LogicMaster Help For Newb

[Priority 1 Services 0]

Russ, Steve I am hoping to get some assistance. I was the person that had the problems connecting to the 90-30 CPU 311 and the CPU 331 last week. Well I am on site and have downloaded LM90 V 9.05 and am having trouble learning how to establish connections using this program. I am brand new with this program and need all the help I can get. I do not have the program on the pc and need to connect to the PLC to upload the program from the PLC.

[Steve Bailey 118]

Let's ay you just started Logicmaster and you're looking at the screen where there's a box in the middle of the screen that says "Shift F1 ... Series 90 Micro Programmable Controller", "Shift F2 ... Series 90-20 Programmable Controller", "Shift F3 ... Series 90-30 Programmable Controller", etc. Make sure that "90-30" is highlighted along the top of the screen. If it isn't, press <SHIFT> + F3 to make it so. Once you've done that, press F1 to launch the PLC programming part of Logicmaster. When you do that, you will probably come to a screen that asks you to select a program folder. Down at the bottom of the screen there will be a field that says eithe "Offline" or "Monitor". If your cable between the PC and the PLC is disconnected, it will definitely say "Offline". If you have a cable connected between the PC and the PLC and Logicmaster says "Monitor" it means it has established a connection with the PLC. If it says "Offline", it means no connection. There are many reason for lack of connection. It could mean your COM port is not available. It could mean you don't have the right cable. It could mean that the port setup for Logicmaster doesn't match the way the PLC is set up. I'm in the office this afternoon, so if you want to give me a call, feel free to do so. I gave you my phone number in my PM to you last week.

[RussB 22]

If you do not know the name of the program that is in the PLC be SURE to use the name "Temp" for the one that you want to upload to, this is important in that LM90 will not connect to a PLC if the name does not match the name of the 'Folder' in LM90, unless it is named "Temp". I just did this yesterday for a customer of mine, so it is fresh in my mind. Edited 25 Aug 2010 by RussB

[Steve Bailey 118]

To clarify Russ' point, Logicmaster requires that you have a project folder opened in order to upload from the PLC to the PC or to download from the PC to the PLC. The name of the project folder must match the name of the program in the PLC. There is one exception to that rule. You can upload from a PLC to a project folder named "Temp" regardless of the name of the program in the PLC. When you first establish a serial connection between the PC and the PLC, the name of the program in the PLC is displayed on the "Select or Create a Program Folder" page. If you don't already have a program folder with that name, you can create one.

[Priority 1 Services 0]

Hi guys. I was able to use my knowledge of versapro and proficy and confiured the plc options. And was able to figure it out somehow on my own. And now after reading your posts i realize i.did it correctly. Unfortunately the master cpu 331 is toast and was unable to connect. Cimtec is saying they can repair it and extract the program for a fee of 500$. Any thoughts? And thanks again for your responses. Jason

[Steve Bailey 118]

A new CPU module will cost you more than $500 and you'll have to re-enter the program rung by rung. However, unless there's an EPROM on the CPU or you can be sure the battery hasn't failed, there's no guarantee on being able to extract the program from the existing CPU. I think you said there's a printed copy of the existing program, so personally I'd go for a new CPU module and re-enter the program manually. Be sure you take note of the I/O modules and check for compatibility between what's in place and the latest version of CPU firmware. BTW, did you have a chance to check into the possibility of the power supply being dragged down by the I/O modules?

[Priority 1 Services 0]

Luckily i was able to call GE IP and they sent me a link to download LM90 V 9.05. I had to run the .exe file in compatibility mode and it installed with no problems. The biggest problem was this was my first time even seeing logicmaster so it took some time to figure out how to navigate my way around. I finally figured out how to change the program folder and that i needed to name it temp. Everyhin uploaded correctly on the two cpu 311's so im relatively happy.

[Priority 1 Services 0]

I did lift the additional modules off the rack and tried cycling power to the unit w/o any success. I will check too see if it has an eprom and the battery was changed fairly recently so it should not have lost the program. I agree reprogramming it is probably the easiest way to go and most likely that is what will happen. Thanks again Steve and Russ.

[RussB 22]

For future reference and for others. Once it is installed and running properly, there are only 2 things that you need to remember to use LogicMaster 90-30 or 90-70. 1. The "Esc" key backs you up one menu. 2. "Alt-H" brings up online help. For everything else, just "read the screen".