8-CH Ethernet Relay Module, Modbus RTU/Modbus TCP Protocol, PoE Port Communication, with Various Isolation and Protection Circuits

Will always try to find what I’m looking for from WaveShare before searching other providers.WaveShare has never left me down or disappointed.Highly recommended!

I was excited to use this device for a couple of tasks in my home automation system. I use MQTT extensively to control lights, outlets, and various other devices so based on the description this sounded like an easy integration.Unfortunately that turned out to not be the case. After reaching out to Waveshare for assistance when the user manual was silent on the topic(no pun intended) of MQTT and there was no mention of it anywhere in the web interface, I learned that when they say it supports MQTT what they really mean is that they have a cloud service that this device can be connected to, and then MQTT commands can be sent to their cloud service which handles the translation into a protocol this device actually supports.For obvious reasons having a device on my network connecting out to a random cloud service just so I can control it from my network is a non-starter. Fortunately thanks to the convenience of Node-Red it was not difficult to write a Javascript function that handles the Modbus protocol that this devices actually supports and I have control working despite the lack of true MQTT support.As others have mentioned, changing the network settings will require access to a Windows PC or Virtual Machine. This is quite odd and more than a little ridiculous.If you can work around the weird issues that this device comes with, it does what it should do quite well.

The Waveshare works fine, but it comes pre-configured with a static IP Address that does not match my local network AND you can only change that initial static IP address to DHCP from a Windows machine. Any advanced settings will require a Windows Machine. There is some configuration you can do from your browser once you get over the static IP issue.The static IP is something they need to fix in the firmware loading process, clearly the static IP is being used in their test rig because it probably does not have DHCP. Once the test is done, they need to re-flash with DHCP enabled OR put a DHCP service into their test jig.I would also like to see them expose all of the configuration in the web UI and eliminate the windows desktop app.

The device is pretty easy to setup and use once you configured it with their software. However there appears to be design flaw in the 3.3V MCU voltage regulator. I had one device smoke out pictured just sitting on the bench no loads after couple days. I ordered replacement for it and tested that specific part and it was running at 55C just sitting there. I have 3rd that been deployed in the field for about 2 months with no issues however. They need to re-spin the PCBA with better heat sinking or a more robust regulator. Other than the regulator issue the PCB looks well designed though.