I need to get info from 32 SLC5/01 processors into RSview. Does anyone have any experience using an off the shelf RS-485 to ethernet convertor for something like this??

 

You can configure the communications on the HMI using RSView to use a DH485 protocol as a PIC driver without going to Ethernet.

Call the Rockwell Automation tech support for further help (440-646-5800).

 

A slight problem with your idea is that DH485 supports up to 32 nodes, your RSview device will take one of these nodes leaving only 31 for your PLCs. Never tried standard Ethernet to 485 convertors, however DH485 is very communication timing dependant, I think you may well struggle to get a setup that works! If you manage it I am sure many members would appreciate your feedback.

 

Could you simply use AIC modules to form a DH485 network to your PC? If I remember correctly, there are only 32 nodes allowed on a DH485 network, and if so you might need two separate networks. If you really want DH485 to Ethernet converters, Pro Soft is probably the place to begin looking.

 

You cannot simply use an rs485 to ethernet converter as the two protocols are different. You need a gateway type device like what Prolinx sells to allow these different networks (hardware and protocol) to pass data between each other. "www.prolinxgateways.com":http://www.prolinxgateways.com

 

RS 232/485 - Ethernet Convertors are available in the market. One such is an ADAM make convertor. It comes with a driver CD and a manual which provides the full configuration details and is easy to install and work with.

[email protected]

 

The official word from Rockwell - which I independently agree with given my exposure to low-level Ethernet is this won't happen without some smart DH485-aware box at your SLC5 end.

DH485 requires a very rapid token rotation which Ethernet will disturb. End result will be if you use any common RS-485-to-Ethernet bridge (or device server or whatever a supplier calls it) one side or the other will see token faults and your DH485 stops.

So bottom line is you'll need some DH485 aware device at the remote SLC5 end to in effect manage the RH485 & keep it running and then use something like RS-232 DF1 out put, which tunnels very nicely to RSLinx or most OPC servers.

Best Regards

Lynn August Linse, lynn (at) linse.org
Foothill Ranch CA 92610-2482

 

I've made a network of 75 RS485 nodes using 3 RS485 to ethernet converter of brand MOXA. Now i'm able to monitor each single unit even remote through a modem connection. Look at "MOXA.COM":http://www.moxa.com for more details.
regards,
Henk

 

Note, however, that the SLC 5/01 processor does not talk RS-485, but DH-485. The timing issues have been hashed out on this list many times. Suffice to say that a standard converter will not do the job.

I did accomplish this, but it wasn't cheap. I had a range of 5/01, 5/03, and Micro 1000's on various production lines. I wound up replacing one of the 5/03's on each line (in this plant, it wound up being the processor that handled all of the conveyor controls), with a SLC 5/05. the 5/05 had a NET-AIC adapter to get it onto the DH-485 network, and used the ethernet port to get on the ethernet network. The 5/05 program was modified to gather data from the other machines in a round-robin polling mechanism. Each of the slave machines was modified to concentrate the data as much as possible into contiguous chunks, which the 5/05 then gathered into it's own memory.

I then set up a PC using VB and an ActiveX that would talk to the 5/05 through the ethernet. the VB app polled the data out of the 5/05 and
logged it into a MS-SQL 7.0 database.

As I said, it wasn't cheap. The 5/05's are fairly expensive to use as a bridge and data concentrator. In the end, though, it was as rock solid as the windows machines would allow.

--Joe Jansen