Relay Controller

16-channel relay controller GUI for NEnG RelayBank16 instruments.

Tools included

Supports USB serial and WiFi/TCP connections with auto-detection.

This directory is a standalone, pip-installable Python package.

Install

Recommended: Install from PyPI

pip install neng-relay-controller

Development install from source (editable mode)

cd RelayBank16/Python/relay-controller
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate        # macOS / Linux
python -m pip install -U pip
python -m pip install -e .

Tkinter on macOS

The GUI requires Tkinter. On macOS it may be missing depending on how Python was installed:

brew install tcl-tk
brew install python-tk@3.xx      # replace xx with your Python minor version

Run

relay-controller-gui

Features

• Visual Relay Grid — 4x4 grid of 16 relay buttons, click to toggle, right-click to pulse
• Real-time State Sync — Automatic polling keeps display synchronized with hardware
• Bulk Operations — All ON, All OFF, Invert, Hex Mask, Reset (*RST), Relay Test
• Pulse Configuration — Adjustable default pulse duration
• Connection Options — Auto/Force USB/WiFi with port scanning and WiFi discovery
• SCPI Console — Direct command entry with Up/Down history navigation
• Bitmask Display — Current relay state shown as hex and spaced binary
• Device Info — Model, serial number, firmware version, connection type
• Dark/Light Theme — Professional appearance with one-click theme toggle
• Safe Shutdown — Optional "Turn all relays OFF?" prompt on close

SCPI Commands (Quick Reference)

# Individual relay control
:RELA1:STAT ON              # Turn relay 1 ON
:RELA1:STAT?                # Query relay 1 state
:RELA5:PULS                 # Pulse relay 5

# Bulk control
:ROUT:MASK 0xFFFF           # All relays ON
:ROUT:MASK 0x0000           # All relays OFF
:ROUT:MASK 0x00FF           # Relays 1-8 ON
:ROUT:CLOS 1,3,5,7          # Close specific relays
:ROUT:OPEN 2,4              # Open specific relays

# System
*IDN?                       # Device identification
*RST                        # Reset (all OFF)
:ROUT:TEST                  # Sequential relay test

See SCPI_COMMAND_REFERENCE.md for the full command reference.

Notes

• Baud rate: 115 200 (USB CDC)
• TCP port: 5025 (standard SCPI-over-TCP)
• Only one client can use the serial port at a time

Release

See RELEASE_QUICK_START.md for release instructions.

(c) 2024-26 Prof. Flavio ABREU ARAUJO. All rights reserved.