Wireless ZB ZigBee Mesh Networking Relay
with Built-In Time Clock

Available as a ZB ZigBee Mesh Network Router or Endpoint

Take all the Power of the Tatalist Series Relay Controllers
...add a Digi ZB ZigBee Compliant Interface:
Time Activated Control is Effortless!

The latest Buzz in Wireless Technology is ZB ZigBee.  ZB ZigBee is a great way to communicate data throughout buildings (or even across town) because it uses all the devices in the area to make sure your data arrives at its intended destination.  ZB ZigBee automatically hops your data all over the ZB ZigBee Mesh Network,  transparently forwarding your data to its intended destination.  The beauty of ZB ZigBee is that you don't have to do anything except tell it where you want your data to go.  The ZB ZigBee Mesh Network handles everything else for you.  We have created a page dedicated to helping ZB ZigBee Mesh Network users understand this technology.  So if you are a first time user of ZB ZigBee and you are looking for a great place to get started, see our article!

By combining the power of ZB ZigBee Mesh Networking with our Taralist series relay controllers, you can take advantage of our powerful built-in real time clock for data collection and control, in combination with many wireless ZB ZigBee Mesh Networking features.  ZB ZigBee is a perfect integration of good speed and excellent reliability, and for the first time, you can now improve data reliability by adding routers between the computer and far away devices.

Here is a quick rundown of what you should expect from ZB ZigBee Mesh Network:

Plug a ZB ZigBee Coordinator into the USB Port of your computer.  The Coordinator will be used to communicated to your wireless ZB ZigBee Mesh Network.  The Coordinator will mount as a COM port on your PC.  Open the COM port and start sending data to the Coordinator.  The Coordinator will forward your data to any or all devices on the ZB ZigBee Mesh Network.

A ZB ZigBee Mesh Network consists of up to three components:

A Coordinator is Required because it allows your computer to talk to the ZB ZigBee Mesh Network.  Use only ONE coordinator in your ZB ZigBee Mesh Network. A Router allows data to hop to another part of the ZB ZigBee Mesh Network.  It helps contribute to the network, and it can serve as an Endpoint device.  In other words, if a relay controller has the Router firmware installed, you can talk to this device directly, or data can be forwarded from this device to another device that may be too far away for the Coordinator to reach directly.  Routers are slower than endpoint devices, so use routers wisely. An Endpoint device can also be a relay controller or many other types of NCD devices.  However, endpoint devices cannot forward data to other parts of the ZB ZigBee Mesh Network.  Endpoint devices are faster than router devices, so it is always wise to use Endpoint devices when possible, and router devices when required. Learn More: Introduction to ZB ZigBee Mesh Networking.....

Solid State: A Practical Alternative to Mechanical Relays!

Mechanical Relays have a good home in low-cost control applications.  But for some users, only solid state switching will do.  Solid State Relays are ideal for users who require long term reliability, silent operation, or high induction tolerance.  Many inductive control applications require a solid state relay.  Inductive loads such as Motors, Valves, Pumps, Solenoids, and Large Transformers (including Fluorescent Lighting) benefit from the use of solid state relays because they reduce the chances of the inductive load interfering with the logic of the relay controller.

Integrated Real Time Clock

The Taralist series Time Activated Relay Controllers are unlike any other relay timer in the world. The Taralist series have an integrated battery backed Real Time Clock with memory that allows users to control relays based on a time schedule. Use your computer to setup the time schedule and store your schedule into the Taralist controller. Once stored, the Taralist does not require a computer, and will activate relays according to a schedule that can be as simple or as complex as your application requires.

Time Schedule Events & How They Work

Events are scheduled times when a relay or group of relays are turned on or off. They are defined by the user first by time: Year, Month, Day of Month, Day of week, Hour, Minute, and Second. By having these options you have the ability of switching relays on or off at very specific times. Activate relays only when the day is Monday, activate relays when the day is Monday and the Year is 2020, activate relays when the day is Monday, the year is 2020 at 9:44:21 AM. They are also defined by how they control the relays, whether they turn a relay or group of relays on or off. You can add up to 999 Events to the list.

Program Multiple Schedules

Override functions are also supported. So if the normal schedule activates a light during weekdays, but you don't want the light to come on during holidays, simply program your holiday schedule to prevent the light from activating according to your normal schedule.

Daylight Savings Time is also supported, and is FULLY CUSTOMIZEABLE. As we all know, DST laws change periodically, but the Taralist series allow you to change the year and date of all DST events (we have programmed the US dates until 2030).

Taralist controllers allow you to build and save your time schedule as a file on your computer, you can comment your schedule and control which events are active and inactive. We encourage you to keep your schedule file in a safe place. Once you have perfected your file, you can store the time schedule into as many Taralist controllers as you could ever need.

Defining Time

By default the Time Relay controller does not know what time it is so this must be defined. The only way of doing this is from the Configuration Utility. Once your controller is connected to the computer and the Configuration Utility is launched the first thing to do is tell the Time Relay Controller what time it is. You may do this manually or you can Sync the time with your PC. This is done using the window below in the Con-figuration utility. The user can do this by simply clicking the Sync Time with PC Time button or by filling in the Year, Month, Day, Week Day, Hour, Minute, Second parameters and then clicking the Set Time Manually button.

Clock Accuracy - Adjustable Time Compensation

Clock Accuracy is of paramount importance to us. Like most clocks, time drift is a reality that must be considered. The Taralist clock has some special features to help keep the time accurate. We have included time compensation functions that allow you to automatically adjust the clock forward or back (by up to 15 seconds) each day of the week. For instance, you may find the Taralist keeps better time if it automatically advances the clock 1 second each day of the week. Or you may find that you need to subtract 5 seconds from the clock 1 day per week. Adjustable time compensation will help keep your clock accurate (though it is always a good idea to check on the clock periodically).

When the current time matches the time of the event stored in your controller, you can activate or deactivate a single relay, a group of relays, or all 256 relays. You can also set the relays to Computer control or Taralist control (this is perfect for holiday override. A computer may be used to activate/deactivate relays at any time. The computer will override the time schedule. The computer can also return control of the relays back to the Taralist controller, or the Taralist controller can be set to automatically take back control of relays at a specific time.

Computer Control

The Time Relay series controllers have some amazing abilities when it comes to making decisions on their own based on the events you configure into them, but you can take control of the relays at any time from a computer as long as communications are established between your computer and the Time Relay device.

The interface elements shown at right allow a computer to take over control of any relay and force the relays to a On or Off state. You may also turn all relays on or off using the all relays on and all relays off buttons. You can also read the status of relays by clicking the Read Relay 1-8 Status. The Status of the relay will be shown to the right of the button. The slider at the top of the screen allows you to select with bank of relays these commands are directed to. You may attach up to 32 banks or 256 Relays.

Power Loss Backup Buffer

The Midnight Backup Buffer is a special feature we developed to help keep track of which relays should be activated in the event power is lost. Every night at midnight, the current status of all relays is stored in non-volatile memory. If power is lost, the Taralist will load the status of the relays from memory. Next, the Taralist will calculate all events from midnight to the current time to determine if any relays need to be activated or deactivated. Finally, the Taralist will refresh all relays and will be ready for normal operation.

Relay Outputs

Time Relay Controllers are capable of controlling up to 256 Relays from only one Time Relay CPU. These controllers are available with 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 32 relays on a printed circuit board as well as a small controller with only an XR expansion port instead of relays. XR Expansion Relays may be added to the XR Expansion Port at any time giving you as many relays as you need (up to 256).

A relay is similar to a switch. The only difference between a switch and a relay is the actual mechanism for changing the on/off status of the switch. On a switch, you manually push on a piece of metal or plastic to operate the switch. On a relay, an electric current is used to operate the switch. Though a relay resembles the characteristics of a switch, it cannot be controlled by touching it with your finger. So from now on, we will use the word "Relay" to indicate a switch that is controlled by the Time Relay controller (instead of your finger).

Notes:

Boot up time of a Taralist controller is less than 1 second. The CPU on the Taralist controller operates at 64 MHz and is capable of processing 2000 events in 17ms. Taralist controllers may be configured wirelessly or through the USB port using the NCD Configuration Utility. A computer may take control of a Taralist controller and control relays by sending only a few bytes of data (using Wireless or USB communications). The Taralist controller requires power at Midnight of each night for proper operation of the Backup buffer. A very small rechargeable Lithium battery is permanently soldered to the controller; the charge rate of this battery is programmable from the NCD Configuration utility. When connected to the USB port of your computer, the Taralist controller must have power to prevent excessive time drift. The Midnight Backup Buffer may be edited using the NCD Configuration Utility. Time schedule events cannot be processed without power, battery backup is used to keep time only.