GatorGuy
New Member
We need to control relays over a long distance. Our controller boards will have several PIC's controlling the relays. The main controller would be connected to a PC via the serial port. We can either put the pics on the expansion cards near the relay and send the serial data through the CAT5 cable to the PIC or have the PIC on the main board and send the 5+ volts from the I/O pin to a transistor over the CAT5. My question is which would be better? If we put the PIC on the expansion card and sent the data over the CAT5 would it degrade over a long distance?
Another way would be to send the pin high to a transistor and have a higher voltage sent over the cable and step it back down at the receiving board.
Any thoughts would be great.
Another way would be to send the pin high to a transistor and have a higher voltage sent over the cable and step it back down at the receiving board.
Any thoughts would be great.