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Controlling a NAC Relay or Door from a Panel or Standard DGP input

  • Updated

Summary:

This article describes two different methods of achieving activation of a Relay, or a Door's lock Relay to unlock a door, from an input on a Challenger or Discovery panel, or on a TS1020 DGP.

Note that the examples given below don't use a specific door number in their names, however when implementing this on a site, it would be worth putting a door name or number in the names of the items you create, so you can identify which door these items relate to.

For example, "Door Open Button Request" may be named "Door 21 Open Button Request", etc.

 

 

Method 1 - Direct control of the Door Relay via an input

This is the simplest method, and would usually be used with a switch, or latching button connected to an input on the Challenger panel or Standard DGP.  This means that whenever the input is active (unsealed), then the door will be unlocked, and when the input returns to inactive (sealed), the door will returned to locked, and allows control over exactly when it is unlocked and locked, and how long for.  Basically the Door relay will operate in conjunction with the input state.

Implementing this involves linking an input directly to control of the door relay on the NAC via an event flag, and then Relay Mapping.

The steps are shown below.

 

Setting up the input:

  • For the input you are using, set it's "Type" to type "20 - Input to activate event flag 24hr"
  • Create an Event flag, under Panel programming > Events, and name it appropriately, eg "Door Open Button Request" or something like that
  • Assign this newly created Event flag to the "Event" field on the input you are using

So far, the input settings should look something like this:

 

Next we will set up the control of the relay from the Challenger panel side.

  • Create a Challenger Relay definition in the panel for a relay number that is in the range for the NAC that we will be controlling the Door Relay on.

    For example, if this is a NAC set as DGP 2, and we want to control the first Door on that NAC, which uses the first onboard relay, we could choose to use Challenger Relay number 33, as this is the first available Relay number in the Relay numbering range for DGP 2.

  • Then assign the Event flag you created earlier to control this Relay

Your Relay definition may look something like this:

 

Now we will map this Challenger relay number to the NAC's physical onboard relay.

  • Open the settings for the NAC, and go to the "Input/Relay mapping" tab (as shown in the screenshot further below)
  • Now create a Relay mapping for the relay we defined on the Challenger side, and link it to the Onboard Relay 1, which in our example here, is the Door lock relay of the first Door on this NAC

This will look something like this:

And then choose OK.

You will now have a Direct map Relay mapping like this created:

Save the DGP settings, and now this is ready to operate.

Now when you activate the input, the Door's lock relay will activate, unlocking the door, and when you re-seal the input, the Door's lock relay will lock again.

 

 

Method 2 - A momentary input to unlock the Door for a timed period

This method would usually be used with momentary button connected to an input on the Challenger panel or Standard DGP.  This means that when the button is pressed, and the input becomes briefly active (unsealed), it will trigger a timed period, and the door will be unlocked.  Then after the timed period, the door will returned to locked, and allows control over exactly when it is unlocked and locked, and how long for.  Basically the Door relay will operate for a timed period after the input is activated.

If you only have a momentary push button connected to trigger this, then this method is what you would need to use to keep the Door unlocked, and not just return to locked as soon as the button is released.

Implementing this involves the use of a Panel Macro to run a timed action.

The steps are shown below.

 

Setting up the input:

  • For the input you are using, set it's "Type" to type "20 - Input to activate event flag 24hr"
  • Create an Event flag, under Panel programming > Events, and name it appropriately, eg "Door Open Button Request" or something like that
  • Assign this newly created Event flag to the "Event" field on the input you are using

So far, the input settings should look something like this:

 

Next we will create a Panel Macro to operate on this "Door Open Button Request" flag.

  • Create another Event flag, under Panel programming > Events, and name it something like "Door Open Timed" or something like that
  • Now create a Panel Macro that uses the "On timed (1-255) minutes" function, and set the Duration to be how many minutes you want the Door to stay unlocked for after the button is pressed.
  • Set the "When" event flag to the "Door Open Button Request" event flag you created earlier
  • Set the "Activate" event flag to the new "Door Open Timed" event flag we just created

Your Panel Macro will look something like this:

 

Next we will set up the control of the relay from the Challenger panel side.

  • Create a Challenger Relay definition in the panel for a relay number that is in the range for the NAC that we will be controlling the Door Relay on.

    For example, if this is a NAC set as DGP 2, and we want to control the first Door on that NAC, which uses the first onboard relay, we could choose to use Challenger Relay number 33, as this is the first available Relay number in the Relay numbering range for DGP 2.

  • Then assign the "Door Open Timed" event flag you created to be controlled from the timed Panel Macro to control this Relay

 

Your Relay definition may look something like this:

 

Now we will map this Challenger relay number to the NAC's physical onboard relay.

  • Open the settings for the NAC, and go to the "Input/Relay mapping" tab (as shown in the screenshot further below)
  • Now create a Relay mapping for the relay we defined on the Challenger side, and link it to the Onboard Relay 1, which in our example here, is the Door lock relay of the first Door on this NAC

This will look something like this:

And then choose OK.

You will now have a Direct map Relay mapping like this created:

 

Save the DGP settings, and now this is ready to operate.

Now when you activate the input momentarily, the Door's lock relay will activate, unlocking the door, and stay activated until the timed period set in the Panel Macro finishes, and then the Door's lock relay will lock again.

 

NOTE:  If you press the button again during this period, it will NOT extend the period further.

 

Having the button input able to extend the Door Unlocked period:

If you want pressing the button again to extend the period further, then in the Panel Macro, instead of using "On timed" for the Function, use "Off delay" instead, and then this will mean that the timer starts from the last moment the button was released.

This will look something like the following:

 

 

Further Methods

There are also other methods that can be used to achieve the same or similar results depending on your requirements.

For example, if you want the door's "Unlock" action to run, which will accurately report a Door unlock in the events, as opposed to just activating the Door's lock relay as in the methods shown further above, then instead of mapping a relay in the NAC settings, you can create your own DGP Macro to link the Panel's relay to a "Door unlock" action.

All the same steps as the above Methods 1 & 2 would apply, except instead of Mapping a Relay in the DGP settings, you would create a Macro to perform the linking.

Such a macro could look as follows, with the "Door unlock" action selected to occur when Relay 33 (in our example) is activated:

However for this, note that you would also need to create a corresponding "Door lock" DGP Macro as well, to lock the door again when the relay de-activates, as the above will only unlock the door when the Relay is activated.

This locking DGP Macro could then look something like this - note that the "Not" tickbox is ticked for the relay that is triggering this Macro, and that "Door lock" is selected for the Door as Action well:

 

The method used, and specifics will depend on your exact requirements, but the above items gives some examples of how this type of operation can be achieved.

Be sure to thoroughly test any implementation you may program on a site to ensure it operates as expected.

 

 

For any further assistance on this if required, please reach out to your Distributor, who are our Support Agents.