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Reed Switch

Reading a reed switch connectd to a MINiBOX 25 Input

In this instance a reed switch has been wired to the input on a MINiBOX 25. I can subsequently read and display the status of the reed switch from the MINiBOX. Ultimately the plan will be to be able to read the status from software via an IP interface. However, in this setup I will display the status of the reed switch on a TMD Plus 4 LED.

Binary Input

As I was implementing this I had started to gain a better of understanding of how the Binary Inputs operated. Some of the language in the ETS device parameter interface was beginning to make more sense, but also make me think that the language and interface could have been made clearer by the designers. For example (see MINiBOX 25 ... Binary Input >Configuration image below) under the ACTIONS setting it has the terms "Rising Edge" and "Falling Edge" and to the right of these the settings can be selected. What I now realise is that the "Rising Edge" and "Falling Edge" terms are referring to the Input and when set as a "Switch/Sensor" this equates to when a push button or the like is closed and opened. The settings from the pull down list are the Outputs (which are could also be considered as an action). With the settings in the image below it shows that when a switch is closed (Rising Edge) the device will put a binary "0" onto the bus (assuming the corresponding group object is assigned to a group address). Why is that confusing? For the novice it is not clear whether the term "ACTION" is referring to an Input Action or an Output Action, but I guess it's supposed to refer to an input action because there are other settings within the Binary Input which could result in other Outputs (and they are not referred to as "Actions") - whereas the only action a switch/sensor can make is to be opened or closed. Perhaps rather than using the heading "ACTION" the interface could have indicated "Input Action". Also the terms "Rising Edge" and "Falling Edge" perhaps would be clearer if labelled "Closing Switch" and "Opening Switch". Perhaps as I gain more experience I'll think differently.

MINiBOX 25 Group Objects

After placing the above setting several group objects become available. Only one of these is required and that the "Sending of 0 or 1" as shown below.

Linking to a TMD LED

In this instance to display whether the garage door is open or closed I linked the MINiBOX 25 Group Object to a Group Address which also had a TMD LED On/Off connected to it. I haven't shown the LED parameter settings here, but the settings can be seen in the following diagram where 0 = Off and 1 = On. The final result was that the LED turned On when the garage door was opened and turned off when the garage door was closed.

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