Sonifex has unveiled the Redbox RB-IPE IP extender for GPIO and analogue control signals.
‘The RB-IPE is a 1U-high rackmount unit designed to provide remote control of GPIO and analogue control voltages over an Ethernet network,’ says Eamonn Heffernan, Sales Manager. ‘It is configured using a built-in web server and two units can control each other across an Ethernet network, or a single unit can be controlled via Ethernet commands and the web server interface. It is ideal for the remote control of equipment at unmanned posts, outstations or transmitter sites.’
The unit has 16 general purpose inputs on eight RJ45 connectors, consisting of eight isolated current sink inputs and eight pull-to-ground protected inputs; and 16 general purpose outputs on eight RJ45 connectors using eight isolated relay change-over contacts and eight opto-isolated contacts. These rear panel RJ45 connectors have an LED for each GPIO which shows its state.
On a further eight RJ45 connectors there are also eight 0-3.3V/5V/12V input signals and eight output signals nominally at 0-3.3V output, with other output voltage configurations possible. The outputs can all be controlled from the inputs of another RB-IPE, or from Ethernet commands, allowing any tallies and control signals, together with analogue potentiometer movements, to be sent across a network (for remote alarm points, to trigger failure alarms at a transmitter site and to control remote equipment).
When two units are connected together at different sites, if a general purpose input state changes at one site the unit sends the new state to the other site and the appropriate opto-isolator output changes on that unit. Similarly input voltage controls are monitored and the changing voltage is sent to the remote unit where an output voltage changes accordingly.
The web server in the RB-IPE can be configured with a static IP address or by using DHCP and the unit is powered from a universal mains input between 85-264V AC at 47-63Hz.
More: www.sonifex.co.uk
