The UCP-GPIO panel provides the means to extend the operation of a Utah Scientific router control system to external devices by means of contact closures. The 16 in-bound contact closures (GPI) are opto-isolated for ease of installation. These contacts can be configured for latching or momentary operation. In momentary operation, the crosspoint associated with that contact is activated as long as the closure is active. When the closure is released, the router output is switched back to the input that was selected before the closure was activated. This mode of operation is generally referred to as “Joystick Over-Ride” mode. The 16 out-bound closures are provided by relays, allowing external devices such as tally lights or other indicators to be activated when a specific input-output combination is active in the router. The UCP-GPIO panel is connected to the router controller by either U-Net or Ethernet connections and it is programmed in the same manner as a UCP-Series control panel through the U-Con Router Confi guration Utility.