SLC/501 Communication to a Laptop Question

  • Thread starter Mullenix, Thomas C., Celanese/US
  • Start date
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Thread Starter

Mullenix, Thomas C., Celanese/US

Hello, I am unfamiliar with AB products and their communication and am seeking some help. I need to hook up to a SLC/501 and hopefully make an online change to a preset in one of the counters. I am using NT4(SP4) on a Dell 7000 hooked up through a 1747-PIC via RSLINX Lite and RSLOGIX500. I have the 1747-PIC driver installed in LINX to COM1 and it appears to be working okay when I run its diagnostics but I am unable to get communication going with the SLC/501. Is there another driver needed for the SLC itself? I have tried setting the PIC node to both 0 and 1 since I don't know what was given to the SLC. When I run superwho I only see the PIC. I have tried to go online and I get the error that the target device is not a SLC500 or Micrologix. It has also given me the error that it can't find the target device at the specified path. The SLC/501 has a run light and is operating fine. I also don't have a copy of its program on the laptop. Thanks for any help, Thomas
 
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You might find that your com port is being used as a service for another program that is now not in use - check your windows nt services. Because of this it cannot be accessed by RSLinx. Have you tried the DF1 serial driver? That is what I normally use for serial comms to AB. Alex
 
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In RSLinx check your PIC driver configuration under 'Max. Station Number' Set it to 31. If this number is less than the station number of the 5/01, you won't see the 5/01. Check to see if you can use the configured PIC COM port in another application, such as hyperterm. If you can, it means that the PIC driver is not running. When all else fails, delete the PIC driver, reboot, install the PIC driver, reboot. =================================== Mark Erdle Alpha Geek The Boolean Embassy http://www.booleanembassy.org ===================================
 
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> Hello, I am unfamiliar with AB products and > their communication and am seeking some help. I > need to hook up to a SLC/501 and hopefully make > an online change to a preset in one of the > counters. I am using NT4(SP4) on a Dell 7000 > hooked up through a 1747-PIC via RSLINX Lite > and RSLOGIX500. Make sure that after you set install/setup the PIC driver that you reboot. NT needs the reboot to replace the normal comm driver with the PIC driver. Also, make sure that nothing else is trying to allocate the comm port. The biggest one to check for here is modems. If you have a external modem that you use on this port, delete the modem definition, and reboot (again). Check for any other software that wants to use this port and either assign it to a different (possibly non-existant) port, or uninstall it. Sounds severe, nasty, and stupid. And it is. But that is what it takes under NT. > I have the 1747-PIC driver installed in LINX to > COM1 and it appears to be working okay when I > run its diagnostics but I am unable to get > communication going with the SLC/501. Is there > another driver needed for the SLC itself? No > I have tried setting the PIC node to both 0 and > 1 since I don't know what was given to the > SLC. When I run superwho I only see the PIC. I > have tried to go online and I get the error > that the target device is not a SLC500 or > Micrologix. It has also given me the error that > it can't find the target device at the > specified path. The SLC/501 has a run light and > is operating fine. I also don't have a copy of > its program on the laptop. This may not be a problem. I know that it is possible to lock out the end user based on not having a copy of the program (refer to that thread), but I am fairly certain you would get an error message to that effect. At this point, don't even try RSLogix yet. You should be able to see the device appear in RSLinx if it is communicating. Start in Linx, and click on the PIC driver in the left window pane. Anything that it sees will show up after a couple of seconds on the right pane. Work with your drivers until the PLC appears there. As I said above, the biggest problem under NT is port conflicts. This will most likely clear it up. Otherwise, try going through all of the baud rates in the driver setup. Reboot after each change! (ugh). When you get it, make sure to write down the settings for next time. Once you see the PLC in RSLinx, you should be able to run RSLogix and upload the program from the processor to your laptop. If you get a security error, I think someone else on this list is considering starting a cosultancy.... --Joe Jansen
 
Hello Thomas, Hummm! I can suggest a couple of things to look at. The processor should be set for address 01, unless someone has changed it. However, because you do not see the processor in the WHO window I think that something else might be wrong. The default baudrate for DH485 is 19.2Kbps. It is possible and sounds likely that the baudrate on the processor is set to something different. In RSLinx I would experiment with different baudrate settings for the PIC driver. Also make sure that the max node count in the PIC driver configuration screen is 31. Until you get RSLinx to see the processor in the WHO window the programming software, RSLogix500, will not do you any good. For more information on RSLinx please see my write up in the PLC Archive (http://www.plcarchive.com). The write up pertains to setting up RSLinx to talk to a PLC-5 but the principles and steps are the same for the SLC-500. Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you. Bradley G. Hite Intertech Incorporated mailto:[email protected] http://www.myplc.com Teaching Practical Skills for a Technological World
 
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Alfonso Padilla

Check the paper called "RSLinx Communication software" by Brad Hite, last in the library section of this Website. It will help you more than any long explanation. Don't worry if you don't have a copy of the PLC program. Once you established communication with the PLC, upload the program to your PC. However, you will face the problem of having an undocumented ladder diagram where you have to search for the counter you need to change. Good luck! Alfonso Padilla QPS Control & Automation Mexico [email protected]
 
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Amora Fibrianto

Make sure that you have configured both communication parameter correctly. On DH485 it will be 1. Baud rate 2. Maximum Node address That's all your concern. since on 5/01 you can only adjust the baudrate, try to use standard setting on your RSLinx, then adjust your baud rate setting. If you use a DB25 to DB9 converter don't get confused by using a parallel cable, it won't work. Go to your local computer shop ask them for DB25 to DB9 converter. Regards Amora fibrianto
 
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Michael Tucker

Might I suggest visiting the Allen Bradley web site and access the many online manuals they have .....They will show you everything you need down to the wires......I'm not sure but it seems to me that I had similar trouble once and had to use a 9 pin "D" shell comm connection and a null modem <little in line adapter that changes the pin outs of your comm cable.......and / or the use of an Allen Bradley "AIC" module for use w/Ethernet comm. The AIC module is simply an adapter to convert RS-232 to Ethernet....I think....I'm new to all this stuff but the Allen Bradley manuals have saved me more than once ...good luck....let me know what ends up curing your problem....THANX
 
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You said an evil word here "NT". While I have successfully run RSLinx on a serial port under NT, I have heard that sometimes it just does not work, or works intermitantly, and have experienced its intermittant functioning behaviour. From what I have heard this is worse on laptops. You might try the auto config option in RSLinx when setting up your driver. It almost always works. be sure you are using the correct driver as well. I think its called PIC driver. I suspect that you do not have the driver configured correctly, as who normally works. Make sure that the port is not in use by a Palm or PocketPC computer. Active Synch takes available serial ports, even when not configured to do so, or even when inactive. You can force active synch to release your serial port by deleting it from your task list in task manager. its called "wcescomm". Bob Peterson
 
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Bougis, Amjad M

The SLC channel you are trying to communicate with could have been disabled by a previous program downloaded. If this is the case, then you need to communicate with the SLC through another channel ( the DF1 serial driver). If all channels were disabled, then the only solution is to reset the SLC to factory settings, you might be loosing you program in this case.. check the manual. I hope this helps. Regards, Amjad
 
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Mullenix, Thomas C., Celanese/US

Re: Thanks,PLCS: SLC/501 Communication to a Laptop Question Solved I appreciate all the suggestions. The problem was indeed related to NT not giving up the com port(although I have so far been able to overcome this in the past for other configuration software). After exhausting my usual things to try I finally just loaded RSLINX and RSLOGIX into my Win95 partition and immediately had success.
 
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Joe Jansen/ENGR/HQ/KEMET/US

Erm.... No. The suggestion to refer to the manual is valid. They sometimes do put good info in there. I don't know how well they document the NT to PIC problem, though. There should be no need to use a null modem with a PIC. This would be used if you are using DF1, but the 5/01 does not support straight serial communications, so that is not a concern. The AIC module is used on a multi-drop DH-485 network. An AIC module is located at each station and makes the connection from the device (processor, panelview, or whatever) to the trunk line. If you are just trying to get online with the 5/01, this is not needed either. I am fairly confident that it is a driver problem under NT. Check the communication settings, make sure nothing else is set up to even THINK about using that port, and reboot every time you change anything, regardless of how minor it is. In the end, some laptops just won't let NT use the PIC driver, but most will. --Joe Jansen
 
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If your Dell 7000 is a laptop or you have a LOT of resource hungry cards you will most likely be having a problem. Be sure that nothing else, like pcmcia slots, are sharing resources with the com port. Once you do that, you will need a rslinx network setup. Choose RS-232 devices then select auto-config. It will try a lot of settings and then find your slc-50/1. go back to rs-logix, and find the who active go online setup. select the 5/01 that shows up on the network list. From their... it will ask if you want to upload the program (upload meaning from the plc to your computer.) go with yes.. then you can nose around and find your data-tables.
 
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