Relay Board Controller

8-channel relay board used for controlling devices

A cross-platform controller for managing an 8-channel relay power strip via serial/USB connection. Implements a custom binary protocol at 57600 baud with CRC8 checksums for reliable communication. Includes a Windows GUI application with network remote control and a Linux command-line interface.

Features

Custom binary serial protocol at 57600 baud (8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit)
CRC8 checksums on all messages for data integrity validation
5-byte frame format: sync byte (0x55), length, command, data, CRC8
Command set: Set all relays, Turn on/off individual relay (0-7), Get relay status
Windows GUI with VCL interface and network socket support for remote control
Linux CLI with configuration file for relay labels and device path
Human-readable output showing relay states with custom labels from config file

Technical Details

Windows version: C++ Builder 6.0 with VCL, socket library for remote control, hash-based authentication
Linux version: C with POSIX termios for serial communication, CMake 3.2+ build system
Serial protocol: Custom binary commands — 'S' (set all), 'O' (on), 'F' (off), 'G' (get status), 'R' (response)
CRC8 implementation: Lookup table and bit-by-bit versions, seed 0x00, excludes sync byte
Configuration: INI-style config file mapping relay numbers to human-readable labels

Build Instructions

Linux

cd linux
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make
./power_strip

Windows

Open the .bpr project file in C++ Builder 6.0 and build.

Check out the project on GitHub: Relay Board Controller on GitHub

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