What the DS200TCRA Relay Output Board Does

The DS200TCRA is the relay output board of the GE Speedtronic Mark V. It carries the bank of electromechanical plug-in relays — up to thirty of them, designated K1 through K30 — that turn the panel's digital output commands into the dry contacts and solenoid drives that operate field devices. When the control system energizes a solenoid, picks up an auxiliary contactor, or closes a permissive contact, the current path runs through a relay on a TCRA.

The board does not live in the <R>, <S>, <T> or <C> processor cores. It belongs to the Mark V's digital I/O section: two TCRA boards typically share a digital I/O core, mounted alongside the TCDA digital I/O board that drives their coils. On heavy-duty panels these digital I/O cores are commonly designated <QD> for the <R>/<S>/<T> controllers and <CD> for <C>. The relay contacts land on the DTBC and DTBD terminal boards, where the field wiring is terminated.

There is no firmware or PROM on the TCRA — it is a hardware-only card. The jumpers that decide whether an output is a dry contact or a wetted solenoid drive sit on the DTB terminal boards, not on the relay card, so the board itself carries no stored configuration.

Diagnose Before You Buy a Replacement

This is the most useful thing to get right before ordering. A relay that will not pick up is often not a failed TCRA. On the Mark V the TCDA holds a voltage on one side of every relay coil and energizes the relay by sinking the other side to common, so a fault in the TCDA driver or in the ribbon cable between the two boards leaves the relay open — a symptom identical to a dead relay card.

Work backwards through the chain before you swap anything:

• If the TCDA never registers the output as commanded, the fault is upstream and a new relay board will not fix it.
• If the TCDA reports the output commanded but the contact never closes, the suspect is the individual relay, the TCRA, or the ribbon connection — an alarm such as a "TCD plug disconnected" points straight at that ribbon.
• Check the field side. A shorted solenoid on a 125 VDC output can burn a relay and scorch the DTB terminal-board traces; fit a new card without clearing that short first and you can damage the new card too.

Because the relays are electromechanical, the individual plug-in relays are the usual wear item, while the bare card most often fails only after an overvoltage or high-current event such as a lightning strike or an unresolved battery ground. Knowing which you have decides whether you need a single relay, a TCRA, a TCDA, or terminal-board repair.

Reading DS200TCRAG1A and Its Revision Tail

This unit is a DS200TCRAG1A, full part number DS200TCRAG1AAA. The number reads as DS200 (the Mark V printed-wiring-board series), TCRA (the relay-output function), G1 (the build group) and the trailing letters — here AAA — that mark the revision level. The TCRA also exists as a group 2 build (DS200TCRAG2A); treat a different group as a different build and match what your panel was engineered with rather than assuming the two drop in for each other. Our GE Speedtronic Part Number Decoder breaks down each field, and you should always read the number off the board silkscreen rather than the cabinet slot label.

Companion Boards in the Mark V I/O Section

The TCRA never works alone. Its driver is the TCDA digital I/O board; its outputs terminate on the DTBC and DTBD terminal boards; and the wider Mark V I/O family includes the TCQA analog I/O and the TCPS core power supply. To map how these cards relate, see GE Mark V DS200 Boards Explained, and browse the GE Mark V DS200 Boards collection for what we stock. If your site is planning the jump to the next generation, Mark V vs Mark VI: DS200 to IS200 explains how these functions were reassigned to the IS200 series.

What to Send With Your Quote Request

• The full part number including the revision tail (DS200TCRAG1AAA), read from the board.
• A clear photo of the board label and silkscreen.
• The turbine model and whether the Mark V is Simplex or TMR.
• Which core the board serves and, if you run paired cores, the revision fitted in the other.
• Quantity required and how urgent the need is.

Request a Quote

This DS200TCRAG1AAA is offered used, cleaned and tested, and backed by a one-year warranty. Send us the details above and we will respond within 24 hours. We ship worldwide DDP and accept purchase orders. Use the Request a Quote button to start and we will confirm availability and lead time for your board.