Relay controller question

Hardware
1

I’d like to order the 8-channel general purpose relay controller(SKU# PR60-1_R85PL), with RS-232 serial comm, but have a question about it.
Can the relay(s) be activated by directly energizing the coil with 12VDC? Or, can the relays only be activated through the serial-port/command?

In our application, 6 relay-channels can be operated via serial-port but two of the channels cannot and need to be operated by an external switch. We were wondering if we can just connect the switch to a terminal on the board to activate the two relays. That’s the reason for the question.

2

I would recommend utilizing the AD8 Relay Activator functionality if you wanted to connect a switch to control the relays. This allows you to utilize the ADC inputs of that board to connect the switch to which the processor on the relay board monitors and activates/deactivates the associated relay based on the state of the input. More information can be found in section 11.1 of this guide: ProXR Quick Start Guide - NCD.io.

For the simplest solution if you needed to have a switch activate the relay you can use a power switch that is capable of directly switching the load itself and bypass the relay if that’s feasible.

3

Thanks Jacob. I read the link you provided and using the ADC as you suggested will work for our application.