Cbus integration with gsm gate controller

Hey Ashley,

Got the dlt back on line. Have you ever had a setup were the gsm could control the cbus.

I really need to sort an interface out.

Thanks

 

Hi Ashley

Would this work as an interface? Did you get a chance to test the aux input?

Thanks

 

None of the touch screens can be used as a Cbus interface.

I'll have a chance to try the aux input unit in the next couple of days.

 

Thanks ashley

 

To test the inputs to the Aux input, just short the wires - this will simulate a button press or in your case the GSM controller closing its relay contact. You only need to short them briefly. You wont even have to pull any wires off, just find a short bit of wire and bridge the two input terminals on the Aux input.

Make sure the Aux input has the C-Bus LED on - if it does not then its not either working or its not connected to a network. Your first lot of photos dont show any UNIT or C-Bus LED's on on either the relay or the Aux input, but I am assuming they are working as you say it works from a key input inside the house. YOu do mention that there is no LED's on on the AUx unit and none on the power supply. Where is this power supply? Is it the power supply for the GSM unit or is it a C-Bus power supply that did not show up in the photos. The Aux unit is bus powered, so first step is to make sure its LED's are lit.

Think of the Aux input as a four button key input. Pressing a button inside the house tells a group to turn on. The same group is also configured on an input of the Aux input so when the GSM module closes its relay contact (briefly) its the same as pressing the button inside the house.

Now if only the gate is working then it could be a number of things.

If none of the lights or other loads connected to the relay do not work then the configuration of the relay need to be checked.

If the other loads work from inside and not when the GSM controller activates then it could be either he GSM controller relay not closing or the Aux input is not configured for the correct group (or its failed).

Bridging the inputs will take the GSM module out of the picture and confirm if it is the Aux input or not. If it works by bridging then its the GSM module.

If you want to learn and be able to configure your own system, get a CNI, simple. You will end up using it more than you think.

If the Aux input works after getting power to it, then the GSM may not have power or its relays are not functioning. Call it while you are at the unit and trigger each output. You should hear the relays click as you do. If not then you need to fix this and get it working.

This is not really a difficult problem nor is it a complicated setup, you just need to get your head around how C-Bus works, how the modules work and what the system is doing as a whole and then trouble shooting will become much simpler as you know how to break it down.

 

Hi Mick

Thanks for coming back to me

Yesterday, I tested the gsm relay outputs with a Multi meter and it does seem to be working, thou I am no expert as you can tell from this post.

MM was set to 2000K ohms. With the contacts placed on relay 6, the reading was 1762. I dialled into the the GSM and selected option 6 and the reading dropped Zero and then back to 1762. I tested relayed 3 4 5, which did the same. I am assuming this should be the case.

I also removed the wires from relay 3 on the gsm and crossed them, think that these would switch channel 3, but nothing happened.

Is there a way to check if the AUX is getting power as there are no indicators on the unit?

Thanks

Noel

 

More pics of the units

 

It's been a long time since I used an Aux and you are right in that it has no indicators on the front and hence hard to tell if it has power.

The A terminal of each channel should have about 5V, so put your meter on voltage and put one probe on an A terminal and the other on a ground point somewhere.

Also, when a channel is on (i.e. bridged) there are four LED's on the bottom (or top in your case as its upside down) that indicate which channel is on (I think, again its been a long time). You will see the 1234 on the top right (for you) - the PCB behind has the LED's.

SO bridge each channel and see if the corresponding LED comes on. If not, check the pink cable between the relay and the Aux module. Just unplug and plug it back on. Sometimes just re-seating it will be enough to clean the contacts. If that does not work, just grab any patch lead and plug that in and re-test. If it works then its the small RJ45 cable that's the problem. If there is still no power then potentially the Aux input is shot.

 

Thanks Mick.

Will give it a try today..

 

Hi Mick. Ok tried need cables, nothing. Also the multi meter did not give a reading and bridge the terminals showed nothing.

Looks like the input unit is dead. I take it the power comes from the Ethernet connection as there are not other connections to the unit. If it is will the unit power up it connected to a pc so I can test it again.

Thanks

 

This is not Ethernet. It is a CBus connection. They use the same plugs and cable but are completely different systems. If you plug it into your PC you will probably destroy the PC network interface. The CBus cable does supply the power, but since it also supplies power to the relay unit which is working it is unlikely to be a power problem unless the cable between the relay unit and aux unit is faulty.

The only way to test the aux unit is by getting a cbus interface unit as previously discussed.

 

Thanks Ashley, trying to source an interface at the moment.

 

Ashley. I tried a different patch cable between the aux and relay, then bridged the terminals, but nothing should on the meter or the PCB board leds.

Is the a wiring diagram for making up a Cbus cable or it is a just a standard patch cable, just in case the one spare cable I have to handle is either a crossover or faulty.

Thanks

 

A Cbus cable is a standard cat5 cable wired up striaght through using the T-568A colour coding. The pink cable is rated to work in switchboards. Standard patch cables aren't. So, yes, you can try a standard patch cable.

 

Great thanks Ashley.

 

Finally got around to trying the Aux unit in learn mode and it works fine. You put the relay in learn mode then trigger the appropriate channel on the Aux unit and its led should come on. Then just exit learn mode. Note that if you are just shorting out the Aux unit terminals with a piece of wire make sure the screw is firmly tightened because it won't connect properly if it is loose. Also, it is possible to disable the leds via Toolkit so just because they aren't working doesn't mean the unit is faulty (although why anyone would disable the leds is a mystery). With a standard setup if you short on of the inputs on the aux unit its indicator led should come on. Also, if you try learn omde remember that it overrides any existing programming, so you need to select all switches you want to control the load before exiting learn mode.

It's certainly possible the unit is dead, but since it is a low voltage device failures are extremely rare.
Unfortunately without a cbus interface you are fumbling in the dark a bit

 

Thank you Ashley. I really appreciate all the help and support to date from you guys. Will try it on Thursday and let you know.

Thanks again

 

Ashley, is it learn mode first, with no connection on aux, then short it out with a strong fix on the terminals, then exit with the short in place. Then to test opening and closing the short should turn the channel on. Is this correct?

Thanks

 

Almost. Enter learn mode first on the relay. Then make sure just the relay channel you want to program has its light on. Then short the corresponding aux input (its indicator light should come on), then release the short (the light should stay on). Then exit learn mode from the relay. Each time you short the aux inpout the relay should change state.

If you keep the aux input shorted when you exit learn mode I think it sets it up as a bell press (i.e. will close the relay when you short the channel and open it when you release the channel).

 

I think I tried that already, though I only crossed the wires rather than screwing them in. I will try again. Cheers