Electrician4JC

Uninstalled RSLinx, restarted the computer, reinstalled RSLinx, restarted computer, restarted RSLinx. Same problems. Followed the directions for cleaning (flushed) RS-Linx. Restarted RSLinx and added the DF1 driver again. Still not working. Made sure in Task Manager that RSLinx was not running in background before starting it. Checked for RSLinxNG. Not there. Checked the Windows > Administration > Services for "RSlinx service", was not running. I just can't get running something that once ran before. Unbelievable. In desperation, talking with our other electrician, he has a 1747-UIC RS232 to USB adapter. Tried it, installed the newest drivers from the internet. Made sure there was no port conflicts or hidden com port attachments from any software. Restarted RSLinx and added the driver as mentioned in the User Guide for the 1747. No complaints from RSLinx that it cannot communicate with the 1747, but I still cannot see any processors with it, even with a direct connection to a processor. I have no idea what to try next. Rockwell Automation website has some tech solutions which looked promising, or at least covered a connectivity issue with the 1747. But it's only for TechConnect level support, which I guess means I should pay extra money just to troubleshoot a product they sell. Same thing with the RSLinx issues. I bought the software, and now I have to buy a TechConnect service contract to get help on software I already bought. Getting a little frustrated here. Any suggestions guys? Should I buy a 1761-ENET and just go ethernet, or am I opening myself to an even bigger headache and an added list of tech problems? Thank you for considerations. Blessings! Mark.

Hello all. Can I get some thoughts on an issue I am facing? I had installed on my computer the free versions of Micrologix 500 and RSLinx to use on Micrologix 1000 PLCs. My computer is a Toshiba laptop running Windows Vista SP2. I have no onboard serial ports, but am using a USB-to-serial cable with the Prolific chipset. Was connecting to the PLC with a genuine AB 1761-CBL-PM02 interface cable. Now, before anybody gets crazy, it worked! I was able to go online with several ML1Ks, upload, download logix, go online, etc. with no problems. Now my issue, I purchased a copy of RSLogix 500 to use with ML1200s (and eventually ML1500s). I installed the software along with the RSLinx that came on the DVD. When the installation was finished and I started up RSLinx, I added a RS232-DF1 device, and no amount of configuring is able to get it working. RSLinx keeps telling me there is a com port conflict (com port is correct), and I get the errors that say "unable to open the specified com port for configuration testing"; and "reconfiguration of DF1 device has failed!". In device manager the serial adapter is working fine, there is no hidden other serial devices on other comms, and as far as I can tell, there is no software vying for use of the serial port. And the kicker is, before the install of the new RSLinx, the old one worked fine! So if I can't fix this issue, what do you guys think about other options? I've seen online a 1761-CBL-PM02 cable that has a USB connector. Or should I throw some money into a 1761-NET-ENI and start using Ethernet? Anyone have any suggestions? I'm open to options. Thank you all! Blessings... Mark

Hello all and thank you for the suggestions and help. Just to answer a previous question, the model number of the Micrologix is a 1761-L20BWA-5A. I finally tracked down the issue to a miswiring. I had connected the pot wiring to a terminal strip, and then brought the signal from the terminal strip to the ML1K. The wiper signal made it to the PLC, but the 0VDC wire somehow was not landed at the terminal strip. Which is why I could read the pot to the terminal strip, but not to the PLC. Anyways, thanks for the suggestions! My bad, but a good learning experience. Thank you all and God bless! Mark.

Hello all. I have a problem trying to read 4-20mA into a Micrologix 1000 Analog PLC. Not sure if my issue is with wiring, or an option within the PLC, or even the PLC itself. I scoured the message boards and found a wiring schematic for creating 4-20mA using a potentiometer. One leg of the Pot wired in series to 950ohm resistors. Wiper of the pot wired in to the IA/2(I+). Last leg of the pot wired to the 0VDC bus. IA(I-) wired to the 0VDC bus [see attached picture] When I check my circuit with a meter, I am able to read 4-20mA fine, but when I connect to the PLC and check my inputs with RsLogix (in online mode), I:0.6 just seems to flipflop between 0 and 1, and doesn't seem to change no matter what direction I rotate the pot knob. I've checked the IO Configuration>IO Setup>Input Enables and made sure that Input #2 is turned on. So not quite sure what else I can do to read the signal into the PLC. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you and blessings! Mark.