John_R Posted June 13, 2018 Report Posted June 13, 2018 Hey All, I'm working on a project with a couple of V570's that I would like to connect to a wifi network, mainly to avoid running cables to them. I'm no IT whiz, but but it seems like this should be pretty straight forward. I have 4 old Access Points from a different project, which I have setup as wireless bridges, with each having the MAC address of the other three loaded as their contact list. The LAN IP's have been set to the same subnet that I use for all my wired PLC projects that connect to our network (all of these I can connect to from my workstation. My thought process was that I can connect one of my AP's to the network, and an AP to each of my PLC's, and through some computer magic they would all be happy and talk to each other. One thing I am seeing at this point that confuses me is; In info mode on the V570, on the ethernet screen, there is a box telling you if you have communication, when I plug into a computer it shows "communication established 100baseT", but when I plug into one of my AP's I get "no link for tcp communication". I know the AP LAN ports are good as they have all been plugged in to configure. Anyone have any suggestions? Or have experience making this work? Or a better way to go about setting up something like this? Regards JohnR
Cam Posted June 13, 2018 Report Posted June 13, 2018 If you are connecting directly to a PC are you using a cross over cable?? Typically you need a patch or straight thru cable to go between the PLC and AP. Not knowing which AP you a using I can't really comment on how they function, but yes it is possible to do what you want. I always prefer a wired connection for industrial applications or industrial Wi-Fi access points. There's always noise and if your using home or business APs they can get lost.
John_R Posted June 13, 2018 Author Report Posted June 13, 2018 Cam, thanks for the input...... This is an experiment at this point, if I prove to myself that it is doable then I will buy some industrial grade AP's. Right now I'm just playing on my test bench. My main issue at this point is why the PLC wont talk to the AP, and since you mentioned a crossover cable (although most devices are auto negotiating these days) I did try a crossover from the PLC to AP, but still no connection. I'd prefer hard-wire for reliability, but it is a movable machine in a harsh wet environment and just thought a wireless link might be a good route to go. Anybody else out there have any thoughts on this? JohnR
MVP 2023 Flex727 Posted June 13, 2018 MVP 2023 Report Posted June 13, 2018 I don't know what's wrong with your AP, but I have done this before using this wireless AP:https://www.amazon.com/VAP11G-500-Industrial-High-Power-Amplifier-Connector/dp/B01193XDOG/ It connects right up and works well.
John_R Posted June 13, 2018 Author Report Posted June 13, 2018 Hey Flex, I will check out those AP's when I get a little deeper.... I've made a little headway, seems the used PLC I'm playing with has an issue, I did some wiggly-jiggling on the ethernet card connection and my comms popped up (both straight or crossover cables). Still not talking wirelessly, but also not sure of the integrity of these AP's, but I think at this point I'll back up and start with just two AP's as a single P-P bridge (instead of four configured as Multi-point bridge), baby steps...... JohnR
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