12 volt trigger out

H

Hollywood

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First question: Is the 12v trigger out AC or DC?

Second: Can you wire in a Solid State Relay, triggered by the WiiM, into a electrical box to turn on an amplifier? Most home amplifiers use ordinary power cords so I can't imagine they draw that much current.

Here is an example:

Thanks
 
In principle yes, and others on this forum seem to have had some success with custom relay setups.

I’ve had nothing but problems, and I can’t get equipment with standard 12v trigger inputs to turn on reliably or turn off at all. The feature is completely broken for me.
 
PeterMann said:
In principle yes, and others on this forum seem to have had some success with custom relay setups.

I’ve had nothing but problems, and I can’t get equipment with standard 12v trigger inputs to turn on reliably or turn off at all. The feature is completely broken for me.
Click to expand...
Hopefully others had better results and will also reply. Thanks.
 
Note that gear with 12v trigger ins mostly use optocouplers and additional circuitry to "read" incoming trigger signals to then cycle a relay with some additional power.

So the 12v out of the WiiM might not have enough power to control a mechanical device like a relay.
 
Interesting. I received the following during an exchange with support.

“the output voltage [sic] is 100mA”

Could such a current rating be too small?
 
I bought exactly the same trigger from Audiophonics, and equally do not get it triggered ON by the WIIM output. If I plug in and out the 2,5mm Jack it triggers the Audiophonics ON, but if left inside it will not turn the Audiophonics ON in future power ups. Turning OFF seems to work but still testing. It sounds indeed as that the WIIM does have a weak current not able to flip the relay status.
 
I have not tried the Wiim trigger, as I don't need it. However do believe the output current is too low, and that's why some users have problems.

I have been through this with other units , trying to provide turn on for my vintage McIntosh amp. This is the unit I bought from Amazon two years ago, that works fine, has wide turn on voltage and current range, and is basically plug and play.
Amazon says it's discontinued by manufacturer, but there is still some in stock.
A little expensive but worth it.
Here is a picture mine, just search for the name on Amazon.
 

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I can confirm the WiiM 12V trigger current is too low for a normal relay. I tried this one which should have a low current requirement and it did not trigger the relay. An SSR like this did work when tested switching a 230V ligthbulb by the 12V WiiM trigger but these are normally used to switch high current resistive loads, not amplifiers. They have some leaking-current/voltage when off (see here and the linked video in that thread) so I don't want to connect my amp to it as the goal here is to save power..

The Xantech mentioned above looks like a nice solution but it is very expensive and I cannot find a 230V version. After some more research I found this: https://www.electroschematics.com/low-current-relay/. This seems to be the most elegant solution, a mechanical relay (so 'off' is really 'off'), a very low required trigger current and no extra DC power supply needed. I ordered the parts and put them on a breadboard and it worked! So I made the schematic into a PCB with EasyEDA and ordered it at https://jlcpcb.com/, 5 PCB's for only a few Euros. They will arrive in 3 weeks because I'm on a holiday first and chose the cheap but slow shipping option from China.

When I'm back I will test it and report here if anyone is interested in building it.

Screenshot_20230623 _13.31.58@2x.jpg

(The high voltage relay - I use this one - is not pictured in the 3D model but you can see the outline on the PCB)
 
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I have reported a bug to Wiim on the wiim Pro 12v trigger output. It will actually source well over 100mA but is actually not capable of starting up if the load relay is connected. This is even a problem with a 1K resistor as a load (12mA). resistor load). . I have resorted to an inline circuit that delays applying power to the relay until the voltage is above 9v or so. That works with my relay (approx 35-40mA at 12v). Another solution is a transistor buffered relay powered from a separate (yuk) 5v or 12v PSU block.

I'm guessing - but the 12v output is driven by a 5v to 12v boost convertor inside the wiim. I think that circuit goes into overload when starting up with a load or more than 2 or 3 mA. Wild guess!
 
coppo23 said:
It will actually source well over 100mA but is actually not capable of starting up if the load relay is connected.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for digging into the technical side of this! I have some understanding of the electronics but not the time to brush up and test this properly myself.

At this point I can only assume that Wiim know perfectly well what the issue is with the trigger and aren’t saying much because it can’t be fixed in software. I’d love to be wrong though. The pro would still give me my dream hi-fi setup if the trigger worked. As things are I’m not even sure how they can get away with selling it in the UK with one of the advertised features not working in a pretty clear-cut way.
 
coppo23 said:
I have resorted to an inline circuit that delays applying power to the relay until the voltage is above 9v or so. That works with my relay (approx 35-40mA at 12v).
Click to expand...
Thanks coppo23, I also noticed the trigger output current is able to hold the relay when already active but not trigger it. Your explanation sounds plausible!

Would you mind describing your circuit? Maybe it is an easier solution than the one I tested. And after reading your comment: maybe even a simple Zener diode would do the same trick of only applying power to the relay above a certain voltage. Worth an experiment..
 
This works and seems 100% reliable: was using bits I had. It would be better with a 9.1v zener and change both resistors to the same value - in the range 680-1k51688316945377.png
 
Just another thought about the 12v Trigger unable to start up into a load. I am using a USB hub to power all the bits in my AC rack. In theory it has plenty of power available (2A total - 1A per output and I'm only running the wiim -200mA and harmony hub - maybe < 350mA). I just wondered if the input5v was dipping and it maybe worth trying a different 5v PSU? May be easy for you to try as my system is now all neat and tidy and installed!
 
I’m using a 2A 5V supply only for the WiiM so a dip in the PSU current does not seem likely. Thanks a lot for your schematic! When I’m back home in a few weeks I will test further and see what works best for me. Good to know your solution works and is tested to be reliable.
 
Finished my trigger relay using the circuit from my earlier post. Works flawlessly! I'm waiting for another PCB I made with coppo23's circuit. Will test that too, using a relay with a somewhat higher rated current as the one I used in this build.

Screenshot_20230721 _09.22.47@2x.jpg
 
boiing said:
I'm waiting for another PCB I made with coppo23's circuit. Will test that too ...
Click to expand...
Soldered the PCB and all working good with a 9V Zener diode as suggested. Thanks again coppo23. I'll leave it at that in this thread as it does not seem to affect many people. I have a few spare PCB's for both circuits (minimum order was 5) so if anyone is interested and able to source the components and solder just send me a message and I can send you one if you pay for postage (from EU, Netherlands) 😉.
 
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boiing said:
Soldered the PCB and all working good with a 9V Zener diode as suggested. Thanks again coppo23. I'll leave it at that in this thread as it does not seem to affect many people. I have a few spare PCB's for both circuits (minimum order was 5) so if anyone is interested and able to source the components and solder just send me a message and I can send you one if you pay for postage (from EU, Netherlands) 😉.
Click to expand...
Very interested (also Netherlands). Just ordered a SSR for this exact application. If that doesn’t work out I’ll happily pay postage for one of your modules :)
 
Np problem, let me know (in Dutch 😊) if you want one. I think I even have some spare components for an extra board if you need those too.
 
The Double S said:
I bought exactly the same trigger from Audiophonics, and equally do not get it triggered ON by the WIIM output. If I plug in and out the 2,5mm Jack it triggers the Audiophonics ON, but if left inside it will not turn the Audiophonics ON in future power ups. Turning OFF seems to work but still testing. It sounds indeed as that the WIIM does have a weak current not able to flip the relay status.
Click to expand...
thanks for the information, I still have problems with trigger output from WiiM Pro it’s not working.
Here are the hardware details:

I’m using a switch from Vocomo TSD V1 with trigger input 12 V 33mA ( inner resistance 360 Ohm).

1 Test: Trigger Signal from WiiM Pro is not connected to the switch TSD V1
. The trigger signal from WiiM Pro is connected separately/ manually to TSD V1
after 30sec,the relay from TSD V1 works. Mains is connected to amplifier. Function OK

2 Test: Hardware is the same.
The trigger from WiiM Pro is continuously connected to TSD V1. Start the playback function the Relay will not switch mains to an amplifier. Disconnect and connect the trigger signal from WiiM Pro immediately , the Relay works and switch on the mains. Switch off the playback the Relay will disconnect the amplifier from mains after 2:30.

Please let me know your comments and solutions to solve this severe problem.
The trigger function was one reason for me to buy the WiiM Pro.
 
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