Inexpensive & Relable Relays..??

[spinjector]

Hi all. Can anyone point me to a good source for relays like one would see at nice & clean transmitter sites?

I really like the DIN-rail setups with the screw-terminal sockets, but they're so expensive.

The KH-style is nice, but - is there a less-expensive way? Like 12V automotive relays & sockets?

I know you'll probably all tell me stick with KH, so is there an inexpensive supplier for them and the sockets & rails?

I'm looking for the dual-coil *latching* variety as well.

Thanks.

 

[RealityCheckr]

KH style relay need not be expensive:

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/category/500/Relays/1.html

However finding dual coil latching relays cheap is going to take some work.

Any chance you can make the trigger have both no and NC closures and then use a regular multi-pole wired up to self latch?

 

[spinjector]

I could of course use two relays cross-linked to make a pseudo-latch, but I'd like it to be a "powerless solution". With a cross-link, if power is lost, any relays that were latched "forget".

I could of course find small DIP relays that latch, possibly even the glass-reed variety, and simply use those to hold the coil of the larger KH relay. But I'd like to keep them all the same flavor.

 

[cgould]

Hi!

What might help you is something I did for my model railroad setup...take a standard single coil latching relay, and pull up both sides of the coil
with an 80 ohm resistor. (Also, put the usual spark suppression diode(s) across these resistors. To change relay states, simply ground one side of the coil to latch one way, or ground the other to latch in the other direction.

I also used this for a composite A/B switch. A nice way to have dual coil action with minimal parts from a single coil latching relay!

-Cornelius

 

[TomT]

Probably not exactly what you are looking for, but look at the LR-5 from Broadcast Tools:

http://www.broadcasttools.com/view_product.php?pid=173

There are four mechanical latching relays mounted on a small circuit card (about the size of a deck of cards) in a piece of plastic track.

A momentary contact to ground switches the four relays on or off, they stay in whatever mode they are switched to without any power to circuit. A fifth relay gives you an "on" contact indication.

I put one in a plastic Radio Shack box and added terminal strips to use for program line switching with an older EAS unit (the internal relays in the unit were getting flaky). Could probably be used for a variety of switching projects provided you were not trying to switch AC, or heavy current loads.