Relay power rating

fongslb

Hi all,
Customer wants to use relays to control 4 light circuits (no dimming,just on/off). I've only ever used the relay ports as dry contact closures. In this case, I need to energize either 12vdc or 24vdc relays using the Ni3000 relays to close the high voltage end.
Q1: what is the max voltage supply can the Ni3000 relay ports handle? Do I supply +12v to port A or B, or it does'nt matter?
Q2: would it be OK to utilize the 12v available from the IO ports section? I understand its only got about 250mA of juice. Or better to take from the main AMX power supply?

Thanks all,
Brian

ericmedley

My advice is don't dirty up the power leg of your processor. Use a wall wart power supply and keep the systems separate. I'd rather have a bone-headed electrician accidentally blowing up my $9 wall wart than my control system master and who-knows-what else connected to it.

the8thst

I would use the bussing bar that comes with the NI master and energize that with a feed straight from the power supply, and then you shouldn't have a problem triggering the relays.

I use this strategy all the time for 12v triggers on amps, relays for cooling fans, etc.