Aiphone IXW-MA - Multi-Purpose Adaptor for IX Series

The IXW-MA is an I/O expander for an Aiphone IX Series intercom system. It adds 4 contact inputs and 10 relay outputs to the network. The inputs are used to send a command to a specific station to perform a task, and each relay is associated with a specific station and programmed to change state when relay output 1 or 2 on that associated station changes state. So if you need more dry contacts than the station itself carries, for door strikes, gate operators, signal lights or auxiliary devices, this is the box that provides them.

No separate power supply. The IXW-MA runs on 802.3af PoE, so a single Cat cable from a PoE switch or injector handles both power and network. Draw is 43 mA standby and 135 mA maximum, which is a light load on any 802.3af port budget.

All ten are dry contacts rated 24V AC/DC at 500mA. Relays 1 through 4 are Form C, so you get both normally open and normally closed on those. Relays 5 through 10 are Form A, normally open only. That split matters when you are laying out the job: fail-secure strikes and simple triggers can sit on any relay, but anything needing a normally closed transfer, such as a fail-safe lock release or a supervised loop, has to land on relays 1 to 4. Only four of those exist, so count them before you commit the design. For loads above 24V or 500mA, switch an interposing relay rather than the load itself.

Yes. The IXW-MA supports IEEE 802.1X port security, which is what most healthcare, education and government IT departments require before they will open a switch port. It runs on 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX Ethernet, handles both IPv4 and IPv6, and supports TLS 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 encryption. Protocol support includes TCP, UDP, SIP, HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, SFTP, DHCP, NTP and DNS, so it can pull an address by DHCP and sync time by NTP like any other managed endpoint. Hand that list to the network group early; it is usually what unblocks the install.

That is one of the specific jobs the IXW-MA does. Line supervision events from an IX Series master can trigger a relay closure on the adaptor, so a station dropping off the network can drive a strobe, a horn, an annunciator input or a contact into a building management or alarm panel. For a hospital, school or transit application where a dead intercom is itself the event that has to be reported, this is the piece that converts a network fault into a physical contact.

They run in opposite directions, and mixing them up is the most common ordering mistake. The 4 contact inputs take a dry contact from the field, a pushbutton, a REX, a panel output, and use it to send a command to a specific IX station to perform a task. The 10 relay outputs go the other way: they follow relay output 1 or 2 on an associated station and close a contact out to a device. So a door release, gate operator or strike lands on a relay output. A request-to-exit button, tamper switch or panel signal that needs to tell the intercom something lands on an input.

Programming is done with the IX Series Support Tool, version 5.0 or later. There is no local keypad or web-free setup path described for it; the adaptor gets its input commands and relay associations assigned in that tool alongside the rest of the IX system. If you are adding an IXW-MA to an older installed system, plan on getting the system onto Support Tool 5.0 or later first. Some newer North American features also require a firmware update on the device.

Operating range is 14 to 104 degrees F (-10 to 50 degrees C), so an unheated garage or a shaded parking structure is generally within range in most climates. It is not a weatherproof device, though, and nothing here rates it for direct exposure. In an outdoor cabinet you are relying on the enclosure for water and solar gain, and a sun-loaded cabinet can pass 104 degrees F easily. Cold-climate jobs where the space drops below 14 degrees F need a heated enclosure.

Think of it per association, not per building. Each relay on the IXW-MA is tied to a specific station and mirrors relay output 1 or 2 on that station, and each input sends its command to a specific station. With 10 relays available you can spread them across several stations or stack multiple relays on one station, depending on how the job is programmed in the IX Support Tool. Where a design needs more than 10 outputs or more than 4 inputs, the answer is a second adaptor rather than a larger single unit.

It is a commercial-grade device, part of Aiphone's IX Series IP intercom line and specified for commercial use rather than residential. That is the context to buy it in: PoE-powered, network-managed, programmed centrally through the IX Support Tool, and sized for multi-station buildings rather than a single-door house setup.