Mike Dyble

Surely you should use the Jog mode to move the axis, in this way the FM351 would not get 'confused'. I had a quick look at the manual and it seem as if it is fairly easy to do

Have a look at Red Lion, they quote 'Sunlight visible outdoor unit with UV rated overlay available' for the G308 on their brochure, and they are Nema 4X/IP66. I think the other units are available with an outdoor option as well. Another thread on this forum indicates they are well liked

I used Red Lion for the first time earlier this year and my experiences were good. It was easy to set up and my application worked first time (OK so I then made a few tweaks) but things like comms are simple. On my previous contract we were using Siemens Protool/WinCC (because we had to), the difference in ease of use was remarkable. The support both in the UK by our local distibutor (Seltec, Hull) and from the USA is excellent. So I have specified Red Lion on another project that I am quoting. The web interface makes it very flexible, and was in fact one of the deciding factor in our original decision to use Red Lion as it enabled us to site 2 viewing screens remote to the plant under control. Plenty of ports so we were able to pull in several different bits of existing kit into the HMI as well as the upgrade plc

I agree with Jesper, you cant use the same TSAP's so not sure how it has worked in the past. What tool are you configuring the H1 card with (inc version number). To get things working trying using a different TSAP for each connection, we used to add S or R at the end keeping the same text at the front, e.g H1201-S, H1201-R H1202-S etc.

You cannot monitor PW's using the status or force variable functions. However if you look at the program where they are used and look at that in status mode you will see the values in the ACCU1 column. Failing that you will have to put in a small program mod to write the value to an unused flag or dataword. e.g. L PW160 T FW198 "New intruction" ...... Or find where the PW is written to. And to cover your other request on ZYK: Usually one of two causes, You have created an endless (or too long) loop in the code so that the program cannot complete in time. OR You hae a program where I/O failures are handled by one of the error OB's and dont cause a CPU stop, and there are a lot of failures which result in a massivly extended scan time due to the extra processing time. Mike

I dont think you will find an electronic copy of the PG615 manual it is very old. How did you transfer the program to your PC, are you using Step5 software? I take it you are using the PG615 to transfer the program to the EPROM. Quickest thing would be to find someone localy with a programmer who could blow the EPROM for you. I offer a similar service in the UK, there must be people in your part of the world. From what I can remember the PG615 can only handle one block at a time. There is no way of transfering the program directly to your PG615 from the PC, you would have to transfer each block seperatley using the RAM on the CPU941 as a buffer (Transfer from PC to CPU941, then from CPU941 to the EPROM in PG615

I have specified DL06 for a small project which I am involved in. It is very price sensitive as there are 22 similar systems (3 different programs between the lot) Cost wise it hits the mark! What are the experiences of the forum on this system, my last experience was with the DL405 just after Texas/Siemens dropped it, and the experience was neutral from what I can remember. Program is very simple, about 40 rungs of logic which is a simple sequence. Only complication is that we will be using Modbus on each unit to modify timer variables from a central point, using a Red Lion DSP and a PC running IE. Tech guy recommended isolating the comms port as there are 22 linked together which we will do So whats the good bad and ugly of this system before I hit send on my report and recommendations!

Just clarify: Siemens MPI protocol is similar to Profibus. The serial or USB cable which Siemens sell contains a protocol convertor which converts the MPI at 187kBaud to 19.2/38.4kBaud for conection to a PC serial port. If its a cable you want have a look at the INAT clones, they are cheaper than Siemens and perform as well or in the case of the case of the serial cable better, as in some applications you can up the speed on the PC side to 115kBaud. So that is why you cannot use a standard RS232 - RS485 convertor

I agree with groo, also there is no way that I am aware of to import even basic ladders from 200 - 300 or reverse, so if you have a libary of functions, as most of us do, you are going to have to rewrite them. I would say that its like going to a different make of PLC, they havnt even attempted to keep the programming enviroment consistent. This was where S5 really scored, using the same language and tools for 100U to 155U, and why in some ways S7 was a step back.

Where I am currently working they have Dell ATG at the moment, I am not that impressed, they dont seem that much better than a 'normal' laptop. One has already died after about 9 months due to screen problems, and the keyboards are not that robust, the one I am using now has some keyboard damage, ok its still usable, but dosnt look good. So I am not sure that they last any longer than a normal Dell in the real world. Came across the toughbook on another site a few years ago, they are pretty bomb/idiot proof, but the thing that struck me was the weight, when you are lugging it round the site with tools, leads and all the other 'junk' that goes with plc programming its not what you need. On my last contract we used Siemens FieldPG's which will also run all the other software as well, unless you need Siemens S7 the cost would be prohibitive, but they are quite nice machines, and seemed to be standing up quite well. Personally I use a fairly old (in PC terms) Toshiba laptop, yes the case is a bit scratched and it dosnt look that good now, but its stood the test of time, and has been reliable. Also it has a genuine serial port which is pretty well essential for S5 v6.6 and one or two other bits of 'heritage' software. So on balance for plant use I think I would buy the basic Dell laptop, make sure I had a couple of spares in the cupboard, ready to run, and accept the fact that they are going to get broken on occasions. Also that way you keep up to date on specs

Also its not just the PLC that has to be SIL2, all the associated engineering and sensors also have to meet SIL2 requirements. Siemens also do a range of systems. I have to agree with Paulengr Safety PLC's are best avoided, one of the things that a safety circuit/system should ideally be is simple, that way there is less room for error in the future. By all means monitor status for display on HMI's (Theres nothing worse than a long ESTOP chain and not knowing which one has operated), but try and keep safety control separate and simple.

Unless it is V7.XX you probably wont get it to work on Win 2000 or XP. I still use V6.6, I have made a bootable CD with MS-DOS 6.22 on it, When I want to use S5 I then just put the CD in and boot from it. I also have a small FAT partion on my HD for the rest of the files. You can use various boot managers to dual boot but my experience is these are not always easy to set up.

Why a PG740? The PC software will run on modern hardware

Assuming you are talking S5: Download one of the S5 manuals, e.g. S5-95U, available here http://cache.automation.siemens.com/dnl_ii...998%2D8MA22.pdf There is a description of the operation on page 8.41 Mike

I agree with paulengr that you dont NEED to know a lot of the details, you can brush these up on a project by project basis as you need them, as long as you know where to find the info when you need. it Looking back at my years in automation the things that I have found useful outside immediate engineering issues are: The abilty to use the Microsoft Office/Clones to present information to others (You have to sell your ideas, and then document them after you have implimented them) I did a short course called 'Training the trainer' about 10 years ago in the UK, I found this very useful because as you progress you will need to pass your knowledge on. The ability to use Autocad can make you more employable, I dont think you need to be at expert level, just a working knowledge to allow you to edit existing drawings and produce simple ones from scratch. Language wise from a UK view point German is useful, but I am not sure if this would apply in your part of the world. Above all to develop an enquiring mind, always ask why? and to remember that can't, as in 'we cant do that' isnt a real word, it means we 'dont know how to' or 'we cannot afford it', given the knowledge, determination and resources anything physically possible can be acheived.

Siemens S7-221 (6In/4Out) and a TD100 to display/set TOD ?

You could try using the 4CB10, but you will probably get an error. If not get to Tech Support and find out why its not available, without the manuals in front of me I am not sure if there are any restrictions on what it can be used on.

Get 1 off 15way D male, and one 15way D Female connectors Find the PG connection in the S5 manual. Identify the 0v and 5.2v pins Link the 0v pin through together with the remaining pins. Take a wire from the 0v and 5.2v pins on the connector which will be connected to the 15way connector on the 6ES5 734 ... cable and put 5v on it, this will power the cable Put the adapter between the PG port and the 15way connector on the 6ES5 734 cable. This works, as I have done it, but a standard health/wealth warning, make sure you know what you doing as you can damage the PLC or cable if you get wrong.

Try adding a new station with a different node number and build it from scrach. Then delete one of nodes with problems and readdress your 'clean build node' to the address of the one you just deleted. 32 DI should be 2AI, as 2AI = 2 * 16 = 32. 1AI in profibus is one 16bit word. AE is the german nemonic for AI so its the same thing. Mike

What version of Step7 are you using, are they in the hardware catalog?

I had this problem about a year ago, with the same error message, in this case caused by a failed V5.4 installation, which then wouldnt let me reinstall V5.3, even although I had 'uninstalled' V5.4. Problem was caused by a registry key which had slipped though my trawl of the registry the first time. Siemens were no help, they suggested reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling everything from scratch, which whilst it would have solved the problem is a very long winded process, after all it's not just Siemens software that has to be re-installed. Anyway about 3 hours with registry editor and I had found a few more keys which needed deleting and I was able to reinstall V5.3. When you say 'reimaged' was this a clean install, or was it an image taken after s7 had been loaded (or loaded and uninstalled). Is the V5.3 SP3 the right one, there are two versions of S7, standard and professional and our original problem was caused by the TA who did upgrades getting them mixed up, which caused the original failed install. Siemens really need to sort out the uninstall of their software, its not acceptable to have to trawl the registry doing things manually. I am aware of a few people who have had similar problems. Tech support work on the 'Siemens is the only software you will have principle' and dont care that when they suggest a reformat and install they are asking you to do hours or even days of work. After this incident we always made a disk image of the laptops before doing any s7 upgrades.

Yes it will act like the 6ES5 734-1BD20. It is an RS232 to 20mA convertor. But if you are stuck in the short term you could just make an adapter and put 5v on it to power the Siemens cable

Yes, the problem is probably the problem Hammy described, I dont think IP266 module supplied 5v onto the 20mA port, so the cable isnt getting its supply voltage, because it's an active cable.

PG's dont use the the 5v supply from the PG port on the PLC, they have the 20mA current loop interface integrated into the hardware, so if you use a PG with the correct cable you should not experience the problem. It is also possible to make an adapter cable which allows you to put 5v onto the interface cable, there is enough info in the 100U manual, requires two 15 way 'D' connectors and a bit of soldering.

In my last contract we had 46 S5-155U systems, with H1 comms, various CP and IP cards for comms with other devices, and OP30 operator interfaces and a Factory Link scada system, the whole lot dating from around 1993 - 1995 ish. Apart from OP30's which have not proved reliable everything else has been very reliable, and we were certainly not into the end of life failures, and we were looging all faults as part of trending to recognise just these problems. We did 2 s5 - s7 conversions, to release spares that had become unavailable, and both of these were fairly tricky. Some of the problems were caused by trying keep things the same as they were with s5 rather than starting fresh and doing things the 's7' way, which was a result of management pressure, so you cant blame s7 for that, but there were quite a lot of other problems. Because the plant limited the performance anyway there was no performance gain by upgrading to s7, and all the techs are familiar with s5 so s7 upgrades also involved more training. Also new software, laptops etc, when you add up all the additional overheads it can actually cost more than the original installation. I've been around s5 since 1985 and in general even installations dating from that time are still not showing signs of failing due to age. (apart from problems with 921 processors, and the 150U processors, which always seem to have been a bit tempremental). In general plants dont run any quicker if you change the PLC, so the only driver is obsolesance in a lot of cases. Management then look at the costs of upgrading and usually have a fit. With the UK being a 'high cost' country anyway, multi-nationals are relocating abroad all the time. Over the last 10 years 2 major companies have gone completely and 2 others have partially relocated from my 'home area' and whilst I am not blaming s5 obsolesance for this it's another cost for already hard pressed companies. I realise things have to progress, but I do feel Siemens have pulled s5 earlier than they should have done, and as a result have caused a lot of problems, certainly in the UK, and I am taking a local view as that is my livelihood.