Eddie Willers

MrPLC Member
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Everything posted by Eddie Willers

  1. Forum Software Upgrade 7-24-2010

    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 !
  2. 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
  3. MicroLogix 1500 fault

    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.
  4. RSVIEW32 Derived tag issue

    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 !
  5. RSVIEW32 Derived tag issue

    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
  6. 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.
  7. CLX Processor speed

    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.
  8. CLX Processor speed

    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.
  9. RSLinx for CompactLogix L43

    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.
  10. Activation location

    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.
  11. 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.
  12. Panel-View As DDE serverr

    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.
  13. AB remote base

    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 ?
  14. 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.
  15. 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 ?
  16. Nothing connected to the DH485 port ? Well, that's your problem. I should have seen that at the beginning. 1747-KE does not communicate over the backplane to the controller. It ONLY provides a bridge from DF1 to DH485. The 1747-KE is meant for use with SLC-5/01, /02, and /03 controllers, which have DH485 network ports. You could only use it with an SLC-5/05 in a convoluted way, in which you would set up Channel 0 as DH485 protocol connected to a 1761-NET-AIC.
  17. I have not done many DF1 Half Duplex Slave applications with the 1747-KE, so these are educated guesses. When you are connecting directly to the SLC-5/03 controller, the controller itself accepts commands directed to DF1 Node 1. When you are connecting to the 1747-KE where the DF1 side is Node 1 and the DH485 side is also Node 1, the 1747-KE is trying to process those messages instead of passing them on to DH485 Node 1. Try changing the DF1 side of the 1747-KE to Node 3 or 4, so that it can receive messages for Node 1 and pass them on to DH485 Node 1.
  18. Micrologix RTC Second Status Bit

    On some of the MicroLogix models, the Second value in the Real Time Clock is not accurately updated ever single second; sometimes you will see it "miss" a second and then "jump ahead" two seconds. This is caused by the operating system reading the RTC asynchronously. Therefore you can say that the accuracy of the Real Time Clock in a MicroLogix 1100 is two seconds. This is not a big deal if you are doing time-of-day events, which is the point of the Real Time Clock. But do not try to use the RTC to create a 1-second timer. Use a timer.
  19. micrologix

    For future knowledge, then: All numeric inputs on a PV+ can use an expression. In the "Value" field of a Numeric Entry, you put the MicroLogix address that you want the numeric value to be sent to. In the "Optional Exp" field, you put the Expression that will manipulate the entered value before it is written to the address in the Value field. "?" must be included in the Optional Expression to designate the value entered by the operator. So, if I want to write "12345" to N7:0 when the user enters "123.45", I configure the Numeric Entry connections: Value {::[Micrologix]N7:0} Optional Exp ? * 100
  20. That's exactly what Darwin discovered during the voyage of the Beagle. There are really only two detailed documents available for the PV Component; the Quick Start and the User Manual http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/i...qs001_-en-p.pdf http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/i...um001_-en-p.pdf Type "2711C" into the search engine at the RA Literature website or the RA Knowledgebase and you'll get these documents. Alarms are largely covered in Chapter 8 of the Quick Start.
  21. 1768 Selection guide

    1769-SDN or -ASCII or -MVI modules are considered I/O cards, and are not part of the limit of 2 1768-series communication cards on the 1768 bus. Because they do consume a significant amount of I/O memory, there may be a limit to how many -SDN or -ASCII modules you can run with a CompactLogix CPU. If there is, that information will be in the Selection Guide.
  22. SLC5/01

    Thanks for that feedback; I'm glad to hear you got it going and have a reasonable diagnosis about why it got "scrambled". One of the first things I learned about industrial I/O platforms was how inductive loads and relays work, and the requirement for suppression has been in ever Allen-Bradley manual about relay I/O for decades. That's why it amazes me when I talk to OEMs, especially, about arc suppression and they look at me like I'm telling them to bolt kittens to the enclosure. Some have told me that arc suppression will make maintenance more difficult because it means the customer will have to stock more components. Those are the ones I don't let work with scissors.
  23. micrologix

    Bowhunter2000 is correct; the MicroLogix 1000 does not support Floating Point data types or Floating-Point math instructions. The MicroLogix 1000 was released in about 1995, and is based on the SLC-5/02 operating system. It is purely an integer math controller. It has a fixed 1K user program memory, and a fixed set of data files. The OS for that controller has not changed at all in a decade. Often I use "implied decimals" in an HMI and do my math in small increments, like using "1234" for 12.34 and considering the units to be 1/100 of the principal unit. The actual range of integer numbers supported by the MicroLogix 1000 is -32768 to +32767.
  24. Compactlogix to RSview

    I recommend Chapter 4 of the RSView32 Getting Results Guide, "Setting Up Communications". The User Manuals and Getting Results Guide are installed by default, and usually accessed from the Help menu or from the Start -> Programs menu in Windows. It can also be downloaded from the Rockwell Automation literature website: http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/i...gr001_-en-e.pdf That publication is available in English only.
  25. ActiveX Controls

    Are you using FTView ME or FTView SE ? If you're using ME, are you running it on a PV+CE terminal, or on a Windows XP computer ? ActiveX onboard the PV+CE terminals is generally less functional because Windows CE components are less popular and available than ones written for XP. You can use virtually any ActiveX in Windows XP for use with ME or SE. The list of RA-provided ActiveX components is in the RA Knowledgebase as document 26732. For logging data to a CSV file, you're probably going to want to start by looking at the DataStore Plus object. I'm not well versed in how to log "faults and messages" in a non-native format.