Antrax MultiBox User manual

antrax Datentechnik GmbH
[email protected] - www.antrax.de
MultiBox
•programmable sequence control
•master-slave function
•watchdog function
•integrated control panel
•interface: USB or RS232 COM)
Manual
18.10.2005
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...a variety of possibilities!
...a variety of possibilities!

antrax Datentechnik GmbH
[email protected] - www.antrax.de
Content
General
Use of the MultiBox
Safety In truction
Scope of delivery
Hardware
Software
Sy tem requirement
Phy ical Characteri tic
General
Load Circuit
Control Circuit
CE-Certification
Mode of Operation
General
Watchdog
Ma ter-Slave-Function
Programmable Sequence Control
Highlight
In tallation
Hardware
Software
Function Reference
Mode
Triggering
Switching Operation + Sequence
Mi cellaneou
Read State
Programming
General
Addre ing the MultiBox
Program Error Detection
Example
Operation
LED
Button
Serial Interface
Difference between mode 1 and mode 3
Difference between mode 1 and mode 4
Addre MultiBox a Text Printer
Expre ion U ed
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G eneral
The MultiBox enable you to directly or by time control witch ON/OFF up to 5 230V device via erial
or USB interface of a PC or via integrated proce control.
Control or operating of the MultiBox can ea ily be et up with the free of charge Antrax-Service-
Software "ASS" that you can download from our web ite.
Before fir t u e of the MultiBox, plea e read thi in truction manual or the help file (found on our
homepage). It contain information for the correct u e and contain important tip for the in tallation of
the MultiBox. The manufacturer doe not accept any liability due to improper u e of the unit. In thi
ca e all guarantee claim are invalid.
Use of the MultiBox
The MultiBox i de igned for the witching of
•re i tance load i.e. electric light bulb or heating fan and/or
•inductive load i.e. electric motor or tran former to a maximum con umption of 2000W
(230V / 8.7A)
up to maximum 1000W (230V / 4.4A) per channel, in dry, clo ed re idential room and office .
Rule and Regulation governing the connection and u e of electronic device and their ecurity
regulation mu t be followed.
Caution: The complete witching capacity of the MultiBox (i.e. the overall capacity of the connected
con umer ) mu t not exceed 2500W.
Safety Instructions
Do not open the MultiBox. It contain no part to be erviced by you.
Only u e the MultiBox indoor and do not ubject the unit to moi ture or
humidity.
Only connect the MultiBox to properly in talled 230V AC outlet .
Only clean the exterior of the MultiBox with a dry cloth after unplugging it
from the electrical outlet and removal of the interface cable.
Do not overload the MultiBox above it load pecification level. An
overload can lead to the MultiBox being de troyed.
Do not u e the MultiBox in area u ed by children.
Do not u e the MultiBox if one or everal part (ca e, cable, plug) are damaged or damage may
be cau ed by it location (e.g., falling down).
The MultiBox may only be repaired by authorized ervice per onnel.
Only connect electrical appliance that have no limit to their witched-on time (i.e. all connected
electrical appliance mu t be able to take continuou current without u taining damage in the
ca e of a default to the permanently "ON" po ition).
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Caution
The load circuit i witched by a ingle-pole electronic relay, therefore even when the MultiBox
outlet i witched to off there can till be a main voltage on one of the outlet ocket !
Depending on it current witch po ition, the MultiBox can witch a connected appliance "ON"
after an electrical failure in the network ha been re tored.
The COM or USB interface u ed mu t be re erved for the MultiBox and can not be addre ed by
other program .

Very fa t ON/OFF witching equence can be controlled with the Very fa t ON/OFF witching equence can be controlled with the MultiBox MultiBox. The . The duration of the
witching cycle i to be adju ted to the controlled device. Not all electronic device tolerate
rapid witching equence .
S cope of Delivery
Hardware
Everything the e? The delivery of a MultiBox unit contain :
the MultiBox
connector cable for the erial PC interface or USB connector cable
the de cription and operating in truction
Software
free of charge control oftware for the MultiBox can be downloaded from our web ite at
http://www.antrax.de/
System Requirements
General
erial interface (9600-8-N-1)
USB interface (USB 1.1)
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P hysical Characteristics
General
Protective Cla : IP20, only in dry room
Plug y tem: SCHUKO, Safety plug (CEE 714)
The current witch condition of the unit i indicated by LED
Load and Control circuit u e galvanic eparation over relay and tran former
Ambient temperature range: 0 ... +40°C
Storage temperature range: 10 ... +70°C
Load Circuit
Power upply: 230/240V~ 50/60Hz
5 pole load witch (relay)
maximum witching capacity:
-per channel maximum 1000W (4.4A at 230/240V)
-in total (over all 5 channel ) maximum 2500W (11A at 230/240V)
Control Circuit
vial erial interface (9600, 8, N, 1) or USB 1.1
maximum connector cable length: 2,0 m
CE-Certification
In accordance with the Low Current and EMV Guideline .
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Mode of Operation
General
The MultiBox i a multiple ocket outlet, wherea the five outlet available can be witched
independently from each other by the control PC.
On channel 1 an integrated Watchdog can be activated. Furthermore the MultiBox can be configured
uch that channel 1 operate a ma ter outlet and the channel 2 … 5 operate a o dedicated lave (i.
e. if a con umer i witched ON by the ma ter outlet, the lave outlet "follow" to witch ON their
device ).
With the help of a Watchdog one can recogni e whether a program i correctly running on a PC or
whether it wa interrupted by an internal (e.g. program bug) or external (e.g. interfering impul e of
the electric power upply) error ource. Precondition however i that the program being ob erved
regularly contact the Watchdog (triggering). If triggering fail to appear (becau e of hang-up of the
program for example), the Watchdog initiate a problem olving. Generally thi i a hardware re et of
the computer or witching OFF and back ON of the power upply.
Watchdog
The MultiBox i connected via the connector cable to a erial or USB interface of a PC that i to be
equipped with the Watchdog functionality.
CAUTION: In both ca e (connected via erial or USB interface) the MultiBox i addre ed a a COM
port by the oftware! The USB driver u ed provide a virtual COM port the control oftware – i. e. the
MultiBox can therefore be addre ed a ea ily a a erial device.
Via a erial interface for output 1 at the MultiBox the computer oftware et
•the time TR (re-triggering mu t be within thi time period),
•the time TA (how long mu t the MultiBox remain hut off at Watchdog event) and
•the time TF (within thi time period after the Watchdog event the triggering mu t be re tarted)
on and regular triggering of the MultiBox within the et time period i executed.
The Watchdog i activated when the monitored computer i not reporting within the et time period
(TR). In uch ca e the MultiBox interrupt the power to the connected computer at channel 1, waiting
for the et time (TA) and then witche the computer back on. The computer will boot and the oftware
i re tarted ( hould be et in the auto boot file).
Alternatively to the re tart of a computer after an error occurred, by u ing of the MultiBox, al o a
"external" device can directly be witched ON/OFF (e.g. modem, lamp , printer , mea uring
in trument , etc.). All witching time can be et within wide time limit .
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The MultiBox differentiates following initial states
•
•Error-Re tart - the MultiBox ha triggered a re tart and wait for initiali ation of the oftware
launched on the computer (for example et in the auto boot file)
•
•Reboot – the computer ha been witched ON. The MultiBox ha not tored an Error-Re tart, a
the computer ha properly logged out before la t witch OFF (via the command "{+}
Deactivate")
The MultiBox can even detect whether a triggering take place in an (unintentional) infinite loop: with
the triggering a tate variable can be et. If thi tate variable doe not change at two con ecutive
triggering, the econd trigger command i ignored. In ca e of error the la t elected tate variable can
be read back and u ed a a ba e for trouble hooting.
In addition, the MultiBox al o recogni e the problem "computer or operating y tem fail to boot"
(boot error): After an Error-Re tart or a Power-ON (al o after brief voltage dip ) triggering mu t be
executed by the MultiBox in a pre- et time period (TF). If thi i not happening the MultiBox activate
another Error-Re tart, and o on.
Master-Slave-Function
The MultiBox can detect whether a at channel 1 connected con umer i witched ON or OFF (u ing a
built-in "current en or"). If reque ted, the lave or channel 2...5 can be witched ubject to the
witching tate of the ma ter:
-Con umer at channel 1 (external) ON --> current flowing --> lave will be witched ON
-Con umer at channel 1 (external) OFF --> currentle --> lave will be witched OFF
Ma ter-Slave-Circuit are typically u ed to witch ON/OFF e.g. monitor or printer ubject to the PC.
Switching Threshold
From the per pective of the MultiBox the con umer u ing channel 1 i witched ON, if it take at lea t
40W. Device witched to tandby therefore do not activate triggering the lave circuit.
Programmable Sequence Control
The MultiBox provide an integrated programmable equence controller (hereinafter "PLC") allowing to
run a time dependent witching equence with up to 50 tep for all five outlet even without connected
control PC.
The witching equence can be tarted in endurance run or a "one- hoot". The control (Start / Pau e,
Stop) take place via the integrated control panel and/or with clear text command via the interface.
The "programming" of the witching equence i done by imple clear text command and follow the
cheme:
time (in econd ), channel, action
Thu , for example with
{+} PLC et = 30, 4, ON
a witching tep i programmed that witche on channel 4 for 30 econd .
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A well known example of an endurance te t equence, for example, the traffic light y tem:
Outlet 1 = red ( treet)
Outlet 2 = yellow ( treet)
Outlet 3 = green ( treet)
Outlet 4 = red (pede trian in cro traffic)
Outlet 5 = green (pede trian in cro traffic)
The witching equence for thi example i et a the default witching equence after "{+}
DelEEPROM".
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Highlights
Connection via a COM or USB interface, thu ea y in tallation and activation:
oimple (clear) text output via the COM or USB interface by the oftware
owith any terminal program uch a HyperTerminal, TELIX, etc. (command tran mi ion
imilar to a modem via AT command )
ocontrol can al o be activated a text output to a "printer" (the MultiBox in thi ca e i a
connected plain text printer via a erial interface)
The MultiBox operate independent of the operating y tem
The MultiBox ha a own microproce or
All output are independently electable
The MultiBox ha an integrated control panel
Watchdog-Function :
oThe MultiBox al o recogni e triggering in infinite loop : multiple identical triggering i
ignored
oThe la t trigger tatu of the main program before an Error-Re tart i tored onto the
MultiBox and can be read back after booting (conclu ion cau ing malfunction and leading
to "hang-up" of the y tem can be drawn)
oThe MultiBox recogni e non booting computer ("Window doe not boot"") by time
control after an Error-Re tart
o
oThe re-trigger and witching time of the MultiBox can be et within wide limit (up to
214748364 econd = approx. 2485 day )
Ma ter-Slave-Function:
oThe MultiBox ha Ma ter-Slave - Functionality (1 x Ma ter / 4 Slave )
oThe ma ter witche ON the lave (al o time di placed)
Programmable Proce Control:
oprogrammable witching equence for all outlet
oup to 50 witching tep
oEndurance run and "one- hoot"
oadju table: automatic tart after Power-ON
ooperated via the integrated control panel and/or the interface
Control oftware free of charge, plea e download at http://www.antrax.de
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Installation
Hardware
Switch OFF computer
Set up erial or USB connection between MultiBox and computer
Plug main of the computer in the Ma ter-Outlet (red) of the MultiBox
Plug MultiBox in a 230V AC outlet plug
Switch ON computer
The MultiBox ha two pu h button . By pre ing SELECT an output can be elected
(corre ponding LED ignal). By then pre ing the SET button, the output i witched. Thi
en ure that a a con umer connected to the MultiBox can al o be witched ON manually.
Connector Cable
When laying the connector cable ( erial or USB cable) to the PC or the main cable plea e make ure
that the e are not et into one cable channel or imilar. E pecially when witching “problematic”
con umer with very high power urge, di turbance can be induced, that lead to malfunction
(e pecially the exten ion brought out to the front USB port are relatively en itive).
Therefore we recommend u age of hielded or ferrite teel interference- uppre ed USB connector
cable .
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