Eddie Willers

I like the new look at a lot ! It seems to me that I can see a lot more information on thread traffic at-a-glance with the new layout and skin. Great stuff, Chris !

Hi Dave, RSLogix 5000's languages are modular; the Standard edition includes only relay ladder logic, and you can add licenses for the Function Block Diagram, Structured Text, and Sequential Function Charts individually or as a bundle. If a language is "grayed out", the license isn't installed on your PC. The actual editor programs are installed, just not activated. Autotune is another add-in. Ovens and other long period loops are awfully hard to auto-tune.... I would take a shot at it without an autotuner. Rockwell Software's order-fulfillment system is experiencing growing pains; if you're in a rush, you're better off contacting RA's service group and having them rent you a license or have the sales guys get you a Temporary License that will run for a week while the ordinary license works its way through ordering and fulfillment. The various Editions of RSLogix 5000 and the part numbers for the modular languages are laid out well here: http://tinyurl.com/83rlb

With regard to the MicroLogix 1200 and the expansion I/O, that OW16 module would be my prime suspect. Look carefully at any inductive loads and check them to be sure the snubber circuits are in place and appropriately connected. A big motor starter or solenoid valve can snap a couple hundred volts of back EMF when it opens, which doesn't necessarily cross the backplane but can induce disruption in the 1762 bus. On the MicroLogix 1500, the thing I'd look at is the expansion power supply. The power supply itself, or a dip in the power feeding it, would cause that expansion bank of modules to fault.

Aha ! String Length, the secret bugaboo of most String issues. I was using an Internal tag, so I was cheating a bit. Thanks for posting the followup !

Strings have to be surrounded with quotation marks if you are using them in an expression. This Derived Tag expression worked for me, in RSView32 7.40: if ( Vessel_1_Product == "Soup") then 99 else 44

Make sure you check the higher two bytes of your Input connection for the input data; the first two bytes are often a Connection Status value when you're using a Generic Device profile.

No, I don't. The chips that run ControlLogix are custom silicon built by Rockwell. You can't compare them to a Pentium or an Atom.

My laptop has a dual-core 2.20 GHz processor... so why does it wait two seconds to show me a new Explorer window ? I agree that CPU clock rate is not an accurate comparison of controller speed or capability. The old 1756-L1 controllers ran a 20 MHz clock, while the current family of 1756-L6x controllers runs at 80 MHz. I expect the 1756-L7x controllers to be faster as well.

It's possible that the serial port has been configured for a protocol other than DF1 Full Duplex. CompactLogix serial ports can be set up for DF1 Half Duplex Master, DF1 Half Duplex Slave, DF1 Radio Modem, DH485, or ASCII protocols. The port can also be disabled. 90% of the time if the serial port is not in use, it is left at the default settings for DF1 Full Duplex. If I were in your situation, I would take my PC and USB/RS232 converter to another Logix-family controller or the nearest A-B distributor and test them on a CompactLogix or ControlLogix controller that is known to be properly configured for DF1 Full Duplex. That will allow you to eliminate the port, cable, and software as possible issues and let you focus on the controller. Be sure also that you are specifying the correct COM port number. USB/RS232 converters are notorious for being assigned different COM port numbers... check the Windows Device Manager (Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Device Manager -> Ports (COM & LPT)) to see what COM port number your converter is using. Some inexpensive USB/RS232 converters are absolute junk and should not be used in an industrial setting. I own six or seven USB/RS232 converters but the only one I use regularly is the Keyspan HS-19. The other ones are not worth the time spent on troubleshooting them.

There are two different mechanisms for activation of Rockwell Software products. The older method is called "Everlock" or "EVRSI". It used activation diskettes and a simple activation moving utility that you launch from Start -> Programs -> Rockwell Software -> Utilities -> Move Activation (32-bit). That utility is looking for a system file called EVRSI.SYS that contains the activation key. It is always located in the root directory of the drive that contains it (A:\ or C:\ or D:\ or something else). The newer method is called FactoryTalk Activation. The utility is launched from Start -> Programs -> Rockwell Software -> FactoryTalk Activation -> FactoryTalk Activation Tool. This is the multi-tab utility with Get Activations / Current Activations / Rehost Activations / Settings tabs. It is looking for *.LIC files, which are simple text files with activation key codes inside them. The *.LIC file path is defined in the Settings tab. The default path is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Rockwell Automation\Activations. Using and ordinary Windows search for EVRSI.SYS or the *.LIC file should help you determine which licensing system you are using.

What is your connection mechanism; serial, Ethernet, wireless, etc ? What version of RSLinx Classic are you using ? Was this PC a Windows 7 native install or an upgrade ? I've seen this kind of complaint with USB/RS232 adapters under XP. Have you done any tests or measurements (wireshark, docklight, RSLinx statistics) to troubleshoot the communications medium ? I'm not saying there's nothing wrong with RSLinx Classic / Windows 7 but we shouldn't leave out the physical and logical path between the software and the controller.

There is no PanelView product that can function as a DDE or OPC Server. The closest thing you could use that would match this functionality is FactoryTalk View SE Station with FactoryTalk OPC Gateway. The FT OPC Gateway software exposes all FactoryTalk View SE HMI database tags and all controller tags accessible by FactoryTalk LiveData as OPC items. Alternatively, the PanelView Plus now has a remote Webserver function that would allow the current screen to be viewed (read-only) by a remote web browser client. This does not address Citect or DDE or OPC specifically, but it does give a remote user the ability to view some data from the PanelView.

You can have up to three 1746-series chassis cabled together with a backplane extender. The distance is short (about 3 feet max) but it's easy to do. Get the SLC-500 Modular Hardware Style User Manual. If you need more distance (up to 10,000 feet) you can use a 1747-SN RIO Scanner and 1747-ASB RIO Adapter. Again, the User Manuals (literature.rockwellautomation.com) are the best place to start. How many modules do you need to add, and how far away do they need to be ? Are they analog, digital, or a mixture ?

RSNetworx for DeviceNet has three important functions: 1. It is the editor for the Scanlist of a DeviceNet scanner like the 1747-SDN, 1756-DNB, or 1769-SDN. The Scanlist is what determines how much data is exchanged, using what connection mechanism, and where in the scanner's memory table it is located. 2. It is a general EDS-based parameter editor for slave devices. To set up the parameters of a programmable overload relay or variable speed drive or photoeye or limit switch or weight scale, RSNetworx is the preferred tool. 3. It is a special-purpose parameter editor for devices that require an applet, like 1794 and 1734 series I/O Adapters. There are two usual reasons you won't need to buy an RSNetworx for DeviceNet license. 1. Your network is smaller than 5 slaves. RSNetworx will run without a license for nodes 0 through 5. You must still obtain the software, either from a friendly A-B distributor or a Starter Kit. 2. Your network consists of slave devices that require little or no configuration, and you can use the Auto-Configuration feature of your scanner to create simple, automatic I/O maps. Examples include small networks using CompactBlock distributed I/O modules. RSNetworx for DeviceNet is frequently bundled with RSLogix packages, but also frequently overlooked when a purchasing agent is selecting the lowest-price package.

Well, it's essentially a 1770-KF3 in a rack. The 1747-KE Series B version could get its configuration across the backplane too. It was perfectly suited to its original purpose in the SLC-5/02 world. For the SLC family, Prosoft is your principal method for adding DF1 and Modbus ports. There are other methods; the 1747-DPS1/DPS2 port splitters, various serial multiplexers, network gateways, etc. But Prosoft is the first place I turn. Your requirement as I read it is to allow a third party device to read and write data to the SLC-5/05. What is the Channel 0 serial port doing ?