Data Sheet

5. RC Switch with Relay
5.1. Components of the RC Switch with Relay
Pololu RC Switch with Relay, labeled top view.
The Pololu RC Switch with Relay has five pins spaced 0.1″ apart that give access to its logic interface.
RC interface
The GND, VRC, and RC IN pins make up the switch’s RC interface and can be connected directly to
an RC receiver or servo controller:
• The GND pin is the ground or reference voltage.
• The VRC pin is the power input.
• The RC IN pin is the RC signal input. The switch measures the width of pulses on this line
and uses that to decide whether to activate or not.
Power
We generally recommend that you supply the GND and VRC pins with power from a 4- or 5-cell NiMH
or NiCD battery pack. Typically, the input voltage range will be limited by the properties of the relay
coil. The included Omron G5LE-14-DC5 relay requires an input voltage of at least 3.75 V to operate.
At room temperature (23° C), the relay can tolerate voltages up to 8.5 V, but this limit decreases at
higher temperatures. At 85° C, the relay can only tolerate voltages up to 6.5 V. You can see the Omron
G5LE-14-DC5 datasheet [https://www.pololu.com/file/download/G5LE.pdf?file_id=0J619] (1MB pdf) for more
information. As a whole, the switch will draw about 100 mA when the relay is on, but that current draw
depends on the input voltage. The board itself can operate anywhere in the 2.5 to 16 V range, but the
included Omron relay requires a more restrictive range of voltages.
Pololu RC Switch User’s Guide © 2001–2017 Pololu Corporation
5. RC Switch with Relay Page 25 of 45