Close up view of the FlexPLC Motherboard
Answer: The only thing you need to get started is a FlexPLC and any of your aquarium system components that you wish to monitor or control
Answer: YES, the FlexPLC has 4 standard 120VAC outlets that are relay controlled and can easily be configured by the user to make these outputs respond to switch sensor inputs such as water flow, water level, PIR motion, Flood Sensors, etc...
Answer: YES, With the Voice Dialer/Pager Option FlexPLC can easily be configured by the user to dial a number or send a user defined coded numeric message in the event that anyone of the 4 Inputs get triggered as configured by the user.
Answer: NO, FlexPLC is a stand-alone real time controller. The PC is only required to be connected to the FlexPLC through your serial port whenever you want to re-configure your FlexPLC system.
Answer: AAS sells many sensors for the FlexPLC, you can even use many available switch sensors from other suppliers. A switch sensor is any device that has both an Open and Closed position. When the sensor is closed it completes the circuit to the FlexPLC and when it's open the closed circuit is disconnected. The user can configure the FlexPLC to respond to both the open and/or closed circuits if desired. Sensors for Water Flow, Air Temperature, Flood, Water Level, PIR Motion, Magnetic Door Contacts, Vibration, Glass Break, and much more are all available.
Answer: When power is removed from the FlexPLC all 120VAC outputs will be disabled. The FlexPLC has a non-volatile EEPROM that stores your configuration so loss of power is no problem here. When power is restored the FlexPLC starts running it's program from EEPROM right away. To protect against temporary power outages and brown-outs AAS recommends using an Uninterruptable Power Supply(UPS) on your FlexPLC. You can check out the UPS that AAS distributes by clicking here
Answer: To control any 120VAC (7 Ampere max load) solenoid valve just plug it into one of the 4 FlexPLC outputs and configure that output channel to go on and off as your dosing requirements dictate.
Answer: To control up to 4 different 120VAC (7 Ampere max load) Light Ballast just plug their power cords into one or more of the 4 FlexPLC outputs and configure those output channels to go on and off as you desire. You can have up to 48 ON/OFF times per day. If you need to have more than 4 outlets you can use a power strip or request AAS to help with your special needs with our custom AAS IM-120: 120VAC Interface Modules. With these modules we can do things like convert a single outlet into 2 outlets one being ON while the other is OFF, these work well for toggling system devices such as Wavemaker pumps.
Answer: To control any 120VAC (7 Ampere max load) Pump just plug it's power cord into one of the 4 FlexPLC outputs and configure that output channel to go on and off as you desire, or have the pump turn on or off in response to one of the Input Switches triggering. For example, if your Flow Switch wnet to an Open State(ie NO FLOW) then you could configure FlexPLC to remove power from your pump to keep it from burning up. You could also have the Voice Dialer/Pager Option call you to let you know what happened!
Answer: To control any 120VAC (7 Ampere max load) component just plug it's power cord into one of the 4 FlexPLC outputs and configure that output channel to go on and off as you desire, or have the output turn ON or OFF in response to one of the Input Sensors switching.
Answer: You'll need a Level Switch such as one of these;
Answer: You'll need a Flow Switch such as one of these;
Answer: To monitor Air Temperature here's what you'll need;