Connecting the contact ports
The EA-5 provides four contact ports on the included pluggable
terminal blocks. See the examples below to learn how to connect
devices to the contact ports.
Wire the contact to a sensor that also needs power (Motion sensor)
Motion Sensor
+12V 0V COM NO
Wire the contact to a dry contact sensor (Door contact sensor)
Dry Contact
Wire the contact to an externally powered sensor (Driveway sensor)
External
Driveway
12V Power
Sensor
Connecting the relay ports
The EA-5 provides four relay ports on the included pluggable terminal
blocks. See the examples below to learn now to connect various devices
to the relay ports.
Wire the relay to a single-relay device, normally open (Fireplace)
Fireplace
Wire the relay to a dual-relay device (Blinds)
Relay 1
Relay 2
Dual-Relay Blind
UP
COM DOWN
Wire the relay with power from the contact, normally closed (Amplifier trigger)
12V Trigger
Connecting the serial ports
The EA-5 controller provides four serial ports. SERIAL 1 and SERIAL 2
can connect to a standard DB9 serial cable. IR ports 1 and 2 (serial 3
and 4) can be reconfigured independently for serial communication.
If not used for serial, they can be used for IR. Connect a serial device
to the controller using the Control4 3.5 mm-to-DB9 Serial Cable (C4-
CBL3.5-DB9B, sold separately).
1
The serial ports support many different baud rates (acceptable
range: 1200 to 115200 baud for odd and even parity). Serial ports 3
and 4 (IR 1 and 2) do not support hardware flow control.
2 See Knowledgebase article #268
(dealer.control4.com/dealer/
knowledgebase/article/268) for pinout diagrams.
3 To configure a port's serial settings, make the appropriate
connections in your project using Composer Pro. Connecting the
port to the driver will apply the serial settings contained in the
driver file to the serial port. See the Composer Pro User Guide for
details.
Note: Serial ports 3 and 4 can be configured as straight-
through or null with Composer Pro. Serial ports by default are
configured straight-through and can be changed in Composer
by selecting the option Enable Null-Modem Serial Port (3/4).
Setting up IR emitters
The EA-5 controller provides 8 IR ports. Your system may contain third-
party products that are controlled through IR commands. The included
IR emitters can send commands from the controller to any IR-controlled
device.
1
Connect one of the included IR emitters into an IR OUT port on the
controller.
2 Remove the adhesive backing from the emitter (round) end of the
IR emitter and affix it to the device to be controlled over the IR
receiver on the device.
Setting up external storage devices
You can store and access media from an external storage device, for
example, a USB drive or eSATA drive, by connecting the USB drive to
the USB port and configuring or scanning the media in Composer Pro.
A NAS drive can also be used as an external storage device; see the
Composer Pro User Guide (ctrl4.co/cpro-ug) for more details.
Note: We support only externally powered USB drives or solid-
state USB drives (USB thumb drives). USB hard drives that do
not have a separate power supply are not supported.
Note: When using USB or eSATA storage devices on an EA-5
controller, a single primary partition formatted FAT32 is
recommended.
Composer Pro driver information
Use Auto Discovery and SDDP to add the driver to the Composer
project. See the Composer Pro User Guide (ctrl4.co/cpro-ug) for details.
Troubleshooting
Reset to factory settings
Caution! The factory restore process will remove the
Composer project. Back up the project with Composer Pro
before you start the factory restore process
To restore the controller to the factory default image:
1
Insert a straightened paper clip into the small hole on the back of
the controller labeled FACTORY RESTORE.
2 Press and continue to hold the FACTORY RESTORE button, the
controller resets and the caution LED turns solid red.
3 Hold the button until the Caution LED flashes double orange. This
should take five to seven seconds. The Caution LED flashes orange
while the factory restore is running. When complete, the Caution
LED turns off and the device power cycles one more time to
complete the factory restore process.
Note: On an EA-5 V2 controller, the ID button is also an LED
that provides the same feedback as the Caution LED on the
front of the controller.
Power cycle the controller
1 Press and hold the ID button for five seconds. The controller turns
off and back on.
Reset the network settings
To reset the controller network settings to the default:
1
Disconnect power to the controller.
2 While pressing and holding the ID button on the back of the
controller, reconnect power to the controller.
3 Hold the ID button until the Caution LED (rear ID LED) appears
solid orange and the Link and Power LEDs are solid blue, and then
immediately release the button.
Note: In OS 2.10.1 and lower, the Caution LED appears solid
blue during the network reset check. After updating to
OS 2.10.2 and higher, the Caution LED appears orange during
the network reset check.
LED status information
Data
Caution
Link
Power
—Flashing LED
—Solid LED
on EA-5 V2 only
Just powered on
Bootloader loaded
Kernel loaded
Network reset check
Factory restore underway
Factory restore fail
Connected to Director
Playing audio
Regulatory/Safety information
To review regulatory information for your Control4 products, see the
information located on the Control4 website at ctrl4.co/reg.
Warranty
Visit
ctrl4.co/warranty
for details.
More help
For the latest version of this document and to view additional materials,
open the URL below or scan the QR code on a device that can view
PDFs.
MOST RECENT VERSION
MORE INFO ON EA CONTROLLERS
ctrl4.co/ea5-ig
ctrl4.co/ea
control4.com | 888.400.4070
Copyright ©2018, Control4 Corporation. All rights reserved. Control4, the Control4 logo,
the 4-ball logo, 4Sight, Control4 My Home, and Mockupancy are registered trademarks
or trademarks of Control4 Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All
other names and brands may be claimed as the property of their respective owners. All
specifications subject to change without notice.
B
200-00382-B
2018-05-09 DH
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