i have mark6 controlling gas turbine. when the unit take trip, we try to find the alarm events by internet explorer at the desktop. we get (no data option were submitted).

i search about file HMIDATA. i got it but it is empty. so what i should do to make the alarm and event logger working?

 

Has this option ever worked?

If so: <b>What has changed?</b>

I believe it might be something as simple as checking the options section of CONFIG.DAT to make sure that the HMI logging option is turned on (if I correctly interpret the message you seem to be saying is displayed when you try to open the browser to search the display).

Is the Alarm Logger functioning (the dot matrix printer)? Because that should be the "Plan B", the fallback, the standby.

Proper Alarm Management (resolving alarms; using Alarm Lock and Alarm Unlock) can make the Alarm Logger a lot more user-friendly. Yes; a lot of people say and think, "That dot matrix technology is antiquated and GE is sending us old, inexpensive ("cheap") technology!" But, in fact, the original name for a printer is 'line printer', and that's what dot matrix printers do best: print one line at a time (i.e., one alarm at a time). In fact, the parallel port of an IBM-compatible WinTel PC is called LPT1 (for line printer port #1!). (Using a laser printer to print alarms as they are annunciated would be very frustrating--it would either print one alarm per page (more wasteful than a dot matrix printer) or it wouldn't print a page until at least 80 alarms were in the queue.)

So, if your Alarm Logger (the dot matrix printer) isn't working, you have lost your "back-up" option. And, learn to Manage Alarms, instead of always reacting to alarms. The Alarm Logger (and the HMI alarm & event report) will not be as full of nuisance and dithering alarms. And, then troubleshooting alarms and trips will be much easier.

Unfortunately, I don't have a Mark VI CONFIG.DAT to paste a copy of the relevant section from to this reply. Perhaps someone else who has a working HMI alarm & event reporter can do so.

Let us know how you fare.

 

Thank you for your answer, actually the unit is new and i just attend to the plant and the engineers in the site do not know if it worked before or not. just when the unit tripped they try to find the reason by the alarm event logger, but they found it not working. i searched about the file FONFIG.DAT. i did not found it.

i think this is the problem. i like to ask is the file CONFIG.DAT is write in notepad, and which languge is write by it.

if any one has this file please send it to me
regards

 

F:\CONFIG.DAT is an ASCII text file, and you should find it in the SITE folder, in the "E:" drive on most new HMIs. It can be opened/edited with Notepad or Wordpad, but you MUST save any changes in MS-DOS format (not Word or RTF!).

 

A former colleague just sent me a CONFIG.DAT from a hybrid HMI (don't ask!). I'm pasting what I believe to be the relevant lines here.

But, if this is a new unit installation, you should contact the packager/installer and have them help you with making this standard function work!

I'm only pasting the lines from the OPTIONS section I believe are appropriate:

OPTIONS

ALARM_HISTORY = YES
HST_DIR = E:\HISTORIAN_DATA\HMIDATA

The last line above in your CONFIG.DAT needs to "point to" the location of the HMIDATA folder on your HMI. For the job which these lines came from, it was on the E: drive in the HISTORIAN_DATA folder.

You should find these lines in your CONFIG.DAT. I've never seen an HMI without a CONFIG.DAT file; it's a necessary part of configuring GE HMIs.
I believe the option you are most interested in is

Note that the last line above needs to correspond to the location of the HMIDATA directory on your HMI (it seems to "move" on different HMIs; that's just the location of the one on that job's HMI).

To enable a line in CONFIG.DAT, remove the semicolon at the beginning of the line. (To disable a line in CONFIG.DAT, add a semicolon to the beginning of the line.) When you make any changes to CONFIG.DAT, remember to save the changes when you exit the editor as a plain text file (devoid of any formatting, fonts, etc.)! And, then it's necessary to stop CIMPLICITY, stop TCI (by typing NET STOP TCI at any command prompt), waiting about 30 seconds, restarting TCI (by typing NET START TCI at any command prompt), waiting about two minutes for all of the TCI functions and processes to start and stabilize, and then restarting CIMPLICITY. Or, you can just re-start the HMI (which is probably simpler!).

I also want to warn anyone against enabling any of the other options you may see listed in a CONFIG.DAT file. This file has been the around Speedtronic line since before the Mark V. As such, it has many "left-over" remnants and information. Enabling options which are not available on a particular HMI can render it useless (until the options are disabled). Just because an option line is listed in an HMI <b>DOES NOT</b> that it is available on that HMI!

So, "KIDS: Don't try this at home!" (enabling options just to see if they will work or "improve" your HMI experience--because they may severely limit your HMI experience!)

The warning has been issued.

 

Dear,

i found the file CONFIG.DAT in partition (E). the problem still exist and i review the file, and the steps in the option of the full CONFIG.DAT as the GE manual saying:

options:
MODBUS = YES
EVENT = YES
SOE = YES
GSM = YES
ALARM_HISTORY = YES
; for Windows NT use this
; HST_DIR = C:\HISTORIAN_DATA\HMIDATA
; for Windows 2000 use this
HST_DIR = E:\HISTORIAN_DATA\HMIDATA
FULL_ALM_ID=YES
; EPA_LOG = YES
; ANALOG_CHANGE = YES
; BLC = YES
; HISTORIAN = VAX
; P_LOG = YES
regards

 

Dear,

Congratulations on finding the file. You've hit the limit of my knowledge on this task.

I'm wondering if you have a Mark VI<b>e</b> and not a Mark VI. If so, then you would likely have an HMI configured with WorkstationST and ControlST, and not TCI. In that case, the IE links, though present (WHY!??!!?!?!!) no longer work.

The WorkstationST HMIs have a really good alarm viewer called WorkstationST Alarm Viewer (imagine that!). It takes some getting used to, but it can be used to filter alarms like with IE.

You said this is a new installation, though, and even if it is a Mark VI (or a Mark VI<b>e</b>) you should be able to get the installer or packager/provider of the turbine and control system to rectify this or any problems during the warranty period (I'm presuming the unit is still in warranty; but that's just a guess).

Wish I had better news!

 

Sorry by mistake the option sent in the previous posted is for another unit which its alarms & event logger is running well. the below options on the file CONFIG.DAT for the units which its alarms and event logger not working well


OPTIONS
; MODBUS = YES
EVENT = YES
SOE = YES
GSM = YES
ALARM_HISTORY = YES
; for Windows NT use this
HST_DIR = C:\HISTORIAN_DATA\HMIDATA
; for Windows 2000 use this
; HST_DIR = E:\HISTORIAN_DATA\HMIDATA
FULL_ALM_ID=YES
EPA_LOG = YES
; ANALOG_CHANGE = YES
; BLC = YES
; HISTORIAN = VAX
; P_LOG = YES

in this one i make a modification in it and made it typically as in the one posted previous by put( in the row number 7 & 11 and removed it from row number 9 and stop and start tci. it is become working good, but the problem if i go to internet explorer (alarms & event logger) icon at the desktop the page for TCI information not coming. if i write Localhost, it come. if i try to make it as a home page at the internet option, not accept and hugging the internet option and not responding program message coming.

so how i can solve this problem?
regaeds

 

Open Internet explorer, type local host and confirm if the page is correctly loaded.

Click and drag the icon in the left side of the internet explorer address bar to the desktop. This creates the short cut to the page that is loaded.

Replace the normal internet explorer shortcut with this shortcut.

 

Thanks all for your efforts, i was already did, and it was working good. i now face a problem when i try to open the internet explorer at the desktop to open the event and alarm logger it hanging and not open and give message not responding.

so i can not open it now, need advice what i should do.

thanks

 

Hi,

I thinking the problem is in the Internet explorer.

so i have i suggestion to remove the explorer and reinstall again but i do not know if this will not make a problem with the system or not. please what is your advice?