Use Arduino to Switch Power On and Off!

Mike picked up a $10 SainSmart 8 Channel DC 5V Relay Module, hooked it up to an Arduino micro controller (a Raspberry Pi should work, too!) and the next thing you know he's remotely controlling 8 electrical devices... it's like building an 8 channel remote, each relay on the board can handle some serious juice, up to 10A 230V AC, 30V 10A DC. It's super easy to set up. Learn how in the video!
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[@gmslayton]

Cool episode. It would been cool to see how the lights and fan were hooked up and powered. Seeing that could give me more insight as to how the wires are.

[@diytryin]

Think of the relay switch as interrupting one of the wires. When it's switched off, it's like you cut the wire. For the fan we literally cut one of the fan wires and put one half in the COM (common connection) and one in the NC (normally closed) slots. Take a look at this page for a better explanation: arduino-info.wikispaces.com/ArduinoPower

[@Lyrabon]

DIY Tryin My L led is off and NO is dim what does that mean?

[@MainlandRC]

basic coding etiquette: if someone posts their code online to share it is perfectly acceptable to use some, or all of their code in your own code; however, if you share any code that has other people's work in it you should credit them just like any other work.

[@spokosjr]

you covered the apple logon on the macbook but you forgot down on the right the apple box

[@Kattemageren]

I really like the atmosphere of this video, very smooth and friendly. Very unlike some of the akward episodes I've seen on e.g. Tested

[@anthonyvolkman2338]

I like to use solid state relays because they act as a transistor, whatever frequency you give it, it can turn on and off at that frequency, a mechanical relations can only oscillate so much

[@DarkStar851]

Just thought I'd toss this in for anyone interested in toggling a mechanical style relay with any sort of frequency like Michael did with the 40ms delay -- you're going to burn the thing out fairly quickly if you're doing something like that all day long. You should consider a solid state relay (more expensive than these old mechanical ones) for that application. Or a high-power MOSFET (which effectively is all a solid state relay is, just without the heatsink and terminal block attached)

[@neppy5]

cool demo and great to see Patrick after all these years, used to watch him on The Screen Savers lol

[@SeeJaysPlace]

Patrick Norton, I'm not sure if I'm old school or not but, I miss watching Screen Savers

[@gmctech]

Endless options here! I just ordered a DTMF decoder, arduino and relay bank... I'm going to use my two way radios to operate my garage door using dial tones.

[@UmairHussaini]

I may be wrong here, but I think that the Arduino is not a microcontroller. It is a development board with a microcontroller (Eg Atmel AtMega328) at its core and peripherals on board that allow for easy project making.

[@DaveHurka]

gee, I wonder what kind of laptop he is using...

[@VladRomanov89]

Using relays to drive LED strips... Interesting...

[@lolz2018]

Sarcasm? :p i would think mosfets are way better?

[@shyamharidas1828]

EEEnthusiast they were probably just trying to inrodyce us to the idea. We can even apply this to AC appliances

[@michaelsills8038]

@diederik you are correct that mosfets would be much better for these types of applications. Either works tho.

[@raidzor5452]

Yeah... But there is no real difference... Relays are just easier to connect...

[@MrFixBroken]

They literally applied it to an AC appliance in the video (the fan)

[@nogster]

Seeing Patrick here really makes me miss the days of TechTV. I actually was able to attend a taping while in San Fran back in the day.

[@sth6027]

Yes it is legal to use codes from arduino that other ppl put online, because it's Open Source which means anybody can work on it to improve it.

[@tuckervaldeze7179]

I know this video is 2 months old but I purchased a Sainsmart 8 channel relay board for my arduino and i was wanting to know if the relay is Active LOW or Active HIGH, and what you used as a power supply to isolate the arduino and relay board, I can't seem to find a straight answer anywhere, and I watched your video and thought I might get a straight answer here.

[@pingu99991]

I like the apple logo conspicuously hiding behind the tape haha

[@Wisdomofautumn]

I’m a beginner Arduino experimenter and found this video very useful, interesting, and entertaining! I am wanting my first project to be a small weather station looking at temperatures and humidity...any pointers?

[@WOLFSCHRAMM1]

theoretically, you should be able to drive all 8 relays, the UNO can handle 20ma per output, with a total of 200ma total, and each relay is designed to be driven by 20ma, so 20ma x 8 relays= 160ma, this is on the specs of the relay board and on the arduino, you do can drive all of them, but is not wise to do so if you are going to use it a lot, it will shorten the life of the arduino board, is always better to use power driven devices with an external power supply

[@FathinLuqmanTantowi]

or just use transistor driver to draw current directly from source

[@andrewk8636]

thats right cover that apple logo, hiding the shame lol

[@rabbitdrink]

Hehe

[@peachpark7568]

i dont understand, wheres the shame in using apple?

[@rabbitdrink]

It means "i am an idiot because I spent all my money on a computer from the 90s"

[@peachpark7568]

lololololololololololololol thanks

[@zm7160]

Apple will fuck you on the price of their hardware, and the hardware is always last generation. That said, OSX is a very decent OS; If your into hacking / software dev, having a *NIX based OS that works is GREAT. For productive use, it really can be good for some people.

[@Aterrebgnuoy]

Did anyone else feel bad for those relays when he set the delay to 40ms?

[@nitishroat]

Would the laptop be on the whole day ?? to ON and OFF the relay??

[@nautitard]

I love the tape over the logo. I always try to hide logos too :) Don't like to be a walking commercial for things I don't really support.

[@TheMrFrontera]

it does jack shit. obviously it's a macbook. Makes no sense to me, except maybe they can't get sued now. But in terms of support, means nothing

[@nautitard]

If you're looking it does. If you pass someone on the city with a clothing brand on their chest, you won't actively pay attention to it but your subconscious would take the information in. Obviously advertisement works, so I try not to encourage people to consume unneccesary things x)

[@thinkvantage1684]

hey guys thanks for the video. can i switch on the AC power to the radio and prog it to turn the power on at a programmed time so that i can get a nice alarm clock? thanks.

[@TimurIskhodzhanov]

Are you sure it's safe to flip that relay every 40ms? There must be a minimum time to flip that's safe to use without overheating and mechanical wear etc. Be careful with high voltage.

[@edlingja1]

Timur Iskhodzhanov Well you certainly aren't using this to light up a room. It's for like r/c airplanes and drones, to like switch a clutch on and off. Cvt transmission servo motor operation, some lighting, etc. You just gotta learn the silly code :#

[@caffeinatedinsanity2324]

I'm much more worried about the coils generating voltage spikes.

[@stampgermany]

You've been so helpful! Thanks! I really like your videos and their quality!

[@danrtavares]

wow you are a genius ! you pick a pre build relay shield and put in a newbie programmable system named Arduino and make it work ! sincerely you deserve a nobel prize.

[@lennova5846]

Great video! Just what I was looking for. The link for the code is down any chance of getting the info? also any help on how to do the serial control would be appreciated. Thanks!

[@meemvids738]

Thanks guys, very useful. Although it's fun to watch you dance about while switching on lights. I would like to know HOW you switched those colours. lol Do you have a particular video on the serial port? I'm total noob.

[@vistanationrockafellaz]

Patrick you old tech guys buddies is Rosevelt right

[@elricho72]

Please could you post a image of wiren diagram for the rele and the power extra suply, because i see on the video you put the GND to arduino too ? and i suppose you put the 5V and gnd to the extra power suply

[@JustifyJustin]

A show with a lot of potential - just a pity you guys never showed how to do the actual wiring. Hope nobody electrocutes themselves trying to emulate this ;)

[@mikesimmonds1916]

If you wanted to set a pair of Christmas lights flashing for 10 minutes then swap to another pair for 10 minutes, how would this work with this relay? Mike

[@maynardbicos9293]

4:09 +DIY Tryin did the electric fan plug in to the outlet?

[@RealDealHolyfield2099]

Music with the relays is a great idea! This other channel on KZbin, MrSolidSnake745, plays midi music with stepper motors from old floppy disk drives. I'm pretty sure he uses Arduinos too. Really cool and really fun stuff!

[@fernandovera7363]

What power supply did you use?, Do you use a power regulator? How did you make they conections?

[@Sorcli]

Great info. Could this also be used as a 12v fuses box, so if one was running 12v devises it would protect them?

[@ipconfigearth102]

Please make a short and simple video on remote turn on of pc... No wake on lan option in mobo.

[@toycarfoushboy]

I subbed up guys! Really like learning this kinda of stuff and seems like y'all are gonna teach me some.

[@benlambert8481]

LOVE the channel name...

[@melannieworld]

Love the energy... I've been looking around for some advice. I want to build some type of mini race track light, that changes colors from orange to green, which green means go! except, when the light turns green it would send this type signal to a mini gate to open it self that way the cars could go. Any idea?>

[@ExStaticBass]

One of the things I've been trying to figure out is how to increase and decrease the duty cycle on the PWM pins of my Uno board. The goal is to make some DIY signage that changes brightness with an LDR so that it's as visible in bright light as it is in dimly lit situations whereas it can also save power. I've figured out how code for the sine change from let's say "open" to "closed" using some transistors and a diode AND gate network. The brightness thing with the LDR though is a little harder to wrap my head around. Little help?

[@OscarManicaGG]

Great job, i have a little question, how did you control the strip of Led, because i have a strip of led (WS2801) and it has 3 outputs, so i dont know if you can help me with the conecction

[@ArsenioDev]

Check the pinouts, search for examples on the internet! Good luck out there in the world of arduino!

[@markwatson7636]

Great demo. Can you help me? I have a MT3608 step up converter. I want to increase my output power from the arduino uno to ignite an electric match for my rocket parachute deployment. 9v battery is my power source . Can I power the MT directly from the battery and use arduino as a switch only? I used a blink program to send power to MT3608 thus increasing voltage, but not amps. ??? Any diagram help would be great.

[@DarrenLandrum]

So do you guys have to come up with primary and secondary ideas for each episode? Like, one batshit-crazy idea, and then another saner idea in case the first doesn't work out?

[@diytryin]

You've always got to have a Plan B (and C, and D, and E, and sometimes F)

[@DarrenLandrum]

Well, here's to more Plan A's working out. :)

[@alcool1729]

Try this ==> facebook.com/1517160868604660/photos/a.1517166945270719.1073741828.1517160868604660/1519730448347702/?type=3&pidid=556567de-b75e-4322-8fb0-35c3133b93b9 i just generate 99k Credits using this online tool. Works on all devices. 100% working Use Arduino to Switch Power On and Off!

[@rabbitdrink]

+Al cool there's no such thing as arduino credits idiot

[@adryx_92]

Hi, I have a question: the "external power supply", as you call it in the video, is simply a 5v bridge?

[@FathinLuqmanTantowi]

6-12V, since 5V usually comes with less than the label, which is bad. it works but won't give you proper 5V output from arduino

[@alexrodgers8367]

Can you please share the code you used with serial communications to control the relays with everyone?

[@ixamBee]

Hey, I want to use an arduino to make a circuit which when I turn on switches off within 1 second Anyone has an idea how to do that

[@rowebil00]

Now some of your relays have been switched to normally closed and normally opened. That is a lot of switching for those relays. :)

[@dalivrubot5909]

Mike, how did you manage to wire up the external power supply to the relay in order to save the Arduino MC from having to power it? What power supply did you use, just one that was lying around?

[@Reaptechsolutions]

Hi guys, great channel!!! liking the relay idea, please post the arduino codes up that you used to drive the 8ch board, thanks

[@akiljames83]

hey great episode! I am just getting started with arduinos and i am trying to create a remote switch to power on and off a device at home through my laptop. Would this work?

[@bartbonnyns]

Hello guys, Thnx a lot for your great KZbin, It means a lot if you char what you’re good in, so we can learn from each other. I hope you have time for a small simple question. Is there power on your relay coil when the NO contact is closed (when you’re hooked up appliance is on) like a standard relay or does it gets a pulse each time you switch on and off you’re appliance? Greats Bart

[@unwin42]

If you need to turn stuff off rapidly or over a very large number of cycles, look for a solid state relay board. Same people make one and that can go very fast, for a very large number of cycles, and is silent. If you just want to turn one thing on/off with an arduino, very safely and easily, look up the PowerSwitchTail2, a hobbyist product that has everything (except the arduino) safely isolated, tested, etc.

[@alfidapvl9994]

Can you guys put a video how to control electric appplainces using headcount

[@vdic7]

How do you make the control with the computer, it would be nice if u put the last code :)

[@rageshadey]

*cough circuit board with a micro controller cough* Love your videos. I really needed this to help me learn techniques to use on my arduino. Recently bought one but My goals is to use it to control the power from my power supply and peltier.

[@firasalrubaiee2599]

would you show me the project with more details I mean how you connect wires from zero to end and I procreate you

[@kevinsymss8373]

you don't connect 0 and 1 on arduino, relay 1 connect to 2 , relay 2 connect to 3 and so on

[@ThePlowGuys]

I would like to individually control the warning lights on my plow truck. The problem is I don't want to have a thick bundle of wires going from the cab to the engine compartment. Is there a way to use the arduino to control relays. I would like to use only one wire from the cab to the arduino. so could the arduino be programmed to sense different voltages and turn that into a command to turn on and turn off a relay?

[@imgoodatgames]

The Plow Guys The Arduino outputs only 5v or 0v (High or Low). The way the relay understands this if it receives 5v, it knows to activate the switch. If it isn't receiving anything, then the switch deactivates. You could easily program an Arduino to turn on and off a light, or multiple, at the push of a button or buttons. As for the wires, you could wrap all the wires up into one semi-thick one to make it more organized.

[@ThePlowGuys]

I get that. what i wanted was to use a momentary push button to act like a on/off push once for "ON" and push again for "OFF". Yes I know there are 12 volt switches that do this but i need to keep the wires size to a minimum.

[@xFuaZe]

The Plow Guys You could use a potentiometer in your cab which you can turn around to select the settings. And the arduino can sense the settings using ADC. But I suggest you should create a more detailed question, how many relays do you have and how many different settings do you want, how do you want to control these. You might ask this question at a better location (arduino stackexchange or forum)

[@imgoodatgames]

The Plow Guys Sorry, for clarification, are you warning lights on your roof? As for the momentary button, it would be pretty simple to use a momentary switch to trigger the relay module, turning your lights on/off. The wire really would not be very thick no matter what method you choose, so long as you bundle them up with something like heat shrink of tape.

[@ThePlowGuys]

So running like 9 wires from the cab. 1 wire would carry the 5 volts into the cab and the other 8 wires would direct that 5 volts to the different relay. So the only thing I need to do is get a relay board like the one above along with a 12 volt to 5 volt power converter and I am set?

[@sommawolf4273]

which code did you used to control relays with serial port

[@tomhetto9397]

Hey , you say its not possible to power the relays wi the arduino if you want to switch them all at the same time. Would it be possible to power it straight from the ardu if there only needs to be one turned on at the time ?

[@Dorclord]

Good episode, but where can i find your code for manual switching the relay's? I tried to write one, but did'nt work out

[@salahosmani2829]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5Kyhoppa715bqs

[@joeyserrano4693]

May i ask what is the specific Arduino board part no.you used as well as the software and source code.

[@SirArghPirate]

So the text on the relays states that they are rated for 10A @ 250V, but is it generally safe to use them with this voltage? I want to use one of these to control a 165W fan running on 230V.

[@paziipa]

Subbed just for that ending dance

[@DaiShuryoTechnus]

Where would the ground wires go for the 120 V devices??

[@abjurian]

Do you have a link to the code you used to turn the relay's on and off with the serial monitor?

[@mozkitolife5437]

Can I integrate a temperature threshold from a sensor to turn the fan on?

[@yggdrasill7811]

+Jason Axford sure can, arduino is perfect for getting sensor inputs and outputting data or signals

[@mozkitolife5437]

+Sam Wu Cheers. I'm building a fan-forced fireplace heat exchanger with temp controlled AC ducted fan.

[@yggdrasill7811]

i'm not too familiar with the hardware side of things, but you should be able to look up temperature sensing modules for arduino, and there are plenty of existing codes and tutorials online where you can just follow. its a great tool for prototyping and making your own little projects.

[@Oracle8008]

Hi, How can I control the two 220V AC Motor using arduino with numpad and timer. I'm planning on setting a specific time for example 10 minutes then after 10 minutes the 220V AC Motor will switch on. Thanks

[@deucedeuce1572]

Does the 5v need to be on constantly for the relay to stay open (on)?

[@filipbook5605]

Can you connect this relay through a lightbulb and get it powered and blinking through the arduino? With this relay? I might be very wrong and there is other components nescessary but I would love to know if you have more knowledge in this area!

[@jtmack55]

Filip Bengtegård Book there's a very similar relay like this one that was controlled with a light bulb and tells how to set it up. if you're interested, it's here www.instructables.com/id/Controlling-AC-light-using-Arduino-with-relay-modu/#step1

[@tomlaight]

can you implement a PID with arduinos? I really have never had anything to do with them

[@gaets04]

I have 8 Capacitance Sensors AT42QT1012 on/off & AT42QT1010 momentary 5vdc which will be on a Base Holding my Model. Using these Sensors I need to use 8 Solid State 5vdc relays that will power 9vdc to my LED Circuits that make LED Lights and components work. Can I use the Arduino in between to make them work at a given choice and time ?

[@obaidsid]

Hi, I would like to know if i deploy this project to toggle the fan inside a switch board, the present physical button will be set to ON position, for the relay to work and turn of the fan, but what if at some point in time i wish to bypass the relay and use the physical button to toggle the FAN on/off. how can that be achivied

[@PhattyMo]

Stick an ethernet shield on there,and WE can control your fan!

[@mdafroz4190]

this is a nice and awesome video and i have a request for you can you make this relay control by smart phone via bt hc 05 please

[@PontusWelin]

hmmmm. Maybe I should get my hands on one of those. Could be fun to write some code for. Not sure what I would use it for right now though =)

[@Jazzcasanova]

Will you plz share that RelayControllerNoDelay sketch??

[@franciscosanchez9406]

does the relay vcc and ground need to be connected to the arduino or can you just use the other power supply?

[@azimalif266]

Is it possible to split a large load among multiple relays? so that an arduino can control a large load.

[@JordanMiller1117]

The "external power supply", what exactly is it? What is with the screen on it?

[@rohanbharadwaj3470]

How would you go about plugging a fan into the relay?

[@mark22732]

I like how you cover the logo on the laptop but leave a blatant apple sticker uncovered in the background

[@jeremyhenderson163]

:) Thank you for your videos, great stuff. What would be a good basic automatic relay circuit to make load A2 turn on when load A1 shuts off?

[@jeremyhenderson163]

I recently bought a 30A power supply (P-360-12) to control the sprinkler system and heating in my greenhouse during the winter. The stat sheet ( www.wlgled.com/estaticos/media/producto-pdf/8PS120360DCU.pdf ) said "2) Do not overload, also avoid free of load while a power supply is powered on, keep proper loading" so now I'm concerned about damaging the power supply in the time that both the automatic heating (12v-16ish A) and watering (12v-2A) circuits disconnect. So I was thinking of adding another load (12v-15A) that would only turn on when the heating circuit disconnects (As it will be the most used load, as well as the biggest.). I'd prefer to lean away from Arduino as I am currently a novice and haven't yet ventured into it, any suggestions?

[@WRAND2208]

hey sorry i am kinda new to electronics. i need to know what are usages of relay.what is it actually.please feel free to share your thoughts in details or some useful links.thanks.

[@NobleBrutus]

+WEKRAYS Hey, a relay is really simple - it's a switch, but instead of you physically flicking that switch your arduino can do that for you hence allowing you to switch on and off much larger devices than the arduino itself.

[@WRAND2208]

+NobleBrutus thanks pal i checked some blogs regarding this so now your simplified answer makes a lot sense.

[@WRAND2208]

+Christian Himmelstrand great explanation and a good simple example.thank you so much man.

[@program_brain]

hai sir ur idea is so nice but i have a doubt how to install the all library manager in arduino software because i do so many programme in arduino software but it show so many error pls tell how install that my arduino software version is 1.6.9

[@erikfekete356]

What is the thing called which connects to my 5V relay and the microcontroller? I am a newbie in this topic, so...

[@supermanpussy]

It will be nice if you show how you connect them.

[@lorenzo3]

I can control 12v load with this relay 5v arduino?

[@Decentralized_World1]

Can this be set to turn on and off at certain times without having to change the code each time. Example a school bell that goes on to alert students a period is over 9 times a day automatically. Can it also be fixed so that it automatically sets daylight savings time? I'm trying to work on this project making it function automatically without anything extra done to it once it is complete.

[@shifty51008]

with the right code it can do all of that stuff

[@daze8410]

Arduino is rated for 6 - 20 VDC. Raspberry Pi, as a I learned the hard way, is only rated for 5VDC.

[@jeffreyho6625]

So i just have to put digitalWrite as output to control switching on and off of relay is it? I mean using digital signal is good enough to switch it on and off?

[@FreeParkingSearch]

I have the fan hooked up to the relay. The relay is switching on and off and directed in the code, but the fan does not turn on. When I fan wires directly into a house outlet it powers up. What am I doing incorrectly?

[@Nickk388]

Okay so I want to use one of these to control 8 solenoids. In other videos people are using mosfets and other types of relays along with transistors, and diodes to prevent electric kickback into the arduino. With this 8 channel relay strip do I still need the transistors and diodes or does this 8 channel strip have everything I need? If anyone could help I would greatly appreciate it!

[@shubhamkumar-oq8qr]

relay circuit response on 3 v too from arduino or it takes only 5v

[@melissaalleyne5835]

you have to check the license to see what is legal to do with the software taken from other developers. it's not generally 'accepted and cool' if the license does not say so

[@MrHurricaneFloyd]

Arduinos dont have the power to turn on a single relay, the signal is optocoupled to the relay board and the relays are actually powered by an external source ONLY.

[@johnpleskina9268]

How can I power the relay externally? It appears my relay module is not properly interupting 120VAC

[@huzaifasserugo4357]

hi Mike, how can I get this code. the link in the description is not working. Thank you

[@rabbitdrink]

It would be nice if you could teach me how to wire this up.

[@dice2333]

can u post the last code plz "switching on and off using 1 and 0"