Can you use RSLinx Lite to connect to a SLC505?

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Thread Starter

Dave Cheung

I'm a newbie that is trying to configure an AB SLC 505 for ethernet. I am using RSLogix 500 and RSLinx Lite. I first configured the SLC505 with a serial cable. I can't seem seem to configure for ethernet after that. RS Who can't recognize the PLC. I read previous replys on this topic and those solutions didn't work. Does anyone know if it matters that I use RSLinx Lite and not RSLinx Pro??
 
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Steve Myres, PE

If connecting directly to the SLC with one cable, use a crossover ethernet cable. If using a hub, use normal patch cables (straight through). With both the PLC and the PC running look at the indicator lights on your ethernet card in the PC as well as the one on the front of the SLC. This will verify that the two can see each other electrically.

If the lights are good, next make sure that you have selected compatible IP addresses. You will probably want the SLC to have a fixed IP address, rather than to have it dynamically assigned by a BOOTP server. If you are using a PC which is normally used in an office network, it will need to have a fixed IP address as well, because while it is direcly connected to the SLC, there will be no server to allocate an address dynamically. Be sure to clear the specific address with your in house network admin; that way you still be able to use your PC on the office network with the fixed IP. He may need to eliminate this address from the range of those that can be allocated to avoid potential conflicts. You must make sure that your PC is on the same subnet with the PLC. This means that the first two or three octets in the PLC IP address (aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd) must match the corresponding octets in the IP address for your PC. For example, your PC could be 10.0.0.100 and the SLC could be 10.0.0.150. Set the subnet mask to something like 255.255.0.0.

Now open a command prompt window and at the prompt type PING 10.0.0.32, or whatever the IP address is for the SLC. If the PC can send this query to the SLC and receive a response it verifies that your PC is able to talk to the network card, and that you have correctly remembered the address for the SLC.

If you can complete all these steps successfully, configure a ETH driver in Linx (you must explicitly put in the IP address for the SLC), and it should work fine.
 
No it doesn't matter. We use lite to get online with SLC's, PLC5 and Contrologix with no drama's. Check your configuration of lite, it will be a setting somewhere
 
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Bob Peterson

I would suggest looking at your network settings in control panel and make sure your address and mask settings are compatable with the address you used in the slc. normally your mask will be 255.255.255.0. I always use TCP/IP addresses in the 10.0.0.xxx range unless otherwise specified.

Try setting your slc to address 10.0.0.1 and mask of 255.255.255.0. Set your PC network card to 10.0.0.2 with a mask of 255.255.255.0. In RSLinx configure node 1 as 10.0.0.1. You should be able to see both the PLC and the PC when you do an RSWho.

You should also be able to open up a command window and successfully ping 10.0.0.1 from your PC.

Bob Peterson
 
I'm currently connecting to SLC 505s using RSLogix 500 and RSLinx Lite, and it does work. I would first go to your windows toolbar and run the ping utility and try to ping your plc. You may have already tried this, but in case you didn't, this is a good place to start. If you can ping from your computer to the plc, then your problem is probably in your ethernet driver setup in RSlinx.
 
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