At 05:08 AM 4/2/2006, David Robbins K1TTT wrote:
>I am looking at the new mfj rcs-12c remote switch controller. It is an 8
>pushbutton box that controls up to 8 relays or bcd output, has built in band
>decoding with programmable buttons, last antenna on band memory, hot switch
>protection, amp key line lockout while switching, and probably a few other
>things.... at $229 it is too expensive and has features I don't want/need.
>Is there, or would any one want to build, something at about half that price
>that just did the 8 pushbuttons with hot switch protection... no band
>decoding, no memory, no bcd ouput. I would want at least 6 or 7 of them.
So, your total budget is in the $500-1000 range? That scale of system is
getting towards being worth doing with a microcontroller or computer.
There's a number of inexpensive computer/rs232 controlled relay widgets out
there with 8,16,32 relay drive outputs, as well as parallel inputs (for
your band decode), etc. Do you need isolated contacts, or will something
like open collector relay driver outputs do?
You could go the industrial controller approach ($100 widgets programmed
with ladder logic that have 8-16 ins and outs) iDEC smart relays for
instance, or AB's little modules. These things can be ganged up.
There's also things like the modules from Rabbit Semiconductor
(http://www.rabbitsemiconductor.com/) or Zworld
(http://www.zworld.com/). The latter is more oriented towards your
application.
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