Alternative to basic parallel

[wmrcomputers]

Thanks for your help. I have sent him a PM to see if he still has any available, but if not I'm sure I will source something similar via eBay or whatever - now that I know what an SSR is and know they can do what I want.

A final question... if you can help that is... are these SSR's far more reliable than a standard mechanical relay I assume? Would I still be wise to stock a couple of spares or would it be unlikely I'd ever need them?

Thanks again you've been a star!

[dirknerkle]

Originally Posted by wmrcomputers

A final question... if you can help that is... are these SSR's far more reliable than a standard mechanical relay I assume? Would I still be wise to stock a couple of spares or would it be unlikely I'd ever need them?

Yes, solid state has no moving parts; relays do and the contact in relays eventually wear out. And, as you know, they're noisy. SSRs are noise-less. It's always good to have a spare this and that and even though Crydoms are tremendously reliable, remember that they're an electronic part and parts can burn out. Or if lightning strikes nearby, electronic parts can get zapped altogether.

Good luck. Bmcgeeny's a good guy, (for the kind of guy he is, that is...)

[wmrcomputers]

Thanks again for your help. Good luck for Christmas 2010 everyone

[Braveit1]

MakeMagazine had publised a Halloween controller using the parallel port and solid state relays in a special edition a few years back. This was based on the following instructable: http://www.instructables.com/id/Soli...how-to-build-/ if you need further instructions. I built one before I found this site four years ago. Ran my Christmas display with three parallel ports in an old pc for 24 channels. B.T.W., if the clicking bothers you you could place the cards outside in a sealed container an a long parallel cable.

[Entropy]

Another possibility: Consider upgrading your setup to something like a Renard? Increased channel count, dimming, etc, and not too expensive.

[wmrcomputers]

Cheers for the suggestions. I'm quite happy to only ever have the 8 channels I think. My house isn't huge, and I don't live in a really up-market area or anything. Also, nobody in this part of the world has even attempted this so I've already got a notch on everyone else's static displays

The clicking is an issue, and although i suppose I could place them outside I still prefer the suggestion of SSR's as my experience of standard relays is that they are too unreliable as well.

Cheers again