BB-400 Quick Start Guide

The Brainboxes BB-400 is an industrial NeuronEdge controller. This guide will help you set up your BB-400. Out of the box your BB-400 comes with sensible defaults to help you get started fast.

For more detailed information, the product manual, and a host of resources for programming and software integration visit www.brainboxes.com.

warning

Risk of injury from energy stored in capacitors. Wait at least 5 minutes after shutdown of device before opening case.

Overview

The BB-400 features:

• Uplink — Ethernet uplink port
• LAN — Local area network port
• Wi-Fi Antenna — wireless connectivity
• Reset — device reset button
• Power State — power status LEDs
• Serial — RS232/RS422/RS485 serial port
• Power — +5VDC to +30VDC power input
• DIO 0-3 — digital I/O lines (group 1)
• DIO 4-7 — digital I/O lines (group 2)
• DIO Status — I/O status LEDs
• A Admin — admin interface
• B NFC — near-field communication (coming soon via software update)
• C Serial — serial interface
• D Bluetooth — Bluetooth connectivity

Power Supply

Connect a power supply providing +5VDC to +30VDC, 15W max typical power.

The optional PW-400 power supply (available in UK/EU/US/AUS variants) is suitable for use with the BB-400.

Power State LEDs

The power state LEDs indicate: Precharge, Running, UPS, Alert, and Stopping.

Real Time Clock

The BB-400 includes an optional real time clock (RTC). Battery not included.

To set the clock via terminal:

bb@bb400-XXXX:~ $ sudo bb config.system.rtc true

Network Discovery

The BB-400 can be accessed via three methods:

Uplink

Connect the BB-400 Uplink port to your network. The device will be discoverable on your local network.

LAN

Connect your computer directly to the BB-400 LAN port.

Wi-Fi Hot Spot

Connect to the BB-400 Wi-Fi access point:

Parameter	Value
IP Address	192.168.127.2/24
SSID	BB-400-XXXX
MAC	00:0A:4F:40:XX:XX

Login

note

Secure webpages require an SSL certificate. This can only be applied for once an IP address or name has been assigned. This is the case for all IoT devices. The connection however is encrypted and secure.

Digital I/O

The BB-400 has 8 digital I/O lines split into two groups:

DIO 0-3 (Green terminal block):

DIO 4-7 (Yellow terminal block):

Digital Inputs

Parameter	Specification
NPN/PNP	Jumper selectable pull up for NPN (active low) type sensors and pull down for PNP (active high) type sensors
Logic Level 0	0V to +1V maximum
Logic Level 1	+2.0V to +30V maximum
Latched Inputs	Triggered by user programmable positive or negative edges, stays true until acknowledged
Counter Inputs	User programmable, counts positive or negative transitions, up to 250Hz count rate. 16-bit (65535 count) or 32-bit (4.2 billion count) counters

Digital Outputs

Parameter	Specification
Max output current	Sinks up to 0.85 Amp per pin, 30V max load
Max combined load	4 Amps per BB device
Max output load voltage	30V
ESD Protection	Protection to 16kV

DIO Status

Serial Port

Pin	Signal
1	Sig GND
2	CTS
3	RxD
4	RTS
5	TxD

Serial Port Settings

Parameter	Specification
Baud Rate	Any custom baud rate between 300 - 921,600
Data Bits	5, 6, 7 or 8 (1 stop bit)
Parity	Odd, Even, None
Stop Bits	1, 1.5 or 2
Flow Control	RTS/CTS, XON/XOFF

RS422/RS485 Jumper Configuration

The serial port mode is selected via jumpers:

Jumper Position	Mode
Closed	RS422-485 Full Duplex
Open	RS485 Half Duplex
Default (PARK)	RS232

ASCII & REST Examples

ASCII Protocol

Command	Response	Description
$AAM1	!AA(Data)	Read device location
@AA6	>(Data)	Read Digital I/O Status
~AAO(Name)	!AA	Set Device Name

Terminal example:

@01
>00FF

REST API

Request	Verb	Response
http://bb400-xxxx:9000/io	GET	{"inputs": [1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1], "outputs": [0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]}
http://bb400-xxxx:9000/io/inputs	GET	[1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1]
http://bb400-xxxx:9000/io/inputs/0	GET	1
http://bb400-xxxx:9000/io/outputs	GET	[0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]
http://bb400-xxxx:9000/io/outputs	POST	200 OK (body: [1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0])

Software & APIs

Protocol	Endpoint
REST	http://bb400-xxxx:9000/io
WebSocket	ws://bb400-xxxx:8989
ASCII TCP	bb400-xxxx:9500

www.brainboxes.com/bb-400 provides a range of resources and example code to get you started with some common machine monitoring scenarios. Sample code is available in the following languages:

• .NET C# & VB
• Python
• Node.js
• Node-RED (visual coding interface)

Operating System

The BB-400 runs Raspbian Lite, based on Debian Linux.

Docker

Docker is an online repository for secure/isolated apps that can run on your BB-400. To get started search for Brainboxes and find prebuilt containers.

Other Connections and Updates

tip

It is recommended to install all updates when you first use the device. This will ensure you are running the latest version of the operating system and software.

• NFC — Tap your smartphone or NFC enabled device to get device status information and IP address (coming soon via software update)
• Modbus — Support for Modbus TCP (coming soon)