node-red-contrib-ipcbox-cm5

Custom Node-RED nodes for Waveshare IPCBOX-CM5 (Raspberry Pi CM5 based Industrial Controller).
These nodes provide high-performance, real-time monitoring and control for Digital Inputs (DI) and Digital Outputs (DO) by leveraging system-level gpiod tools.

Key Features

• Ubuntu Ready: Well-tested on Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS.
• Real-time DI Monitoring: Uses hardware interrupts (via gpiomon) for instant response.
• Initial State Sync: Automatically detects and outputs current DI status upon Node-RED startup.
• Integrated Debounce: Built-in software filtering to eliminate mechanical switch noise.
• Zero Compilation: No C++ build tools required, ensuring stability on modern Ubuntu/Debian kernels.

1. Prerequisites (System Tools)

Before installing this module, you must ensure that the gpiod library is installed on your system. Open your terminal and run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y gpiod

2. GPIO Permission Setup (Crucial)

By default, Linux restricts hardware access to the root user. To allow Node-RED to control GPIOs, follow these steps to set up Udev Rules: Create the GPIO group and add your user:

# 1. Create group named "gpio"
sudo groupadd -f gpio

# 2. add now user (eg.ubuntu) join to group named "gpio"
sudo usermod -aG gpio $USER

# 3. Change the group ownership of device files (Temporary, valid until next reboot)
sudo chgrp gpio /dev/gpiochip*
sudo chmod g+rw /dev/gpiochip*

Create a new Udev rule file:

sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/99-gpio.rules

Paste the following line into the file:

SUBSYSTEM=="gpio", KERNEL=="gpiochip*", ACTION=="add", GROUP="gpio", MODE="0660"

Apply the changes and Reboot:

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules && sudo udevadm trigger
# It is highly recommended to reboot the system
sudo reboot

3. Installation

Once the system is configured, you can install the nodes locally or from the Node-RED Palette Manager. For Local Installation (using .tgz file):

cd ~/.node-red
npm install /path/to/node-red-contrib-ipcbox-cm5-1.0.0.tgz

4. Hardware Mapping Reference

The nodes are pre-configured for the IPCBOX-CM5 industrial board layout: | Function | Node Label | BCM GPIO | Electrical Logic | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | |Digital Input 1 | DI1 | 23 | Inverted (24V = 0 / Low) | | Digital Input 2 | DI2 | 24 | Direct (24V = 1 / High) | | Digital Output 1 | DO1 | 27 | Open-Collector | | Digital Output 2 | DO2 | 22 | Open-Collector | | Indicator 1 | USER1 | 25 | Resistor Pull High | | Indicator 2 | USER2 | 26 | Resistor Pull High |

5. Usage

IPCBOX DI (Input Node)

• Debounce (ms): Set the time interval to filter out contact bounce from mechanical switches.
• Output: Returns msg.payload as true (Active/24V) or false (Inactive/Disconnected).
• Topic: Outputs as input/DI1 or input/DI2. IPCBOX DO (Output Node)
• Input Payload: Accepts true/false, 1/0, or "ON"/"OFF".
• Hardware Action: Activating DO will pull the Open-Collector output to Ground (RGND). IPCBOX INDICATOR (Output Node)
• Input Payload: Accepts true/false, 1/0, or "ON"/"OFF".
• Hardware Action: The outputs use an 3.3V pull-high with a resistor design. Activating the channel will sink PGIO to Ground.

Example Flow

This package includes a pre-built example. Go to Import -> Examples -> node-red-contrib-ipcbox-cm5 -> Basic GPIO Usage to get started.

License

MIT License - Developed by Iden Tech.