Connecting photocells to a NICE Road gate opener
Drives NICE Road use conventional wiring technology, so they are essentially compatible with all relay-type photocells powered by 24V. Road drives are not compatible with photocells using BlueBus technology.
Photocells always come in pairs: a transmitter (TX) and a receiver (RX). Photocells are divided into three types:
- Both photocells are wired (transmitter TX and receiver RX). The most commonly used models are BF, EPM and EPS, followed by EPL, F210, and the older, now unavailable MOF, FE and FI models.
- One photocell is wired, and the other is battery-powered wireless. Model FT210.
- Reflector photocell. The only model is EPMOR.
There is also:
Disconnect the drive from the power supply before wiring the photocells. If you are not connecting photocells, install a jumper between terminals 1 and 5 on the control unit.
Wiring wired photocells
The TX photocell is connected using a 2×0.5 mm2, and the RX photocell is connected using a 4×0.5 mm2. In theory, you can make a jumper inside the photocell and connect the RX photocell using a three-core cable.
In the past, Road drives were supplied with various control units:
| RBA0 | RBA4 | RBA4/A | RBA4R10 |
|---|
Among other changes, between control units RBA4 and RBA4/A the photocell power supply polarity was reversed, so
- if you are connecting photocells to control unit RBA4R10 and RBA4/A,
you should use the new wiring diagram, - if you are connecting photocells to control unit RBA4 and RBA0,
you should use the old wiring diagram.
New photocell wiring diagram for RBA4R10 and RBA4/A control units
In theory, instead of running a wire from terminal 4 on the RX photocell to terminal 1 on the control unit, you can jumper terminals 1 and 4 inside the photocell and use a three-core cable.
Old photocell wiring diagram for RBA4 and RBA0 control units
In theory, instead of running a wire from terminal 4 on the RX photocell to terminal 1 on the control unit, you can jumper terminals 2 and 4 inside the photocell and use a three-core cable.
Wiring one wired and one wireless photocell
In practice, this applies only to NICE FT210 photocells. One photocell is connected using a four-core cable; the other is battery-powered.
Connect NICE FT210 photocells to a NICE Road drive as follows:
- Disconnect the drive from the power supply
- Set the jumpers on the TX photocell as follows:
- Jumper J1 – removed (if the photocells are more than 7 m apart, insert it)
- Jumper J2 – removed
- Jumper J3 – removed
- Set the jumpers on the RX photocell as follows:
- Jumper J1 – removed
- Jumper J2 – inserted
- Connect the wires as follows (photocell terminals are numbered from top to bottom):
- From terminal no. 1 (+24V) on the Road drive to terminal no. 10 (+24V) on the RX photocell
- From terminal no. 4 (-0V) on the Road drive to terminal no. 9 (-0V) on the RX photocell
- From terminal no. 5 (PHOTO) on the Road drive to terminal no. 1 (PHOTO) on the RX photocell
- From terminal no. 1 (+24V) on the Road drive to terminal no. 2 (COM) on the RX photocell
- Reconnect the drive to the power supply
The LEDs on the RX photocell should light up as follows (from left to right):
- LED 1 – green; it should be lit
- LED 2 – red; it should be off
- LED 3 – yellow; it should be off
- LED 4 – red; the slower it flashes, the better the visibility, or it will show the diagnostic sequence
Wiring a reflector photocell
The only model is NICE EPMOR. The photocell, which contains both the TX transmitter and RX receiver, is installed on one side; only a reflector is installed on the other side of the opening. Wiring instructions:
- Disconnect the drive from the power supply.
- See figure 2 on page 2 of the manual https://fortamigo.com/data/manualy-k-pohonom/fortamigo.com-NICE-EPMOR.pdf There are three jumpers: J1, J2 and J3. Set them as follows:
- If the gate opening is wider than 4 m, remove jumper J1; if it is narrower, leave it in place.
- Set jumper J2 to the NC position; it should be on the top two pins, with the bottom pin left free.
- Leave jumper J3 inserted; this means we will not use the photocell test.
- Connect the wiring as follows:
- From terminal 1 on the control unit to terminal 3 on the photocell
- From terminal 4 on the control unit to terminal 4 on the photocell
- From terminal 1 on the control unit to terminal 6 on the photocell
- From terminal 5 on the control unit to terminal 5 on the photocell
- Reconnect the drive to the power supply; it should now work.
Wiring multiple pairs of photocells
If you need to connect multiple pairs of photocells to a NICE Road drive, they will share the power supply, and their safety circuits should be wired in series. This means closing the safety circuit between terminals 1 and 5 on the control unit by running a wire from terminal 1 on the control unit to terminal 4 on the first RX photocell, then from terminal 5 on that photocell to terminal 4 on the second RX photocell, and from terminal 5 on the second photocell to terminal 5 on the control unit.
This way, if the beam between any pair is interrupted, the safety circuit will also be interrupted, and the gate will stop and start opening.
Wiring photocells to protect the gate's sliding path
If for any reason you need to connect photocells on the sliding side of a NICE Road drive, you can connect them to the STOP input, i.e. terminals 3–4. The system will then work as follows: when you enter the photocell beam, the gate will stop and move back a little. It will remain stopped and cannot be moved until you clear the photocell beams. After changing the STOP input wiring, you will need to reset the drive and run the learning procedure again.
You can combine the setup so that one pair of photocells in the opening is active only while the gate is closing, while a second pair outside the opening, in the area where the gate slides open, stops the gate whenever its beam is interrupted.
