D2: 20x I/O dry-contact module

An I/O dry-contact module can be added to a sensorProbeX+ (SPX+) environment monitoring appliance for the purpose of adding I/O dry-contact ports to be used to monitor a variety of third party devices and alarm panels.

I/O dry-contact ports can serve either as input ports (On/Off state-reading), or as output relay ports (with low milliamp 5VDC output), user-determined via sensorProbe+'s Web interface.

When a dry-contact port is set to input mode, it works as a standard On/Off (state-reading) dry-contact input. A smoke alarm that has a dry contact output, for example, can be connected to an input dry-contact port, and sensorProbe+ will detect if the smoke detector is in alarm condition or not.

When a dry-contact port is set to output mode, it essentially behaves as a small relay that can output 5VDC with a few milliamps of current (although not enough to power anything or to drive a larger relay). An example would be perhaps a UPS that needs a signal to turn on. In output mode, sensorProbe+ will output 5VDC signal to the UPS dry contact input, telling it to turn on.

Under sensorProbe+ user-interface settings, Admin can choose if the contact is in input or output mode. If set as output, Admin can also set its normal condition to be high or low (+5VDC or 0VDC).

Admin can setup to control the output high-or-low condition by a notification which is controlled by a sensor. For example, if AC power is not detected, signal the dry contact output to turn high, which will then output 5VDC to the connected UPS telling it to turn on.