click the “Add” button.
Enter a new IP, such as 192.198.0.5, and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. Press the “Add” button. This new IP is added the list.
Close all windows for the configuration to take effect.
Start your Browser and type 192.168.0.100 in the URL field. The index page should be displayed.
The default user name is "admin" (lower case) and password is “1234”.
After configuring the unit, you may delete the additional IP address.

Question: Can you explain the auto-ping settings?

Answer:

Enabling auto-ping

To enable auto-ping, the check-box to the left of the IP address must be checked, then the change button pushed. You will get a message "Autoping will automatically be enabled after 10 successful pings". This prevents rebooting units before conditions are properly established.

Time Between Pings
The time between which each ping is set. The time between pings to a particular device is (Time_Between_Pings * Number_of_devices_enabled_in_the_ping_list).

Ping failures before reboot
Number of times the ping has to fail (in a row) on a given device before it is power cycled.

Times to attempt reboot
Number of times to attempt power cycling before giving up and disabling auto-ping.

Device reboot delay

Length of time after a power cycle before checking for a response from the device. This allows a device or computer time to completely boot up.

Question: How can I control the switch from my own applications?

Answer: Download the latest User Utility. Your application can use HTTP or serial port communications. There is also a C++ example with source (4/11/06 - 483k). This program displays the controller name, switch names and switch status via HTTP. You can also toggle the switches on and off. Also included is PowerMan support for Linux.

Windows users can download a Perl interpreter to run the script version. This script (ver 4.0) is compatible with all DLI power controllers.

Question: Can you develop custom firmware for my application?

Answer: Gladly. We've done this for many customers. Our programming rate is $75/hour. After we agree on a -very specific- project description, we can send you an estimate of the time involved to code, debug and test.

Question: Can you develop custom hardware for my application?

Answer: Gladly. We've done this for many customers. Please call with your requirements

Question: Do you support PowerMan?

Answer: Yes, absolutely. The latest code is added to the tarball. Download the latest User Utility here.

If we haven't answered your questions here, please call (408) 330-5599 or send us an email. We'll be glad to help.