How to connect safety devices and access controls- Written by STE Mark Bernal

 Connecting Access Control and Safety devices

This post applies to all Viking control boards including the 1st gen (GateTor) board.

 

The most common question we get at our Technical Support department is "How do I hook up this _____ to your control board." The 2nd most common question we get is "I also have a _____ and a _____, can you tell me how to hook these things up too?" It's really quite simple IF you understand some fundamentals and terminology we often use regarding this.

 

 

How does it work?

In relationship to our control board, all of these different access control devices are simple relays that come in an assortment of different housings with different purposes. But they all communicate in the same way to the Viking control board; they create a contact (or short), across two wires when they want the gate to do something.

 

In other words, when you use your radio receiver, photoelectric beam, key pad, etc, its built-in relay will create a contact, or a bridge, across two of its terminals when this device is triggered or activated.

 

With the example of a radio receiver, the signal it receives from the radio transmitter is what triggers its relay, creating a contact across its Common and Normally Open terminals. This contact is what tells the VFlex board to open the gate. The "Radio" LED will illuminate on the board while this contact is made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ü If you connected your device to our VFlex board properly, the gate will respond as you intended.

û If you didn't, no worries! Our control boards are short circuit protected. However, you will need to connect your device properly

 

Terminology:

Terminal:
This is where you will be connecting wires to the VFlex board.

Terminal Block: The green removable blocks, on the VFlex board, containing multiple terminals. Example: The "Exit", "Fire" and "Strike" terminals are all located on the "Open Commands" terminal block.

Input Terminal: On the VFlex board, any of the terminals which are labeled for a specific command or "input" (i.e. "Re-Open", "Radio", "Open", etc.). The N.O. , Normally Open, contact from your device is to be connected to an Input Terminal.

Relay: The component of an access control or safety device that provides the input, or command, to the VFlex board.

Trigger: This is what will tell the Relay to change state, creating the bridge between Common and Normally Open. The type of trigger depends on the device. I.e. the trigger for a radio receiver is the signal from the transmitter, a Photoelectric Beam is triggered when the beam is interrupted and a Keypad is triggered when the code is punched in.

“C”: The relay Common terminal. This is the terminal that will make contact (short or bridge) to the N.O. terminal when the relay is triggered. Always wire this relay terminal to any “GND” terminal at the VFlex board.

“N.O.”: The relay Normally Open terminal. This is the terminal that has an open contact to “C” while the relay is not triggered and a closed contact when the relay is triggered. Almost always use this relay terminal and wire it to an “Input Terminal” at the VFlex board,

“N.C.”: The relay Normally Closed terminal. This is the terminal that has a closed contact to “C” while the relay is not triggered and an open contact when the relay is triggered. This terminal is rarely used when connecting to a Viking control board.

Coil: The component of an access control or safety device that receives 24VDC power from the Viking control board, used to power the device.

“+”: The positive power terminal of the coil. Always connect this to any “+28V” terminal at the VFlex board.

“–”: The negative power terminal of the coil. Always connect this to any “GND” terminal at the VFlex board.

 

Now that I know the basics, how do I hook it up?
Well, first you will have to know:

1.      Who is the manufacture of this device?

2.      What is the model# of this device?

3.      How do you want the gate to respond to it?

 

The Who & What and Why you need to know this:

Tip: You need know what the terminals or wires, on your device, are designated for. But you threw away the instruction manual. No worries! By knowing the manufacture and model#, you can easily Google search for the manual of this device.

 

Once you know which terminal or wire color is designated for + , - , C and N.O., the rest is simple!

 

As you probably noticed, there are typically 5 terminals, or wires, on your device. However, you will only use 4 of them. Three of the four will ALWAYS connect to the same place on the control board:

·         Two are used to power the device.

+ , or positive, from the device will ALWAYS connect to a "+28V" terminal.

NOTE: There are 3 terminals labeled +28V. It does not matter which one you use.

- , or negative, from the device will ALWAYS connect to a "GND" terminal.

NOTE: There are many terminals labeled GND. It does not matter which one you use.

·         Two are used for the device to tell (command) the board what to do and when to do it..

"C", or Common, from the device will ALWAYS connect to a "GND" terminal.

NOTE: There are many terminals labeled GND. It does not matter which one you use.

"N.O.", or Normally Open, from the device will connect to an input terminal. (i.e. Exit, Reopen, C. Loop, UL, Radio, etc.). Which input terminal to use only depends on how you want you want the gate to respond to your device.

 

The How:

How do you want the gate to respond to this device?

The table below describes how the gate will respond when each of the Input terminals are shorted to a "GND" terminal.

Tip: You can simulate your device being triggered, and how the gate will respond, by simply contacting these two terminals together with a pair of needle nose pliers.