There isn't enough power to drive a mechanical relay direct from the circuit. So you need a low power solid state relay to switch power from the external power supply to a mechanical relay that then gives you dry contact switching.
Isn't enough power?!? You can drive a 5v relay with an ESP8266 and that only gives like 20 mA . This has to be at least that much. And if not, then use a transistor. I don't understand the need for two relays. There are much better ways to handle it.
He also never tried just a mechanical relay. All he tried were two solid state relays.
In fact, I found a mechanical relay with a switching current that is HALF of the solid state relay he bought.
Maybe you should just give up while you're behind.
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I'm just telling you what the guy with it actually on his desk found. But of course you are right, as you always are.
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He didn't try a mechanical relay. He tried two solid state relays. When he talked about a mechanical relay he was just saying that...read it again.
And i don't care what he's got on his desk. You are wrong.
Plus, you never answered my other question....even if there weren't enough power, why would you use another relay? That seems like the best way to solve that problem to you?
I actually tried a mechanical relay. I don't just make stuff up.
If anyone wants to take the information I learned here and expand on it, correct it to your satisfaction, ridicule it, whatever. I don't really care what you do with it. This was a fun side project that I'll personally get a lot of mileage out of. It's posted here in Lounge purely to share what I learned while I was having fun.
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Sweet deal!
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Care to apologise, Ryan?
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You still haven't answered my question. Even if this module was not able to provide the power needed to trip a mechanical relay, you really think that using ANOTHER relay is the correct way to fix that problem? I'm not responding to any of your comments until you respond to mine.
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I really have no idea what a Switchmate is (Iām sure Iāll Google it sometime) but I love the invent fullness and experimentation. Most of this was a good read, thanks !
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It was a good idea, poorly implemented. Only fits North American light switches. You didnāt miss anything 
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Yes, I did and seem like they pulled them from all inventory that was why I went to some of the stores.
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Ordered one of these to try. Has built in optocouplers so a 3V source with as low as 5mA can trigger a 5v relay fed from the primary power source for the Zigbee module.
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So, I got one of the Sengled Element Classic bulbs. If you are careful taking it apart, you can actually put it back together and still use it as a bulb! There's no need to remove the bottom part of the bulb with the regular E26 variety. Once you remove the globe, you can pull the metal divider out and then just pop the Zigbee board off the other board and slide it out. You can then reverse the process and get the board reconnected and it works as a bulb again.
The signal coming off the pin is in fact a PWM signal. This means that you are going to have to use something like an RC filter to "flatten" the signal if you want to use it for something with a digital input, like a relay. Otherwise you are always going to end up with some "flicker" in whatever you are controlling. I would suspect that the signal you are reading as 3.4v is actually a PWM signal that is switching between 0 and 5 volts. So, I would have to say that using this module to run something like a relay is always going to run into trouble if you want the relay to remain on for any length of time. If you are using it to do a momentary trigger of another device, then that wouldn't be a problem but driving something that isn't able to handle a PWM signal is definitely going to be problematic.
In the case of wiring the output directly to another input, like the button on your switchmate, it is likely that the pwm signal is trigger that button thousands of times every seconds and will burn up your switchmate.
Maybe. Would be no love lost. The Switchmates were only $7. Iāll get to it eventually. Just started back to a busy schedule yesterday, so little time for experiments.
Only thing Iāve built with them at this point is a better switch for my garden lights using the original LED driver and a 110v relay. Thatās been working perfectly for weeks.
And it could for a while. I'm just saying, this is not a constant digital output. So, things that require a constant digital input might not work, might not work well, or might not work as long. That's all.
You can easily correct it into a constant analog signal with an RC filter (resistor and capacitor).
You maybe misunderstand. The one that I have built is simply using the 100% output of around 90~95v DC from the bulb driver to activate a 110v AC relay. That should be fine. Yes, itās pulsing at a very rapid rate, but the relay at that voltage remains latched. I donāt hear any buzzing or anything like that.
