DNOU8 boards are fully assembled and ready to install on your layout or diorama. DNOU8 boards provide digital ports allowing a microcontroller such as an Arduino or ESP controller to run LEDS, relays and other devices. Multiple DNOU8 boards can be connected together to create a chain of up to 256 digital ports.
Planning Your Installation #
Place your boards and board stacks near the devices they control. Any time you need more than 8 ports in a given location, stack as many boards as necessary (up to 6) to meet the needs of that location. You goal is to keep the device leads short; the only wiring running running to your controller, and between multiple boards in a chain, should be one DNOU8 logic bundle (3 wires).
Power Supply #
DNOU8 (and the companion DNOU1 Kit) were designed to use +5v TTL logic. However, the board and it’s integrated circuits are 3v3 TTL compatible; the minimum switching voltage is 2 volts. This has not been fully tested but the boards should work with 3.3 volt boards using 3.3 volt TTL.
Each DNOU8 board will require 2 connections: 1) a 3-wire logic connection to the microcontroller, or the the next upstream DNOU8 board in a chain; and 2) Power connections for TTL logic and for the devices the board will control.
Devices can be powered from a different power supply than used for TTL. Device power can be at any DC voltage from 3.3 volts to a maximum of 30 volts, and can include inductive loads. This allows you to control a wide range of DC devices. In a chain, each board can have a different device power source as needed.
ALL GROUNDS MUST BE TIED TOGETHER. When using multiple power sources, all grounds from all power sources must be joined to a Master ground.
