OSC command ?

[criecken]

Beating my head against the wall at this point !

I have an aqualifter pump that I want to turn on once every hour and run for 1 minute, that is it... nothing complex here.

I have assigned DSR = A6
single statement to execute:
OSC 01/60 ON/OFF then DSR ON

the pump turns on and never shuts off.
I have deleted the timer name and command and re-entered.
I have changed around the 01/60 to be 60/01 as well the last ON vs OFF....

what am I missing because at this point it looks to me like my AC Jr is not working properly.

btw, I have several other items running fine on this controller.

[kenargo]

Move the pump to A04 or A08 and your problems will be solved. Aqualift pumps are very small current draw and the triac ports on the DC8 cannot shut them off, you need to use a relay port (4 or 8).

[criecken]

you nailed it !!
that took care of it...
thanks a million.

[AquamanE]

Wait a minute. Im a noob here. just got my ac jr.

Are you saying port 4 and 8 are different than 1-3 and 5-7?

If so how, and what can /cant be connected to what?

[kenargo]

Yes, the manual talks about the difference somewhat but in short ports 1-3 and 5-7 are triac controlled and should be used for larger powered devices. Ports 4 and 8 are relay driven and should be used for smaller devices like pumps, C02 controls, etc. You should NEVER plug very large things into ports 4 or 8 (e.g., MhD, chillers, etc) as they could cause the relay contacts to weld and the device to remain on.

[criecken]

btw, just got my serial cable to hook my AC Jr to my laptop... before I run into town to buy a serial to USB adapter...
Will that work? I assume there would be no issue with converting the serail cable to USB to plug into the pc...??

[kenargo]

You might want to start a new thread about the serial cable or it might be missed since the topic isn't related to USB adapters.

[d0ughb0y]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15137888#post15137888 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by criecken
btw, just got my serial cable to hook my AC Jr to my laptop... before I run into town to buy a serial to USB adapter...
Will that work? I assume there would be no issue with converting the serail cable to USB to plug into the pc...??

it should work.
I asked users of my program (http://sites.google.com/site/acserial2web) who use a serial to usb adapter what brand they are using, and pretty much everyone says its some cheap no name brand they got from ebay.

[Los]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15137859#post15137859 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kenargo
Yes, the manual talks about the difference somewhat but in short ports 1-3 and 5-7 are triac controlled and should be used for larger powered devices. Ports 4 and 8 are relay driven and should be used for smaller devices like pumps, C02 controls, etc. You should NEVER plug very large things into ports 4 or 8 (e.g., MhD, chillers, etc) as they could cause the relay contacts to weld and the device to remain on.

Ken, you are the resident AC expert so I hesitate to question you on this. I reread the DC8 manual and the only thing it says not to plug into outlets 4 and 8 are Icecap ballasts, because of the "high inrush current". It doesn't say anything about not using those outlets for metal halide ballasts, chillers, etc. (so long as they are below 6 amps each). If it's indeed a problem, I'll need to move around my 400W Icecap MH ballasts, so I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks in advance!

[kenargo]

Feel free to questioning anything I say; I am learning to.

Onto your question; the devices you listed are all high inrush current devices. Ballasts can have huge currents (e.g., IceCap VHO ballast can have a start-up current in excess of 50 amps and chillers and MhD ballasts also have simular issues). I would not have a MhD ballast on port 4 or 8.

[Los]

Thanks, Ken. I'll make the change tonight.