SSRneon

Version G2

The SSR with a Safety Enhancement !

The SSRneon is a 4 port AC Solid State Relay (SSR). It is derived from the same basic design that has been in general use by the DIY community for many years. Most of the DIY SSRs are derived from Sean Bowf's original 4 port SSR. The design has evolved over the years, but the core functions and parts are the same. The SSRneon, SSRoz and SSRez are all such designs.

The current Version of the SSRneon is SSRneon-G2 or Second Generation SSRneon. The second generation of the SSRneon was designed to fit in one specific enclosure as detailed below.

Safety Features

ne-2E

Neon glow.jpg

The main safety feature of any SSR is the main FUSE.

This is discussed in a separate section below.

The SSRneon contains two NE-2E neon light bulbs.

Two key points are what differentiates the SSRneon G2 from the other available SSRs.

1. Dual Neon bulbs that indicate the presence of AC Voltage !

2. The attachment of the AC wires, in AC pairs, along the bottom of the board with NO wirenuts required.

The point of these neon lamps is they serve as a safety warning that AC voltage (which can be lethal) is present on the SSR PCB.

One bulb lights if AC voltage is correctly attached to the board. Marked AC Present on the Boards Silkscreen (legend).

The second bulb lights if AC voltage has successfully passed through the on-board fuse. Marked FUSE OK on the Boards silkscreen (legend).

The presence of the second bulb (FUSE OK) serves as a troubleshooting device. If the AC Present bulb is lit, but the FUSE OK is not, then you know that AC is connected properly, but there is something wrong with the fuse.

Neons are used instead of an incandescent blub due to the fact that a neon bulb is very long lived and is much 'tougher' then an incandescent since there is no filament to break.

These bulbs play no role in the basic function of the relay and can be left off the board. If this is done, the two 100K resistors can also be left off the board. The 100K resistors are needed to keep the bulbs from burning out over time.

General Features

The SSRneon PCB is made in the USA by Advanced Circuits in Colorado.

The board has solder pads on both sides of the board and the holes are through plated. This makes for easy and more error free soldering.

The board has 2 ounce copper traces for added reserve capacity and heat absorption.

The SSRneon is designed to mount in the TA-200 enclosure. This enclosure is a proven performer. The SSRneon fits in the TA-200 Telephone Demarc Enclosure from www.afltele.com.
It is available from Chris Foley's DIY Christmas site:WLC Ventures

terminal block

All wires attach via terminal blocks. The attachment points are along the bottom of the board facing the enclosure openings. The wire attachment is different then the other SSRs. Instead of grouping all of the neutrals and all of the 'hots' together, each individual wire 'pair' is terminated on their own terminal block. This avoids the problem of having to cut the hot and neutral wire within a pair to different lengths in order to get them to fit nicely inside the already cramped enclosure. The PCB takes care of tying all of the neutrals together for you.

heat sink

A heatsink can be fashioned and attached to the TRIACs. Use of a heatsink should boost the continuous amp capacity from 4 amps to 7 amps. A heatsink should not be necessary unless the load for any single channel (Tirac) exceeds 1 amp. These are usually made from a piece of aluminum since it cuts and drills easily and absorbs heat rapidly. See the example to the right of a couple dozen homemade headsinks. One safety note about heatsinks. You need to be sure the TRIACs you are using have what is know as an 'isolated tab.' The tab is the exposed metal pad with the hole in it. On some TRIACs the tab is 'hot' or has AC voltage present. You should not use a heatsink that connects all of the TRIACS together unless all the TRIACs have an 'isolated tab'. The TRIAC listed in the BOM has an 'isolated tab' so it is suitable for use with a heatsink.

TA-200

The board has two points to mount it to the TA-200 enclosure. Great pains were taken to make sure that the screws that come with the enclosure can be used once they have been cut down to a proper length. You can use the screws that come with the enclosure provided you cut them off. The correct length of the cut off shaft BELOW the head is 5/8".

The screws that come with the enclosure are nice in that they have both a hex head and a screw driver slot for installation/removal. (Plus they are free with the enclosure!)

.

Order your own boards

You can order your own boards with the information given below, or you can contact: ukewarrior on the DIYC forum to see if he has any in stock.

The PCB industry has a standard for the definition of a PCB. It's called a 'gerber' file. This is a set of files that have the actual instructions that tell the machines how to operate.

The Gerbers for the SSRneon G2 are found at this link: Zip File containing the SSRneon G2 Gerber files

This is all your should need to order PCBs from any PCB manufacturer.

Home Etch

copper

The board is home etch friendly. It is single sided. Effort was made to keep the traces wide with good spacing. You will also notice that all the trace corners are rounded since this makes for a better home etch. A special version of the copper side was created. It matches the layout of the production board. However, all of the large through holes have been 'filled-in with only a small dot in the middle of the copper removed. This allows the home etcher to drill these holes whatever size he likes and still have adjacent copper to the hole's edge.

Board amperage for 1 oz copper should not exceed 4 Amps. 5 Amps can be attempted with heatsinked Triacs.

The etch files are .pdf format. Be sure to print these with the actual size attributes set within Acrobat.

The copper image can be found here: ETCH File

The silkscreen image can be found here: Silkscreen File

Fuse Rating

fuse

The main Fuse exists to protect both people and the components on the board.

Various fuse values have been listed for all the various 4 port SSRs. e.g. SSRneon, Sean Bowf, SSRoz, SSRez.

The fuse value is determined by several factors. Key among these is the amount of current, in total, that is flowing through the SSR. Another factor is the copper weight and size of the main AC traces. (Copper weight is how 'thick' the copper is on the board.)

The SSRneon-G2 has the largest combination of trace sizes and copper weight of any of the DIY SSRs to date. (6/17/2011) With that said, a Fuse of 4 amps is a good place to start. If you want to drive more then 1 amp through any individual TRIAC (channel), then you can ramp up to as high as a 7 amp fuse. However, once you move above 1 amp through any single TRIAC (channel), you should put a heat sink on the TRIAC(s). This does not mean you can run 7 amps through a single TRIAC (channel). A single TRIAC can handle about 1.5 amps, perhaps 1.75 max. You will notice that the copper traces that connect to any one TRIAC are no where near the size of the main AC copper trace. So, just because the TRIAC you use may be rated for 3 or 4 or more amps doesn't mean the SSRneon can safely drive it at that amperage.

It is this authors opinon that you should run as low a fuse value as possible for your needs. For example, this author runs a 100% LED based show and runs several SSRneons with 2 amp fuses.

Disclaimers

USE the SSRneon at Your Own Risk !

The SSRneon has NO warranty expressed or implied

BOM - Bill of Materials

BOM for 120VAC Operation:

QTY    Mouser #:           Description
2      606-A9A            Neon Lamp 65VAC .7mA NE-2E  (Jameco has them too.  www.jameco.com,search for: NE-2E)
1      571-5556416-1      Modular Jacks 8 PCB TOP ENTRY marked RJ45
4      511-BTA04-700T     Triacs 4 Amp 700 Volt marked Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4
2      534-3517           Fuse Clips and Holders PC FUSE CLIP 5 MM
1      604-WP7104IT       LED Standard HI EFF RED TRANS marked LED
5      660-CF1/4C681J     1/4Watt Axial Carbon Film Resistors 680ohms 5% marked R1, R2, R3, R4 & R11
4      660-CF1/4C181J     1/4Watt Axial Carbon Film Resistors 180ohms 5% marked R5, R6, R7 & R8
2      660-CF1/4C104J     1/4Watt Axial Carbon Film Resistors 100Kohms 5% marked R9, R10, 
4      859-MOC3023        Optocomponents Optocoupler TRIAC marked U1, U2, U3 and U4
4      571-1-390261-1     IC Sockets 6P ECONOMY TIN  (Optional, but worth every penny) 
                          also marked U1, U2, U3 and U4
5      571-2828372        Terminal Blocks 5.08MM PCB MOUNT 2P

Note regarding resistors.  You usually want to purchase resistors from Mouser in quantities
of 100 of a specific value.  You usually can get 100 resistors for the same price of 
20 individual resistors.  (You will eventually use them !)


As noted above in the FUSE Section, you have a choice to make.  
You only need one fuse per SSRneon.
You should always order extra fuses.

1      504-GMC-2          5mm x 20mm Medium Time Delay Fuses 125VAC 2A Med Time Delay
1      504-GMC-3          5mm x 20mm Medium Time Delay Fuses 125VAC 3A Med Time Delay
1      504-GMC-4          5mm x 20mm Medium Time Delay Fuses 125VAC 4A Med Time Delay
1      504-GMC-5          5mm x 20mm Medium Time Delay Fuses 125VAC 5A Med Time Delay
1      504-GMC-6          5mm x 20mm Medium Time Delay Fuses 125VAC 6A Med Time Delay
1      504-GMC-7          5mm x 20mm Medium Time Delay Fuses 125VAC 7A Med Time Delay

The following items are NOT available from Mouser. 
You can get everything but the TA-200 from your local hardware store or home center.  
See above for TA-200 sources.

2                         Screw,#8x1/2" Pan Head Sheet Metal
                          (You can use the screws that come with the TA-200 if you cut them down)
1      TA-200             Enclosure
1                         Male Plug Power Cord, Rated for 8A Minimum
4                         Female Plug Power Cord, Rated for 4A Minimum

The power cords are often fashioned from standard household extension cords 
with one of the ends cut off.  You can also make your own with SPT wire 
and 'vampire' plugs/receptacles.

Other Source Voltages are possible. These are listed below.

---

240VAC Operation

Change R5, R6, R7 and R8 to 330 Ohm and replace the fuse with one rated for 240VAC (one listed is for 125VAC). However, a fuse with a rating of 7A at 250VAC is a heck of alot of power. It is perfectly okay to use a fuse with a lower rating if your overall load is small.

---

36 VAC Operations for those folks Down Under using toroidal transformers...

Change R5, R6, R7 and R8 to 47 Ohm. The fuse rating is still a MAX of 7A. It does not change because the voltage has been reduced.

---

24 VAC Operations for those folks Down Under using toroidal transformers...

Change R5, R6, R3 and R8 to 33 Ohm. The fuse rating is still a MAX of 7A. It does not change because the voltage has been reduced.

---

FireGod

If the SSRneon is going to be used with a FireGod system, Resistors R1-R4 may need to be changed. If the channel LEDs are used on the field modules AND the interface board voltage regulator is 5VDC, replace R1, R2, R3, R4, and R11 with 510 Ohm Resistors. You must also use the "Sinking Code" in the FireGod Field Modules when using the SSRneon.

Construction Information

There are several 'how to build a PCB' self help guides both within this wiki and the web.

Here is a picture of a completed SSRneon-G2:

Version G2

This PCB has a different terminal block ------------------------------------>

for the AC input line then what is shown in the BOM. This is simply a personal preference.

Wiring The SSRneon

The pin-out for the RJ-45 network cable is the same for all of the Sean Bowf derivative SSRs:

View looking down on the component side of the PCB:

Controller Output Pinout Pin Number Connection 1 +5v DC Power 2 Channel 1 Signal 3 reserved 4 Channel 2 Signal 5 reserved 6 Channel 3 Signal 7 Ground 8 Channel 4 Signal

The following image shows how to connect wires to the SSRneon-G2.

The AC line connects to the far left hand terminal block labeled: * AC Input *

The other four terminal blocks are for the wires that will connect to your lights. The connector labeled: Line is for the 'hot' wire. The connector labeled: N is for the 'neutral' wire.

Your network interface cable clicks into the RJ45 connector on the top right of the board. If all is well, you should see both neon bulbs glowing signaling AC voltage is present and flowing through the fuse. The LED should also be lit to indicate that 5 volts DC is being supplied by the lighting controller.

Version G2

.

Original SSRneon

The original SSRneon was not designed for any particular enclosure; however, it will fit inside a TA-200. It has only one neon bulb to signal the presence of AC before it passes through the fuse. You must also wire a 100K resistor inline with the single neon bulb leads because there is no separate attachment point for the resistor.

There is an error on the board. A trace is missing. For channel three, the neutral trace is missing for the Terminal block. This can be simply remedied by putting in a jumper wire on the bottom of the board.

Two examples of a Built SSRneon (first generation) Notice you can use terminal blocks or tabs for wire attachment.