Hi Guy's,

Once again I turn to the Pro's.....

I have 3 zones in my house and use some devices across all 3 zones, I have a spare RFX9600 which I figured that I could use relay 1, 2 & 3 for zone 1, 2 & 3 I would send 5v down each relay at the start of controlling each zone and connect them to current sense 1, 2 & 3.

This will allow me to know which zone is in use, how i have 2 issues the first being if i only had 2 zone this solution would be easy, I would simple uses current sensing of zone 1 in zone 2 and vice a versa. The second being I am already using current sensing on some devises.

Currently i use it as follow:

To turn off Foxtel Box: if current sense port 1 is on, send Foxtel power toggle


What i need to do is the following:

To turn off Foxtel box in Zone 1: if current sense port 1(ext1 for device status) is on & Current sense port 2 (ext2 for zone 2)is off & Current sense port 3 (ext2 for zone 3)is off then send Foxtel power toggle.
What i though may work is the following:

Power off for zone 1
IF Current sense Port 2 (ext 2) is off & Currents sense port 3 (ext 2) is off

Launch normal off.
Else
Turn everything related to Zone 1

Once again guy’s thankyou and i am open to any ideas.

Do you use one remote for all the zones or are there multiple remotes? If it is only one remote, why not just use variables to track the status?

You could even have some small icons in the top bar area that shows "Z1", "Z2" or "Z3" with a green dot or something to let you know which zones are on. (Hmm.. I think I'll go add that to mine now...)

var ps1 = CF.extender[0].input[0], //zone 1
ps2 = CF.extender[0].input[1], //zone 2
ps3 = CF.extender[0].input[2];

if (ps1===true && ps2===false && ps3===false) {
send toggle;
}

if (ps2 === false && ps3 === false) {
normal off;
} else {
turn everything related to zone 1
}

I hope I understood you right.

danieljgor,

I would be inclined to use a hardware <or> function for the current sense. This could be as simple as wiring the current sensors in parallel, but you may need to add isolation diodes. This scheme has the advantage of always being in sync with the devices and any remote can independently interrogate the current sense.

Another scheme would be to increment a counter when a zone starts using the Foxtel. Decrement the counter when the zone stops using the Foxtel. If the count reaches zero, turn OFF the Foxtel. Unfortunately, multiple remotes will have difficulty sharing the counter. If you have spare relay ports on the RFX9600, they could be used for inter-remote communication.

Hi Guy's

i currently am running two tsu9600's.

Buzz, i was thinking of using rfx9600 relays into the curren sense, have you done anything like this before????

If somebody already has the working code for me i am happy to pay as my wife is about to have a baby and i have limited time....

thanks everybody for your help....



Thanks
Daniel

danieljgor,

As I read over your request, I am not clear exactly what you want. You mentioned "current sense", but I'm not sure that we are thinking the same thing. To me "current sense" means measuring and reacting to current. If a light bulb is drawing current it is ON. If a TV is drawing current, it is ON. While a light bulb could be bright (lots of current) or dim (little current), as far as an RFX9600's Input is concerned, a unit is either ON or OFF.

The RFX9600 also has relays. A relay can be energized or not -- under program control.

The most important points are that Inputs are read only and relays can be read or set by the program. Inputs respond to an external voltage and relays can be set, reset, and interrogated by the program. It is expected that relays will control an external device.

In your case, I'm not certain that you have any current detecting devices attached to the RFX9600's Inputs. If you do have current detecting devices, you can sense if a zone is ON or OFF and toggle the Foxtel accordingly.

If you are not using the relays to control an external device, each relay can be used as a single bit memory. There no need to connect anything to the relays. Each of your zones could use a relay to track power toggles. Starting with everything OFF, as a zone is turned ON (by any Pronto), its corresponding relay would be set and the Foxtel would be given a power toggle. A following ON command would check the relay and not issue the toggle. As a zone is turned OFF, the corresponding relay would be checked, the Foxtel toggled as necessary, and the relay reset.

Since both controllers can set, reset, and interrogate the relays, the controllers will stay in sync -- even if one or both Pronto's went to sleep for a while. The down side of this approach is that a human could manually toggle the Foxtel and both Pronto's would be out of sync.

Another post describes a method of synthesizing a Foxtel OFF command.

Hi Buzz,

i have two RFX9600's, ill fill you in in the wiring.


Rfx9600(1) number 1:
Relay 1: Lamp
Relay 2: Outside Spot lights
Relay 3: Cabinet fans
Relay 4: Subwoofers

Current Sense 1: Foxtel Via Video sense (Xantech)
Current Sense 2: Topfield STB Via Video Sense (Xantech)
Current Sense 3: PS3 Via PS3 USB Port.
Current Sense 4: Downlights Via 12v transformer.


Rfx9600(2) number 2:
Relay 1: Zone 1 (family Room)
Relay 2: Zone 2 (Alfresco)
Relay 3: Zone 3 (master Bed room)
Relay 4: Spare

Current Sense 1: Conected to Relay 1 (Zone 1)
Current Sense 2: Conected to Relay 2 (Zone 2)
Current Sense 3: Conected to Relay 3 (Zone 3)
Current Sense 4: Spare.

So According to your comments i can get pronto to feed back if relays on RFX9600 are open or closed without connecting to current sense. is this correct???

Can i create a if statement for foxtel say i was in zone 2 to check other zones and switch off if other 2 zones are off, ie:

If RFX9600(2).relay1=open(zone 1) & RFX9600(2).relay3=open(zone 3) & RFX9600(1).Currentsense1=True(Foxtel via Video Sense.)

Switch Foxtel off

Else

Leave foxtel on.


Oviously i would need to do this with every device.

Thanks
Daniel

danieljgor,

Yes, you can set, reset, and test the relays. Section A10 in the developers guide describes the relay methods.

I would brew up a foxtelPower() function that I could call anywhere. This function would check the zones and the current Foxtel status, then turn it ON or OFF as necessary.

Note that, since a human could approach a zone and manually turn it ON or OFF, this scheme is not 100% fool proof because you are not current sensing each zone.

Some receivers provide 12V triggers when a zone is active. You can sense the trigger if available.

Hey watch out the load you'll put on those relays.

The relays can only drive 40V DC 1.2A max.
I don't know how the devices you'll hook to the relays really look, but from what you've written, the relays are in no way the right choice for:
Relay 1: Lamp (voltage limit)
Relay 2: Outside Spot lights (voltage limit)
Relay 3: Cabinet fans (voltage limit)
Relay 4: Subwoofers (current limit)

You can use them to drive the right kind of relays, but not to drive the devices you listed (until you provide specs for them).

Using a relay to provide positive voltage to Power Sense on RFX9600

You can easily run the +5VDC output from RFX9600 through a relay and then connect to the +xDC voltage on power sense. Connect the Ground from RFX9600 directly to Ground of corresponding power sense. From there, whenever you send IR On you simply also close the corresponding relay. When you send IR Off, you open the corresponding relay.

Opening and closing the relay sends +5VDC to Power Sense and serves as a realtime variable without having to use System.setGlobal() in script. Note that once RFX9600 is rebooted, all relays will open and not maintain their last known state.

FYI, I wrote an alarm script for someone a long time ago and I used this exact procedure to test it out.

Hi Lyndel,

Do you have a copy of that script? may i get a copy?

BTW the RFX9600 relays are driving other relays (12v coils with 240v contactors)

Thanks
Daniel

Daniel,

I wish I could say yes but unfortunately, I cannot. I was paid to write that script and out of respect, I cannot at this time.

Hi Lyndel,

How much will you charge me to write the script i am wanting? i dont have the time at the moment to do it myself as i am a novice and have a baby due in a few weeks.

Thanks
Daniel

I have other commitments that are "eating me alive" at the moment so I will respectfully decline.