Steve Bailey
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I want to ask about GE Series 90-30 which is using CPU 364. In power supply there are 15 pin paralel port communication RS-485. And in the CPU there are 3 port of communication 1. PORT1 RS-232 using RJ-11 connector 2. AAUI 3. 10BASE T using RJ 45 connector I still confuse about : 1. Can I download my program (ladder logic and configuration) from my computer to PLC using whatever of all of this port ? The RS232 port on the CPU364 is only for maintenance and flash upgrades of the CPU firmware, not for ladder logic programming or data communications. The 15-pin port on the power supply is a serial port, not parallel. It supports GE's SNP and SNPX protocols, and can be used to download/upload programs or for data communications. The AAUI and RJ45 ports onn the CPU module can be used to upload/download programs or for data communications via ethernet. The AAUI port requires a transceiver to convert to whatever network media you're using. The RJ45 port can connect directly to another defvice (sorry, I don't know if you need a crossover cable or thru) or to a switch on your network. 2. What is AAUI ? And when we use it. 3. When I better to use : a. 15 pin parallel port RS-485 than the other port ? As I said, it's not parallel. Every Series 90 PLC ever made has this 15-pin port available, so if you have the RS485/RS232 converter and cable, with the proper software you can program any Series 90 PLC. Many people like to keep it available for that reason and use one of the other ports for data communications. b. PORT1 RS232 ? Only for flash upgrades or other maintenance c. AAUI ? See above d. 10 BASE T ? See above 4. For human machine interface, I'm using Cimplicity Plant Edition. Can I install versapro and Cimplicity plant Edition at the same computer ? And download my program from versapro to PLC, which at the same time Cimplicity Plant Edition is running ? As long as you have enough computer resources, yes. Keep in mind that if Cimplicity PE is using the serial port on the power supply, VersaPro will have to use a different physical port. 5. For 15 pin parallel port RS 485 in power supply. If I want to connect it to my computer. I have to use RS485 to RS232 converter, right ? Yes, but remember, it's not parallel 6. Can I connect PORT1 RS232 directly to my computer ? Yes, but only for maintenance/flash upgrades 7. Can I connect 10 BASE T directly to my computer ? Yes 8. What protocol I can use for each port ? Power supply port - SNP or SNPX, slave only Ethernet ports - SRTP, maybe Modbus TCP -
As far as I know, there is no 'demo' version of VersaPro. If you can get a copy of the VersaPro CD from your local GE Fanuc sales agent, you can install the software and run it for four days without licensing it. After that, you'll have to uninstall and reinstall it. Eventually, you get tired of uninstalling/reinstalling and realize that it's easier to buy a license. It's not particularly expensive. You should also be aware that VersaPro is being replaced by Cimplicity ME. If you're going to purchase programming software, it should be that. The only drawback to CME is that it requires significantly more computer resources than VP (minimum of 128 meg RAM). The memory limits you mentioned are a function of the CPU model, not the software. If you configure a CPU 350 or higher, you can address %I values up to %I2048. CPU340 or CPU350 support %R addresses up to %R9999, and CPU351 and above go to %R16384. -
The VersaPro files on that page are all service packs. You're misinterpreting what you're reading there. VersaPro software is not distributed as freeware, even though it has been replaced by Cimplicity ME Logic Developer PLC. You can download the old DOS software called Logicmaster. It supports almost all of the function set, certainly everything you need to get started learning about GE Fanuc programming. Check here: The file to download is LM9030d.zip -
I think what you downloaded was a service pack intended to upgrade an existing installation of the software. It contains only the files that are modified by the upgrade, not the entire set of files. It only works if you already have VP installed on your computer. -
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John, Indirect addressing using the @ character instead of % only works with the 90-70 series. You can't use it in a 90-30, 90-20, series 90- micro, or VersaMax. -
Most of the major players offer 110 VAC versions of their small PLCs. Look at the DL05 from Automation Direct or the VersaMax Micro from GE Fanuc. -
From your description, I think the Shift Register instruction will do what you need. Let's say you define a stack of four consecutive registers, %R001 - %R004, and that those registers initially contain the values %R001 = 10, %R002 = 20, %R003 = 30, %R004 = 40. Then you define a Shift Register instruction with a length of 4 and a starting address of %R001, an source address of %R005 and an output address of %R006. When the IN (enable) node of the Shift Register instruction is true, the value in %R004 gets shifted to the output register (%R006), the value in %R003 gets shifted to %R004, %R002 gets shifted to %R003, %R001 gets shifted to %R002, and the value in the input register (%R005) gets shifted into %R001. If you want to make it a circular shift, you can make the output register the same address as the input register. Be sure to make the enabling logic a one-shot, as the instruction performs the shift every scan that the enabling logic is true. -
Quick and dirty solution: Use the 'enable' bit as a permissive in the rung that turns on the solenoid to prevent energizing the output. If the solenoid x is disabled, move 1 second into T4:x.PRE If the solenoid x is enabled, move 300 seconds into T4:x.PRE The downside might be that you have a period of 1 second during which no solenoid is energized. -
Sorry to burst your bubble, but its not the Genius handheld. The Genius handheld monitor (IC660HHM501) is a totally different animal. What you're looking for is the 90-30 handheld programmer (IC693PRG300). Back when the 90-30 first came out as a replacement for the Series One line, a lot of people were used to programming the S1 with a handheld, so they felt they needed to offer one for the 90-30. As a programming tool, it was woefully inadequate. It only showed one IL instruction at a time instead of showing a rung of ladder logic, and it had no provision for documentation or printing. Logicmaster software did infinitely more and cost less. However, there were two things you could do with the handheld that you couldn't do with software. One was the 'clear memory' procedure that I mentioned in my previous post. The other was that the handheld will set itself to the proper baud rate and parity when it attaches to the PLC. One other possibility, admittedly a long shot. Fanuc CNCs use the same handheld with a different keyboard mask. In the CNC world, the handheld is called a DPL/MDI. I'm not sure what the initials are supposed to mean, but if you happen to have machine tools with Fanuc CNC controllers, then your maintenance technicians might have the handheld for them. If you find one, I can point out which keys you need to press. -
I received this private message, probably in response to my post on using a macro to crack an OEM password. Steve Bailey, jrwb4gbm has sent you this email from http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php. Hi,I know nothing about how to use macros. could you post how you used it on the 90-30 GE PLC or e-mail it to me?Thanks,Sid The ability to record macros is one of the underutilized features of Logicmaster that unfortunately didn't get ported over to VersaPro. Each Logicmaster folder can have have as many as ten macros recorded. You play them back by pressing ALT + 0 through ALT + 9. To record a macro, navigate to whatever Logicmaster screen you want to start from. Then hit ALT + t (think 'teach'). You will be prompted for which of the ten possible playback keys you want to use, and warned if a file already exists for the playback key you choose. Once that's done, simply press the keys to accomplish what you want to do. When you finish, hit ALT + q to end the recording session. I've used a macro as a quick and dirty method of getting PLC data into a spreadsheet. The macro is the sequence of keystrokes to jump to the register table display and do a screen dump to a text file. Then in Excel, I run another macro that reads the text file and drops the numeric data into spreadsheet cells. -
Before you heat up the soldering iron, there is one more possibility. If you can lay your hands on a Hand-held programmer (IC693PRG300), connect it to the PLC, and hold down the 'CLR' and the 'M/T' keys while you power up the PLC. That will restore the unit to its out-of-the-box configuration. -
With the flash memory on the Series 90 Micro, this could be tricky. I'm assuming that you don't care about the program that's in the unit. If that's true, then try disconnecting the battery and leaving it disconnected for several hours. That will clear everything in RAM, including the configuration. When you reapply power, it will read the program from flash memory, but maybe not the configuration. I'm pretty sure that passwords are stored in the configuration. The tricky part is that the unit can be set up to read its configuration from flash memory on power-up. BTW, if you can see the ladder logic, it's not an OEM password you're dealing with. With OEM passwords, all the user can see is the configuration. If all else fails, here's what I did when faced with the same problem. I created a macro with Logicmaster that tries all 65536 possible passwords. When you record a macro, the resulting file can be edited with notepad. I recorded the keystrokes for the first few permutations and then did a lot of cut and paste and find and replace operations with notepad. -
Ge Series One
in GE
ZMartin, I'm now registered as a MRPLC member. If you contact me via email or private message on this forum, I can probably help you out.
Port CPU374 and Programming in PLC
in GE
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