Ausman

Hi Adreasler, I am wondering if you have interpreted things correctly. <<<<< Notes: 3. This model is supplied with a serial port: RS232/RS485 (Port 1). The standard is set to either RS232 or RS485 according to DIP switch settings. Refer to the product’s Installation Guide. 4. Note that physically connecting a PC to the controller via USB suspends RS232/RS485communications via Port 1. When the PC is disconnected, RS232/RS485 resumes. 5. The user may order and install one or both of the following modules: - A serial RS232/RS485 isolated/non-isolated interface module in port 2. >>>>>> Are you leaving the usb connection in place during the trials? Do you have ladder work setting the 232 port parameters properly? If you have these in place and still have problems, with any 232 (or 485) communication issue that doesn't work as expected, I always go back to using the PC to send out strings to the item being talked to. This is far easier to tweak a string to the correct solution rather than messing around using the plc. Once the string works correctly, it then gets transposed into the plc. Hope this might help cheers, Aus

Hi Jan Is this entire page your reference? Or it might help? https://unitronicsplc.com/Download/SoftwareHelp/UniLogic_Knowledgebase/Communications/EthernetIP.htm cheers, Aus

The real art to programming plcs is to first break down your process to every single procedure you are going to need to achieve your desired result, and then arranging those procedures to achieve this result in the most efficient manner. (You need to remember that in general plcs are very dumb and need to be told how to do everything.) I do this using a spreadsheet owing to the ease of moving things around, but there are many other methods including whiteboards, depending on complexity. (Some people end up with a correctly drawn flow chart once everything is finalised, but for me that isn't needed.) Once you have done that, if there is a procedure needed that you are unfamiliar with, or haven't used before, you then go to your plc's list of things it can do and find the function/maths/compare etc that best matches what you need to achieve. You then learn everything you can about the way it works, by consulting the help files, looking at examples and then physically doing a trial, using the plc, of something simple involving that procedure to ensure you are totally familiar with the way it works. Eventually you can tie it all together into a fully functioning, simple as possible program that the little men, women and gender neutral people (we are very PC on this forum!) running around inside the plc are quite happy to do over and over and over again without getting tired. In this case it is using different types of compare. Also, please pay attention to Joe's response. cheers, Aus

I know you are all likely saying: "Here we go again!!" but check this one out! I recently got a little petrol/gas (for you Americanos) inverter genset as a backup for the bigger standby diesel. Just in case the diesel happened to die at the worst time, the little one would still run enough stuff to cover crucial bases. So I oiled and fuelled it, set it all up and test ran it fine, started on first pull, and it said everything was ok. Time for a real world test by making it actually power stuff. I had been in the workshop all day, and decided to try it on a row of the flouros in there as a good test. So I went around turning everything off before working the supply changeover switch. Checked again that everything was off, changed the switch, cranked up the gen and then flipped it's switch. Overload! Stop! Huh??? Check it all out and all seemed ok. Try again. Same thing. What? Wandered around the workshop again checking everything and discovered that I had missed the air compressor supply. I had used it two days ago and forgotten to turn it off. It hadn't run AT ALL during the entire 12 hours I had been in the workshop as I would have noticed it and muttered "you idiot" whilst turning it off. But sure enough the little gremlins that continually sit on my shoulder had arranged for all the tiny leaks to make it flip the pressure switch during the exact 5 seconds it took me to change the supply switch and start the gennie!! Fair dinkum! If you work it out time wise based on my being there for 12 hours, the odds come out at something like 1 in 8640 for the pressure switch to change during the exact 5 seconds I'm shifting onto the genset! Sadly....very, very sadly.....none of these exceptional coincidences seem to happen on the occasional time I buy a lottery ticket! But they do seem to continue to happen to me all the time, leading to lots of perplexing moments! cheers, Aus

Yes, true enough might be possibly missed.....I was working on a same delay b/n on/off. By the look of the inductive's specs it may indeed be a short ON time. As for the different HSC readings, and assuming that all your hardware settings and wiring are correct, perhaps you are getting very fast bounces and as the scan read only relates to differences b/n each scan this may account for it. For interests sake, if you do an immediate display lke you have already, alongside a cumulative one this might show this up. A hard one to pin without being onsite. And that inductive needing 8v is indeed a little weird given that it is meant to enable easy interfacing! I noticed during my research that it looks like Honeywell have badge engineered the flow meters , and perhaps they may have a ready made supply module/interface that might be more user friendly and even better than a Pheonix. Who knows?!! PS...in my read of the literature they do have Modbus as an option. cheers, Aus

Just a little further on Flex's correct answer, unlike some brands of plc, Vision etc do not let you specify a fixed scan length. There are ways around this, but they aren't dead accurate and are a little clumsy. It is much better to just let the plc run at it's own pace. However, to get a better idea of everything available, I would have a good read of everything listed under Help/Help/index/Scan. Program Sequencing information is a "must read" because there is very important info in there. cheers, Aus

For 2 Hz max you don't need to use the High speed, normal will be fine. And if the "correct" amp is using relays this is very poor practice, they'll wear out in no time at all. At full flow over 24 hours that's 172, 800 operations! Should be solid state. cheers, Aus

Have you got jumpers in their correct locations for 4-20ma? And looking at your ladder, why have you got MB101 and a sub call AFTER the linearisation? This makes no sense at all.....the linearisation only does a conversion. As if often quoted here, Unitronics does not charge for ladder rungs! Separate things out. cheers, Aus

Does this post help? If not, what Visilogic, what Windows and 32 or 64? cheers, Aus

Hmmm....don't know but don't think so. I don't have an M91 to try this on, so have you tried on yours and did it work? cheers, Aus

Your question is already answered. Look at the example Joe mentions above....it is an example program...not a "document". cheers, Aus

Agree with Flex. Also, as someone in the HVAC game, I would make sure that your sensor is the temp range that is says it is. I often find variations of the same item that have different ranges, and you can only know for sure by matching the actual model numbers on the particular unit, right down to checking labels on the PCB. I have even had manufacturers change this without making it known in their literature. And for researching and trial purposes, I suggest you also look at my post here which has my calculator: The calculator is good for seeing what results should be, but I have used it for compensating for errors, and also finding the different ranges that I mention at the top of this post by playing with numbers and comparing that to actual results. Also, don't forget that the Linearisation function does NOT have upper and lower limits. The conversion will occur outside your ideal input range if your sensor is capable of putting out larger or smaller amounts than normal. Quite often you need to use a compare to set up high and low limits. This is especially confusing the first time you encounter the problem, without realising the simple fix. If you are setting up different span systems via logic that then goes into a number of linearisations, it is definitely needed cheers, Aus

That's great Orso. Given that it is only one cycle, I'm now wondering whether it might be a simple case of rearranging some of your program? I have often fallen into the trap of having an action not operate as expected due to an incorrect sequence, and a simple rearrange cures the issue. cheers, Aus

Essentially yes. As this is not a definite answer and is a bit involved to write, I would trial the concept on only a few to start with. The aim is to give the system a little breathing space between actions. But I would start at quite a high count to start with, maybe even 1000, and work backwards from there. Here's hoping it works....fingers crossed. cheers, Aus

Hi Orso, I'm not really into Unilogic but to me this sounds like some sort of buffer issue. I would be adding an adjustable count system into your controls so that you can fine tune "X" number of scans occurring between your controlling bits changing to your desired states, including the system bits that say things have occurred. The count would be set up so that it increments +1 every scan and you then do compares to trigger things after, for example, 20 scans have elapsed where your count would be up to 20. In effect you would be making a simple variable timer for your commands that you can easily vary until you find the optimum point for every bit involved. Upon the count being reached for each one it resets to 0, waiting for the next trigger. cheers, Aus

Hi all, some of you may remember me in various topics suggesting to try different USB cables during member's connection issues. Today I had exactly the same problem and it took me an hour to eventually try another cable. 1). Hung up the cable and Shentek 485 last night after doing some work with it perfectly ok. 2). Retrieved cable and Shentek from hanging point this morning and stuffed around for an hour wondering why I now don't have comms. The damn thing was working fine last night! 3). Checked all my drivers out and everything looked fine. Still nothing showing in com ports, though. WT*? Has Windoze done an update that has upset things? Hmmm. 4). More Hmmm....light bulb......Try another cable, Stoopid! 5). "Well I'll be damned!" Who would've thunk that my usual act of carefully disconnecting things and hanging up the cable would result in a failure. In this case it was one of the data lines for sure. 6). Moral: Never, ever, ever, ever, ever (get it?!!) trust a cable first time. This nincompoop, Moi, who has had this happen a few times over the years, still got caught for an hour trying to figure it out!! Mamma Mia!! cheers, Aus

The battery advice is just that...advice. You are essentially starting a totally different project with the RC15...all it does is communicate it's results to the plc.....ie you can't add the RC15 into a project that already has a plc. You really need to look at all the material I suggested above and this will guide you. Please do this and then work on starting your programs. cheers, Aus

It looks like we have had a time overlap during me writing my last response, which probably answers your question above. cheers, Aus

OK. Just in case, if the 350 has an SD inserted, check that a program copy isn't on the card. Looking at your photos, the connecting cable going into the EX-A2X from the plc is not the correct type. It appears to be a normal CAT 5 network cable. The use of this incorrect cable could possibly be the source of your expansion error. The adaptor normally comes with the correct cable, which is EXL-CAB100. The cable must be installed with correct orientation, with the earth lead at the plc end. Fit the correct cable, and reset the error using information mode or power cycle with a 5 second wait. If the correct cable has not been used due to the expansion being further from the plc than the cable allows, there are different cable lengths available, but only up to a certain distance. Longer runs need the use of an EX-RC1 which is a totally different way of doing things. There is also no earth connected to the A2X, (empty terminal next to the power inputs) which may be further compounding the problem created by not using the correct cable. It also looks like the RC15 earth is actually connected to shield wires from somewhere. You need to go through the earths carefully and set them up properly. If you haven't already done so, I suggest that you go here : https://unitronicsplc.com/support-technical-library/ and get the installation and specification sheets for your various bits of hardware. It is critical that you understand how all your components work together, in particular the fact that the EXF-RC15 is essentially a standalone plc. I would have a look at this topic, ably answered by Joe T. : cheers, Aus

I'm assuming that you have tried to do Connection/Upload? "Upload" in Unitronics terms is receive the file from the PLC. If the PLC's file has been programmed into the PLC in certain ways you can retrieve it. It depends on the initial method of writing the file into the PLC...which Unitronics call Download. I suggest you try an upload as it could help you along your desired path if you can get the current program and parameters out of the plc. It will be a good starting point for further discussion on the forum. cheers, Aus

If you go into Design/PC ports you can then name/choose any of the PC's com ports and they will then show in the PC Port picker. Cheers, Aus

I recall someone on the forum saying the stick should be at least 16Gb to avoid issues. Perhaps this is the reason? cheers, Aus

sgull's tip +1. Or if all else failes, use info mode to completely erase the PLC if you have your program resident on your computer, which you should if you've got this far! But......don't forget this will completely erase the plc, meaning you have to put everything back into it!! cheers, Aus

Hi Edilson, please look at the attached pdfs. I have done 2 pdfs. 1 is just the error codes (which has your error listed) and the other is the total overview. cheers, Aus PID codes.pdf PIDall.pdf

Have a look at some of the examples listed under Analog Flow and Totalizing under Help/Examples/Version 900/Project examples. There is a huge array of projects in the entire examples folio that give guidance for most questions. cheers, Aus