Installation Guide: Hardware Setup
Overview This guide covers the physical installation of KanexPro Controls products — processors, expanders, keypads, and touch panels. Complete…
This article covers the serial, IR, relay and digital input ports on the CR-HOST8R. It is a 1U control processor with eight COM ports, eight IR/serial outputs, eight relays and eight digital inputs.
Serial Control: RS-232, RS-422 and RS-485
What serial ports does the CR-HOST8R have?
- COM 1–4: four 9-pin Phoenix terminals. Each runs RS-232, RS-232 with hardware flow control (RTS/CTS), RS-422 or RS-485, at 2400–115200 bps.
- COM 5–8: four 3-pin Phoenix terminals (TXD, GND, RXD). These are RS-232 only, at 2400–115200 bps.
- IR/serial outputs 1–8: each output works as either IR or a one-way RS-232 transmitter (0–5 V, TXD and GND). Together with the COM ports that gives up to 16 serial connections. An output set to serial transmits only and cannot receive feedback.
COM 1–8 each have a transmit pin, a receive pin and their own TX and RX LEDs, so a device’s responses can come back on the port that sent the command. Match each port’s baud rate and protocol to the controlled device, and confirm the device’s data-bit, parity and stop-bit framing before commissioning. If the device needs a specific framing, confirm with support@kanexpro.com that the CR-HOST8R can match it.
How are COM 1–4 wired?
| Pin | Function |
|---|---|
| 1 | RX− (RS-422 and RS-485) |
| 2 | RX+ (RS-422 and RS-485) |
| 3 | TX− (RS-422 and RS-485) |
| 4 | TX+ (RS-422 and RS-485) |
| 5 | GND |
| 6 | TXD (RS-232, with or without flow control) |
| 7 | RXD (RS-232, with or without flow control) |
| 8 | RTS (RS-232 with flow control only) |
| 9 | CTS (RS-232 with flow control only) |
For RS-485, join pin 1 (RX−) to pin 3 (TX−) as B, and pin 2 (RX+) to pin 4 (TX+) as A. For RS-232, connect GND, then wire TXD and RXD to the controlled device according to that device’s own pinout. Every serial port on the CR-HOST8R is a Phoenix terminal rather than a DB9 connector. A device with a DB9 port needs a lead made up from the Phoenix terminal to that device’s pinout.
Why is a serial device not responding?
First, check that the port’s baud rate and protocol (RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485) match the device. Next, check the wiring against the pin-out above. Each COM port has its own TX and RX LEDs on the front panel. TX blinks while the port transmits and RX blinks while it receives. If TX blinks but RX shows no activity, the port is sending and nothing is coming back.
IR (Infrared) Control
- Outputs: eight IR outputs on two 8-pin Phoenix terminals, at a 20–60 kHz carrier. These are Phoenix terminals, not 3.5 mm jacks, and IR emitters are not in the package contents.
- Learning: the CR-HOST8R learns codes from an original remote through the IR learning window on the front panel, at 20–60 kHz. The yellow IR Learning LED blinks when IR is received.
- Serial instead of IR: each of the eight outputs can be set to one-way RS-232 instead of IR.
If IR commands do not work, check the IR blaster cable connection and confirm the carrier frequency is within 20–60 kHz. Then re-learn the code through the learning window.
Relay Control
What can the relays switch?
The CR-HOST8R has eight low-voltage relay channels on two 8-pin Phoenix terminals, for lights, doors, curtains and motorized screens. Each relay is an isolated, normally open dry contact rated 2 A at 30 VDC or 1 A at 125 VAC. Wire it into the circuit it switches, with the load powered from that circuit.
Each channel’s yellow relay LED lights when that relay is closed. If a relay does not trigger, check its LED and verify the wiring polarity. Confirm the load is within 2 A at 30 VDC or 1 A at 125 VAC, then test the relay from the web GUI.
How are the relays programmed?
The CR-HOST8R runs Android 9 and is configured through its Android interface and open protocols: TCP, UDP, HTTP and WebSocket. Test each relay from the web GUI. For relay programming, contact support@kanexpro.com.
Digital Inputs
The eight digital I/O channels are inputs only, on two 5-pin Phoenix terminals. They accept dry-contact inputs rated 0–24 V and are intended for sensors. They cannot drive an external device, so use a relay output for that. Each channel’s yellow I/O LED blinks when the signal level at the port changes.
Network, Web GUI and Reset
- LAN: one Gigabit RJ45 port. The default IP is 192.168.0.101 with subnet 255.255.0.0. To reach the web GUI, put the PC on the same subnet.
- Web GUI: a built-in web server with password protection and firmware upgrade.
- RESET (rear panel): hold for 1–5 seconds to reboot, or more than 5 seconds for a factory reset. A factory reset returns the IP to 192.168.0.101 and the password to “admin”. User projects are not deleted.