Ciseco XRF/XBee RelayBase build instructions no longer available?

Anyone have a PDF copy of the build instructions for this kit they’d care to share? It seems all links to the manufacturers documentation are no longer valid :frowning:

Thanks

Ah man, that’s a shame to hear @Brendan7266 :confused:

We’ll have to take the hacker’s approach if nobody can find any documentation.
Given that it’s a pretty simple circuit board, the silkscreen on the board and the product image should be enough to go off to assemble the physical board.
From there, you can use the XBee config utility XCTU to configure the channel/behaviour of the XBEE module.
I suppose the relays are driven by the XBee’s GPIO, so some continuity checking with a multimeter can help determine which pins are for which relay: The GPIO will probably be connected to the SOT23 package ICs, which are likely driver transistors. Determine which pin is the base/gate of the transistor, and see if it’s connected to a GPIO, possible via a resistor.

I hope that’s enough to get started with. Keep us up to date with how you travel!
-Michael.

Thanks for the response and the pointers Michael.

As a value adding exercise you guys might want to consider keeping a digital archive of all your product documentation for situations like this maybe?

Cheers

Brendan

Regarding the physical construction of the board… the only thing I can’t figure out is the orientation of the two 1N4148 diodes… got an image that shows these on the board?

@Brendan7266, are the diodes connected across the relay coils?


If so, they need to be used as “freewheel” diodes as follows:

Diodes used like this appear to be useless, until you consider what happens when power is removed from the relay coil. The magnetic field collapses around the coil, generating a high, negative voltage. The voltage would otherwise damage any connected circuitry, but the diode starts to conduct and essentially creates a short-circuit for the energy to dissipate through. The voltage generated can be quite high, but there is very little energy, so only a small current flows through the diode. 1N4148 diodes are often used because they are reasonably fast to start conducting.

The only challenge for you is to determine how the coils are driven - Whether the connected transistor is sourcing or sinking current. If you need some guidance for that don’t hesitate to let us know.

They are connected to the relay… thanks for the info however I think I’m
going to need some guidance with this. Have attached a photo showing where
the diodes are meant to be positioned (one unsoldered below the LEDs).

I’m rewriting this post because my first one was a bit of a mess.
What is the transistor number?

The diode should be connected to two pads for each relay. For the left one you can clearly see that the diode connects to the upper-left and lower-left pads (by following the tracks on the board). Find which of these pads is connected to ground. The diode lead without a stripe should connect to the pad that corresponds to the relay ground-pad.

Transistor number: 2N 3904-D27

Here’s a photo showing complete board…

Thanks for your larger photo. That actually clears a lot up.

Your current diode is installed backwards.
The diode for the right-hand relay needs to be installed with stripe facing to the right.

Reasoning: follow the trace from the pad below the o of TOUCH and see it is connected to the capacitor positive terminal.
The silkscreen also shows a fatter line for the end of the diode that has the stripe.

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I had worked out that they would be reversed but just not sure which way
the black stripe should be oriented…

Thanks heaps for your help! Much appreciated.

Cheers

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For anyone who doesn’t know anything about electronics or cant be bothered to properly read the above, the instructions from CORE electronics on how to setup the device can be found at https://web.archive.org/web/20160504232613/http://openmicros.org:80/index.php/articles/88-ciseco-product-documentation/192-relaly-base-how-to-build.

Have fun.

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