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Multiple Joshua Tree I2C Relay Drivers

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I recently energized my newly constructed monoblocks, each with three channels of Anthony Holton's amplifier modules. Each module has a dedicated Joshua Tree attenuator, configured for balanced I/O. So far, so good. The attenuators are working great. I have each box tethered to a separate Volumite via Cat-6 cable; this works.

I seem to be stuck configuring my system down to a single Volumite. I know this can be done, because the website says "Multiple relay drivers can be used if more channels of control are required".

I have tried the obvious stuff, like just shorting the grounds, SLA, and SLC pins from both driver cards together and trying to set one of the DIP addressing lines to 1 instead of 0 on the other side. All of my experiments have resulted in non-operational attenuators.

I am sure this is an easy fix; can one of you experienced folks give me a hint to get past this hurdle?
 
Cool, thanks for the reply Brian.

But I actually have *6* relay boards (for balanced signals) distributed among two physical boxes; I need two controllers for both reasons (6 boards and two chassis). Three relay boards per box are already daisy chained (and that works great there).

I really need one Volumite to send the same commands to both driver boards.
 
Another simple approach is to use a single pot to control two Volumites. You would just need to share the ground and wiper pads of the two Volumites, and use the V+ pad from one of them.

Great minds think alike :cool:. This was my thought too, and then I figured I could extend the idea by upgrading the pot to a heavy, "feel good" component for an improved user experience. Bolt that to the remote panel, remove both pots from the Volumites, and have the big pot's wiper feed both Volumite terminals.

Somehow I think a Volumite firmware upgrade might not be too pressing, if I am the first guy to need it in ten years of Joshua Tree applications...
 
Cool; my GitHub handle is JohnGalbraith.

I don't have the gear to program my parts, though. I either have to gear up or buy more chips from you. It might be better to burn the parts myself, in case we have to go through an iteration or two. Do you have a suggestion for equipment for this, hopefully gear that works with Linux?
 
I2C Command Set

Brian,
I was wondering if I could get enough information about the serial protocol to create a new master to substitute for the Volumite.

I think the JT boards themselves are working great for me, but between the need to control multiple well separated boxes, cable distance, and failing Volumite hardware, I need to figure out a different master controller.

The JT boards are so perfect for my setup; I get six channels of balanced passive attenuation that sounds great and is uniquely suited this application. So I want to keep using those. My plan is to use Arduino hardware (or whatever) to write I2C commands to my JT boards.

So to make this work, I think all I need is documentation about the software command set. I can probably also glean this information from the Volumite firmware if you make that available to me.

Got an hints?
 
Another simple approach is to use a single pot to control two Volumites. You would just need to share the ground and wiper pads of the two Volumites, and use the V+ pad from one of them.

Hi Brian,

to connect 2 volumite together, can I use a single potentiometer (pin 1 to GND, pin 3 to VCC) and connect its wiper to the 2 volumite boards ?
Please see the attached picture.

Thanks
 

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