SainSmart Relay Board

Click any image to enlarge it.

This is an upgraded version using solid state technology. It allows you to connect up to 8 toys on your virtual pinball cabinet. This is a 5V 2A board.

For virtual pinball use, you should use the 8-port version — the 16-port version is NOT supported.

SainSmart Website ⬇ Manual

Solid State vs Mechanical

There are a few different versions of the SainSmart board: USB, Non-USB, and Solid State. Here's how they compare:

	Solid State (SSR)	Mechanical Relay
Max current	2A per port	10A per port
PWM support	✓ Yes	✗ No
Clicking noise	✓ Silent	✗ Audible click
Switching speed	✓ Very fast	✗ Slower
Shock/vibration resistant	✓ Epoxy sealed	✗ Mechanical parts
Longevity	✓ No wear parts	✗ Contacts wear

💡 If you have a toy requiring more than 2A, use the Mechanical relay board (up to 10A). For most toys the SSR is the better choice due to speed and silence.

Solid State Relay Board Connections

Here is an example of a shaker motor connected to the SainSmart relay board and to the KL25Z (KL25Z Tutorial).

Shaker motor wired to SainSmart and KL25Z

The KL25Z has power limitations when triggering toys like a shaker motor. The signal must be amplified — in this setup, the SainSmart board acts as a booster (essentially a top-notch MOSFET board).

⚡ After connecting all your toys to the SainSmart board, you will need to set up DOF (Direct Output Framework) to make the tables communicate with your SainSmart.

USB SainSmart Board

This is the board most people start with, and the one I used for quite some time. It's a solid solution for adding force feedback to your cabinet and much easier to set up than the solid state version above.

This amplifies the signal up to 10A — meaning you'll never have issues triggering even a real pinball flipper assembly.

Here's a shaker motor connected to the SainSmart 8-port USB board:

Shaker motor wired to SainSmart USB board

⚡ After connecting all your toys to the SainSmart board, you will need to set up DOF (Direct Output Framework) to make the tables communicate with your SainSmart.

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