Geir

First open the PLC IO Table, doubleclick the [1500]CJ2M-EIP21 line in Built-in PortInner board. Open the Auto Adjust Time page of the setup window. Input the time server of your choice in Host name and the desired Auto Adjust Time interval. You may also need to adjust your time zone relative to the time server. If you have a firewall, port 123 must be open. Transfer to Unit, and you should be OK. There is also supposed to be a Time server service in Windows, I have not tried it, but I suppose you enter the IP address of the timeserver PC in the appropriate field after starting the service. Geir

First you have to look at the old program and find out which expansion instructions are being used, then you doubleclick the "Expansion Instructions" item in the project tree in the left CX window (if you have the same setup as me :) ) You should then get a popup with two windows, the left is available instructions, the right is assigned instructions. You must then replace one or more of the assigned instructions if your program needs anything that is not assigned already. When the list on the right is complete according to your program, you can transfer it to the PLC in the usual manner. Unassigned Expansion instructions in the program will appear in red, and the rung will also have the red line to the left. OK Expansion instructions will have the name in black with the "assigned slot number" in parenthesis. In the few cases I have encountered programs with a lot of "rubbish" transfered from the PLC, I have not yet been able to fix that, and counted on the backup copy instead of wasting time trying :) Example of program using expansion instructions (SCL3): Geir

Have you tried to load the expansion instructions manually? Geir

If you have an ethernet module, and access to internet there is a facility to automatically synchronize the clock with a time server. Also in CX-Supervisor, it is possible to set the PLC clock by scripting. I'm not aware of any other ways :( Geir

You could try various combinations and positions of the IO modules to find the dodgy one. Remember to build IO-table between each try... At our school we have approx 15 CJ1/2 PLCs with various IO modules that we use for exercises, and over the years, we have had surprisingly few failures, considering the abuse by our students :)

and have you successfully created a new IO-table?

Thanks

It is hard to see any effect due to the integral and derivative action of the controller, to see it you must disable the I and D action and set the P-band to 100. Then you should be able to give the setpoint (SV) a value of 50% and observe the output (MV) follow the input (PV). When the bit is 1, the output should start at approx 0% and follow the input proportionally to 100%. (Assuming direct control action). When the bit is 0, I think you will only see the output change when the input is higher than the setpoint. Normally when you design a simple process, you try to have it balanced when there is as much energy going out as is coming in at 50% MV and SV. Otherwise, if you have for example a process with a heating and a cooling circuit with one controller for each circuit, the process would be in balance when both outputs are at 0%, and you need to set the control bit to 0. Note that you have to turn the control action off and on again for this control bit (+C5 03) to take action.

There is a regular PID instruction, and a PID with autotune (PIDAT), check the manuals, but you still need an analog in/out module. Geir

Today I threw away a box containing approx 15 PLCs of the C20 family, host link units and programming consoles :( I see these on eBay with massive buy it now prices, should I have sent them to Southebyes instead?

I think you can do that by making a text field using the "DF7seg" font. Geir

I have just recently got the CX-server lite for our school, so I'm not an expert on OPC. CX-server lite is a one computer only license, and it don't seem to support web applications. It can, however, communicate with approx 50 PLCs, and if your screens are not too far apart, I suppose you can run 3 monitors on one PC.

Perhaps use an OPC server and design your own screen layout using VB or similar?

At our school we have issues with USB converters with the Prolific chip and Win7, even when using the latest drivers. Converters using the FTDI chip are reported to be better, but we have instead replaced most of our older PLCs with CJ2M and CP1L.

Hi, I just got a NS5-MQ00-V2 off eBay at a reasonably low price. It was reported to have Error 10: File system error, so I had planned to use the case as a replacement for a 'SQ00 with a scratched window. Just for fun I tried to recover it with a system 8.4 CF card, but the only thing that happens is the RUN led turns green after some seconds, the screen flashes once, briefly and then nothing. I have used the same CF to update a couple of other NS5's, and I also tried to wipe it and rerun the self-extract with the same result. The howto file mentions a patch for use on older screens, but I can't find it on my disk, is it available for download anywhere? Any suggestions?

I am skeptical of auto tune, so I stick with PID :) Here is an example of ladder for PID control. It is designed to have the PID parameters input from a HMI screen, so it is perhaps too complex in some parts. If you post a screenshot of your ladder, we can have a look at it. Geir

Hi, you also have to cycle the module reset bit A502.00 after MOVing to D20001, and the outputs are activated by turning on bit 2000.00 for output 1 and 2000.01 for output 2. The output addresses are 2001 and 2002. Geir

Now I'm a sparky, but I think my correct title is tiffy, can that be arranged? :)

The first thing that comes to mind is that for these old PLCs, the execution condition for the PID instruction has to be cycled for the new settings to take effect, ie change parameters -> turn PID off, then back on again.

Does it connect on USB? Have you set any IP Address in the TCP/IP setup? Sometimes (always?) the 64 bit USB drivers don't install automatically. If windows asks for driver when the USB cable is connected, they can be found in program files \ omron \ CX-Server \ USB \ 7 \ 64bit. Geir

If you have a PLC with "built-in" IO (CP1x), there is the PRV instruction that will give you the frequency. CJ1M ver 3+ with "built-in" IO even have the PRV2 instruction that will give you rpm directly.

It is also possible to order a Free demo of the latest software, it will last for 30 days, but I don't know if it is compatible with the oldest PLCs.

Just for fun. I put a 4GB card in my CJ2 and formatted it with CX-Programmer. Most of the space of the card is wasted, but I got approx 80 MB capacity. I have not done any extensive testing, except from transferring some files using CX. When I moved the card to the PC-card reader, Windows reported FAT and the new capacity, but could not see the files :(

When I get back to the school after Easter, I can check the bits&bobs box for a spare plug I can send you :)

Sorry, I was a bit quick to assume you could do that for these units, but if you have an output module in the PLC, you could use a software controller (PID or PIDAT function). Another more dodgy option would be to connect a 100ohm resistor to the second input and MOV the PV of input 1 to the input compensation function (Dm+22) of input 2.