Reference — Bloc 8 power module

The device this module publishes

Device	Function	Instance	What it carries
Power outputs, Bloc 8	1	the configured InstanceNum, 0…62	the whole module: outputs, inputs, currents, voltage

The module publishes one device and one only. Its instance is the InstanceNum parameter; the factory value is 255, which means not addressed — the module then parks at instance 63, answers requests there, and publishes nothing periodic.

Its address on the bus, the -d of muxen-uds, is function × 64 + instance — instance 3 is device id 67. On the Brain its topics are device/1/<instance>/….

Frames

Frame	Broadcast id	Topic	Sent
Boot	common	—	once at startup, with the count of software restarts
UID	common	—	on request
Life	1	life	every 500 ms, and on every output change
I/O	2	io	on a digital-input change, on an analog change of 100 mV or more, and at least every GenIoMaxSendingPeriod
Current 1 (outputs 1…4)	4	current1	every 500 ms while current publication is on
Current 2 (outputs 5…8)	5	current2	every 500 ms while current publication is on
Voltage	7	voltage	every second
Level	10	level	once at startup, then on change, at most every 500 ms — see below

Each of them is also sent on request, so a screen coming up does not have to wait for the next period.

Nothing periodic is sent while the module has no instance number of its own. Requests are still answered.

Output levels, in the level frame

Eight bytes, level0 to level7 for outputs 1 to 8: the level each output is driven at right now, 0…100 %, a ramp in progress included. An output that does not dim reads 0 or 100.

Value	Meaning
0…100	the output's level
255	no level to give: the output tripped (short-circuit or not-connected), or the module is parked at 63

A change goes out at once. Changes within the next 500 ms are held back, and the latest one is sent when that window ends — so a ramp is seen twice a second, and its final level always arrives. The frame is not repeated periodically: a listener that starts later asks for it.

Output states, in the life frame

Code	Meaning
0	power-off
1	power-on
2	short-circuit — the overcurrent tripped
3	not-connected — the open-load detection tripped

Commands

One point-to-point frame, addressed to function 1 and the module's instance. On the Brain: device/1/<instance>/command.

Field	Values	Effect
channel	0…7	the output, 0 being output 1
requestOn	true	switch that output on
requestOff	true	switch that output off
dimming	1…100	dimming level, clamped into the output's range. Ignored on an output that is not dimmable. 0 and anything above 100 leave the level alone
channel	8	the frame carries the two flags below instead of an output command
requestOnPublishCurrent	true	start the per-output current frames
requestOffPublishCurrent	true	stop them

The current publication asked for this way is not saved: it is off again after a restart, unless EnCurrentPeriodic says otherwise. The publication period is fixed at 500 ms.

On a non-latching output a command is a hold of 5 seconds, not a switch: after that the output follows its pad and its equation again. On a latching or monostable output it acts like a press.

How an output behaves

Three inputs reach every output: its pad on the front panel, commands from the bus, and its own equation. They are equivalent — any of them triggers the output.

What wins, from the top:

1. Safety — the supply outside VBatMin…VBatMax, or no instance number: every output is held at 0.
2. Overcurrent — the output is forced to 0 and reports short-circuit until it is commanded off.
3. Open load — same, reporting not-connected.
4. A command from the bus — an override on a non-latching output, a press like any other on a latching or monostable one.
5. The pad and the equation.

The three modes

LatchOut<n>	Mode	Behaviour
0	non-latching	on while something asks for it, off when nothing does. Holding the pad for 5 s locks it on until the next press
1	latching	each press toggles it. The default
2	monostable	each press starts a pulse of OffDelayOut<n>. MonoOutRetrigger<n> says what a second press during the pulse does: 0 — restart the pulse 1 — cancel it

Delays

Parameter	Latching and non-latching	Monostable
OnDelayOut<n>	delay between the request and the output coming on	delay before the pulse starts
OffDelayOut<n>	delay between the request and the output going off	length of the pulse

Both delays are cancelled by a new request during the delay. They are ignored on a dimmable output.

Dimming

Only on a latching output with Dimmable<n> = 1. The level lives between DimmingMiniLvl<n> and DimmingDfltLvl<n>; a long press — longer than GlobOutLongPushDly — ramps it up and down over that range, one full sweep taking GlobOutDimRamp, and releasing freezes it. The level is remembered until the next restart, when it starts again at the maximum.

A minimum above the maximum is refused: see Common mistakes — Bloc 8 power module.

Flashing

FlashOutput<n> set to a duration makes a latching output flash while it is on, half the period on and half off. It is ignored on a dimmable output.

At switch-on

Every time an output goes from off to on, the module checks it after 10 ms. On a fault it pulses the output off for 20 ms and on again, up to 256 times, before declaring the overcurrent — an output into a real short chatters briefly, then latches off as short-circuit.

Parameters

Written with muxen-uds writeconfig. The supply window, the sensor supply, the I/O period and the two current-reporting settings take effect at once; everything that decides how an output behaves is read at startup, so write the last one of a batch with --reboot.

The module

Parameter	Type	Default	Meaning
InstanceNum	0…62	255	the module's instance; 255 means not addressed
EnAnalogPwr	0/1	1	supply of the analog sensors: 0 — off 1 — on
VBatMax	mV	32000	above this, every output is held off
VBatMin	mV	9000	below this, every output is held off
EnCurrentPeriodic	0/1	0	publish the per-output currents from every start
GenIoMaxSendingPeriod	ms	5000	longest silence on the I/O frame; 0 — only on change
StartupDly	ms	0	delay between power-up and the outputs starting
GlobOutLongPushDly	ms	3000	press longer than this is a long press
GlobOutDimRamp	ms	1000	one full dimming sweep, minimum to maximum
BindToParc	—	autodetect	declared for the family; not used by this firmware
ProductId, HardwareId, SoftwareId, SoftwareVersion	read-only		see Reference

Each output, <n> = 1…8

Parameter	Type	Default	Meaning
EqnOut<n>	text, 255	empty	the output's own rule, over the boat's signals. Empty means no rule
LatchOut<n>	0/1/2	1	0 — non-latching 1 — latching 2 — monostable
DefaultSteOut<n>	0/1	0	state taken at every start: 0 — off 1 — on
MonoOutRetrigger<n>	0/1	0	monostable, press during the pulse: 0 — restart 1 — cancel
OnDelayOut<n>	ms	0	see the delay table above
OffDelayOut<n>	ms	0	see the delay table above
MaxCurrentOut<n>	mA	5000	overcurrent threshold; 0 disables the protection
MinCurrentOut<n>	mA	0	open-load threshold; 0 — disabled
AlertDelayOut<n>	ms	200	how long either threshold must be exceeded before the output trips
Dimmable<n>	0/1	0	0 — disabled 1 — enabled, latching outputs only
DimmingDfltLvl<n>	%	100	top of the dimming range
DimmingMiniLvl<n>	%	10	bottom of the dimming range. Must stay below the top
FlashOutput<n>	ms	0	flash period while on; 0 — steady
DegradedMode<n>	0…255	0	load-shedding level: the output is shed when the boat's degraded level rises above it, and comes back only if DefaultSteOut<n> is 1. 0 — never shed
NomCurrentOut<n>	mA	0	nominal current reported when the output is on and the measurement falls below it
IMeaCoef<n>	—	17	converts the measurement into milliamps. Factory value; changing it changes every current this output reports, and its two thresholds with them

Each virtual signal, <n> = 1…4

Four more equations that switch nothing and are published in the life frame as VirtualSig0 … VirtualSig3 — useful to publish a state the rest of the boat needs without spending an output on it.

Parameter	Type	Default
EqnVsig<n>	text, 255	empty
LatchVsig<n>	0/1/2	0
DefaultSteVsig<n>	0/1	0
MonoOutRetriggerVsig<n>	0/1	0
OnDelayVsig<n>	ms	0
OffDelayVsig<n>	ms	0

Routines

Routine	Payload	Effect
1	0001	restore the instance number to its default
1	any bit above bit 0	restore every other parameter — erases the equations and the trip settings
2	—	locate: the eight cells of the front panel flash three times
16	built by muxen-uds legend	write one label image to a zone of the front panel

The front panel

The panel is a slave of the module: it has no address, no configuration and no bus of its own, and everything it shows comes from the module.

Link	internal, 20 kbaud
Output states sent	on every output-processing pass
Instance, module status, inputs	one of them every second, in rotation, so each is refreshed about every 4 s
Panel refresh	an output cell is repainted when its state changes; a page, or a new label, repaints the whole screen
At start	a waiting screen for 5 s, then the output page
On silence	after 500 ms with nothing from the module, a POWER OFF page with every output shown off

The pages

#	Page	Pads
1	the eight outputs: name and state	switch their output
2	trip settings: maximum current and delay per output	—
3	fault codes — reserved, empty in the panel firmware that ships today	—
4	the six digital inputs	—
5	the three analog inputs	—
6	identity: product, software, version, UID	8 then 1 opens the instance screen

The two arrows walk the ring. On any page other than the first, the numbered pads switch nothing.

The label zones

One image per zone, 155 × 40 pixels, black and white. The zone number is what muxen-uds legend --zone takes.

Zone	Labels
16…23	outputs 1…8
24	the module's own name, in the header
25	the digital-input page title
26…31	digital inputs 1…6
32	the analog-input page title
33…35	analog inputs 1…3

Images are stored in the panel and survive a power cut; they are only replaced when they are pushed again. A transfer takes the module about a second, during which it answers neither the pads nor another image.

Diagnostic codes

Code	Meaning
0x0001	supply voltage above VBatMax
0x0002	supply voltage below VBatMin
0x<n>01	output <n>: its equation would not parse
0x<n>02	output <n>: overcurrent
0x<n>03	output <n>: open load

<n> is the output number, 1…8 — output 3's overcurrent is 0x0302. They are published once a second.

Timings

Life frame	500 ms
Voltage frame	1 s
Current frames	500 ms, when on
Diagnostic codes	1 s
Voltage debounce, in and out of safety	about 1 s
A command from the bus holds a non-latching output for	5 s
A pad held on a non-latching output locks it on after	5 s
The boat's degraded level is forgotten after	5 s without news
System LED	one blink a second; five a second when the supply is out of range

Versions

Product ID	010020008
Hardware ID	990010072
Software ID	990050032
Software version	6.0
Image	010020008.srec

Updating the image is the same on every BLOC 8 v2: Loading and updating a firmware. The outputs go off when the module restarts to install it and come back on their DefaultSteOut<n>; the settings and the panel's labels are kept.