Joe Tauser

Your picture shows a cable that should work, but I don't know for sure. You don't need to know the IP address for serial communication. Have a look at this topic. It shows the official Unitronics parts and what to do to set up serial communication. https://support.unitronics.com/index.php?/selfhelp/view-article/communicating-using-rs232-cable-using-visilogic-software Joe T.

Take a close look at that port. The V350 has an RJ45 port on it labelled "Expansion Port". It's not an Ethernet port. The Ethernet port is an optional expansion port which will be on the side. The serial port is the RJ12 port on the side and it is an RS232 port. The RS232-CB1 physically converts the RJ12 to a DB9 connector. Joe T.

I'm assuming you somehow know the PLC is still running. You can access the screen through the serial port using the Unitronics Utility Remote Operator. If you have an Ethernet port on the PLC and you know the IP address you can access it that way as well. You will need a serial cable - part number RS232-CB1. If your computer doesn't have a serial port you will also need a USB to serial converter part number MJ10-22-CS35. The V350 does not have an onboard USB port. You can't upload the project from the PLC unless upload was enabled by the original programmer. Usually it isn't. You will need the the original .vlp file to download to a new PLC. Joe T.

You are correct about the ridiculously slow frequency on regular PNP transistor outputs. I discovered this the hard way on a stepper motor application many years ago. Here's a post covering the difference between PNP and NPN - You need a Vision model with real high speed NPN outputs to do what you're trying to do. There will be a "TR" in the part number if it has this. That capability is one of the things Unitronics removed from the Samba series to make it lower cost. The Vision version of the Samba you chose is a V350-J-TR20. This model has the high speed outputs. Joe T.

It should have put a link on your Desktop to the old version. Otherwise, create your own shortcut to the old version directory to the Unitronics.Shell.UI.exe program. Joe T.

Step 1 - clarify the exact protocol. Is it "Ethernet/IP" (Allen Bradley) or Modbus TCP? The SM70 can do Modbus TCP. It does not support Ethernet/IP - for that you'll need a protocol converter or upgrade to a UniStream. Joe T.

Not too hard. You could increment a register with a one second pulse and write it to the SD card on a negative transition of the input. Then reset it and start counting again on the next positive transition of the input. Have you already started a program to try this? If so, please upload it so we can see what you're doing. Joe T.

I intentionally used that word and I was actually ready for PC blowback, as PC is one of my highest irritations. I have whole rants on the words "appropriate" and "offensive". To your point, here's the definition for you that applies to this situation- The Modbus configuration on this device caused a delay in my progress. Good thing I didn't try to ask it it's pronouns. Joe T.

@NoamM, @Cara Bereck Levy <rant> Daresay, there's an error in the Help on this block. And on the floating tooltip, too. 😪 The "Modbus" device I am reading data from is retarded and has the byte order backwards on regular old integers. I need to read a block of four holding registers and swap the bytes so the numbers make sense. My input block is an array of 4 UINT 16s. I just spent an hour trying to figure out why the output array contained all 0s. The Help on the Swap Bytes Extended block states Parameter "D" is "Sets the number of bytes to be swapped". I know what a byte is. So like a good little data type rule follower I set parameter D to 8. Four UINT 16s is 8 bytes. The correct and working answer is actually 4 for this application. It's not the number of bytes, it's the number of array elements. NoamM alludes to this in his above post when he says D is "size", but that's not specific enough. So once again, people, the correct word for Parameter D is "Elements". </rant> Joe T.

The model is a USP-156-B10. We did it using a USB flash drive. We had other things to do so we let it keep flashing. The update took an hour, but it did finish. This was from version 1.32.98 to 1.34.195. Should we have done an interim update to 1.33? Joe T.

When you update the OS on a Unistream the screen flashes but you have no idea as to the progress of the update. I've been watching it flash for 45 minutes and I don't know if I should wait a little longer or if the PLC has gone bye-bye. Is it possible to make the update screen more verbose with a progress bar and other status messages? Joe T.

If there's no PLC I'm curious how you came to ask this question on a PLC support forum. Are you looking to select one with a counter input? Joe T.

I am a distributor. Your supplier if they are also a distributor has the correction information. My source tells me that the parts supply is much better but Unitronics has a huge backlog they are working to fulfill. Lead time varies wildly depending on which part number you are looking for. Can you be more specific? Joe T.

For starters, what model PLC are you working with? Joe T.

Check the Help on "Special Functions". They're used by loading your parameters into SI 141..SI 147, and then executed by setting SI 140 to the function code. After you've triggered the Modbus function once it should work. Only trigger the Special functions as needed. They will execute the function and then be ready for the next call. In your code above you are continuously calling function 200 (Store Timer Preset). Do you really need to do that all the time? The Jazz is a very primitive controller compared to the Vision. Considering what you're trying to do I would seriously consider upgrading to a Samba, which would make these tasks much easier. Your time is valuable. Joe T.

We drive the inputs of Invertek drives directly from the PLC transistor outputs all the time. All you need to do is connect the drive common to the 0V reference of the PLC. In these applications the VFD is in the same panel as the PLC, so distance isn't an issue. Joe T.

Unitronics does not sell parts. 🤥 All V120s use the same display. Your best bet is to get one from the surplus market and rob the display out of it. Joe T.

Those shouldn't have gotten through. I blame the holidays. Joe T.

There are a number of "artificial" limits in a Samba. This is by design. The Samba series was created as a response to OEM requests for a lower priced PLC. Unitronics did this by removing the expansion I/O communication circuitry and removing memory. Unitronics' reasoning is that if the application gets to a certain size then you need to step up to a regular Vision series. If you were able to get 26 displays in then I'd say you found a bug in an older version that worked in your favor. I do know from an inside source that implementing the new PCOM password security feature required programming acrobatics to fit additional code into memory that was already at capacity. The programmers probably grabbed a block of memory that was previously allocated for displays, so they had to put the display count check rule in place. Joe T.

Yes, you've made that clear. I am curious if other controllers allow you to control socket assignment. A socket can only have one connection at a time. So the short answer to your question is no. I've never tried to assign the same port to two sockets, but it's worth a go. Try putting a Socket Init block in for Socket 0 and set it up as a Modbus TCP Slave using port 502. You'll have to put another Modbus Config block in to support a second SCAN_EX block. I've attached a program demonstrating this. I have no idea if it will work for what you're trying to do. The forum is not Official Unitronics Support. You can also pose your question to support@unitronics.com. Joe T. Dual Slave V570 Test.vlp

The .CFG file you attached didn't have the -B5 in it. I think you can insert the -R2 card between the -R1 and the -R4 but it won't mean anything if you don't have the right code. Have you tried the Upload option? Out of curiosity, what is this controller doing? Joe T.

I don't think any of the moderators have experience with this old hardware, myself included. If support is giving you the cold shoulder then all we can do is collectively noodle on the problem. Aus had an excellent suggestion and it looks like you've made some progress. Following the pattern, I would change the "code of the hw base" to 14 for the -B5. Joe T.

Usually people use an RS232 to USB converter for serial connection. The port on the PLC is set to RS232 by default. RS485 requires a different connection and jumpers to be set in the PLC. Are you sure the PLC is set up for RS485? Joe T.

The onboard high speed counter resets to 0 on power up in all Unitronics PLCs and in the RC15. If you want to retain the HSC value you must copy it continually to a buffer register in the CANbus master PLC. Check to make sure it's not = 0 before copying it to the buffer. You should be monitoring the online status of the RC15 in your master code. Here's an example of how I do it: When you see the RC15 go back online, write the value from the buffer back to the RC15. If you want to describe your application an post both your master and your RC15 programs we can have a look. Joe T.

You've clarified several things about your background and application. Good to know. Auto-tune is not a perfect process wizard. It will get you into the ballpark but you'll need to tweak the settings. I can't say I've spent a lot of time in the ceramic industry, but I did help out the Ceramic Engineering Department at my alma mater with some controls so I now know what S and R thermocouples are. They were nowhere near as demanding as your client. Just to clarify a few things- 1. Is it a 0.5% error margin or a 0.5 degree error margin they get upset about? 2. Is your 4/20 signal controlling SSRs via a PWM control or a phase-angle fired control? 3. You've verified that you are precisely measuring the control signal and it is changing over the very small P band. At this point I'd follow Gabriel's advice and set the D = 0. Increasing the value of I should pull the droop up. If not there's something wrong. There are a couple of functions under FB's->PID Auto-Tune-> Read Control Components and Read Error Integral. Put both of those in your program so we can get some more diagnostic information while the loop is running. Joe T.