### Human: FT View Alarm banner I am running a FT View 5.0 SE project and I have an alarm banner on most of my screens. When I updated to FT View 5.0 from 4.0, the banner placement is all messed up. I can't have the display settings set to size to runtime and I must set the pixel size manually. I have a Rockwell case on this, I was wondering if the issue has been resolved? ### Assistant: I see the same issue after 4.0 to 5.0 upgrade. I also have a case open and have no further updates other than this issue only occurs when the display is set to scale. If you can live with the display set to pan, then your ok. I can't use pan because of various resolutions used throughout the client base. When I was at tech ed 08, I tried to duplicate this issue on the test machines and had no success. To my understanding, there were no patch revs, just a multistate indicator patch. I believe that the jan 08 patch rollup might have caused an issue, but I have not been able to test this theory. Do you have any patch rollups installed on your machines? I was running an old version of 4.0 with some old patches and I updated to 5.0 and had the issue. I want to say that I had the problem with no patches installed . In March I downloaded 5.0 and when we went live I had installed the April patches and now I am currently on the June patches. One suggestion was to have a small screen at the bottom that is always on topand leave the area clear or resize all screens to not occupy that area. I have nottried it in AB but it works in Wonderware. yes, you're right -- using a docked display could be a way to solve the resize issue. But I don't understand what you mean when you say it 'messes up', especially if you are setting pixel size manually. Do you mean that your pixel settings don't match the default client size when you don't pick maximize?What's your case number? Messed up means; Lets say you have a alarm summary box on the bottom of the screen. It is 2 tall and runs the full length of the screen. The rest of the screen is buttons and gfx. When you load the page, the area you placed the summery is white and the black summery is half way up the screen, covering your buttons and gfx. If you touch the summery box, the white area of the screen where the box was set in development has a green halo around the 2 area. The strange thing I noticed was, depending on what screen I came from, the position of the summery box would change. I worked with Rockwell for several days on this and the best I got was redraw my screens. I will provide a case # on Sunday, and Yes the Pixel size needed to be set to fit it to our 17 Versaviews. sharonB..........the alarm summary banner has an issue when the screen display is set to scale. The alarm summary and the highlight around the alarm summary are two different items overlayed. With an alarm summary, we cant disable highlight, so we end up with an offset of highlight and banner. The starting pixel location is (0,0). Starting from the top left hand corner, if you move the alarm summ to the bottom right, the highlight is offset from the banner, sometimes (depending on res) by almost 2 inches. Is that the same issue you are seeing kev77? Yes it is. Do you know when we will see an update for this? Just to be clear, are you guys talking about the FTView Alarm & Events Banner or the tradition HMI Alarm summary object? I am using the traditional HMI alarm summary object. The same for me. My alarms are handled in FTView not RSLogix. OK, I haven't recently seen the issue you describe since we've switched to A&E displays. Do you have a case #? This doesn't answer your question immediately, but you could convert to Tag-Based A&E which would allow you to use the A&E banner. Tag-based A&E is where you configure tags to poll for alarming, similar to the traditional HMI alarming, only it uses the A&E server objects. You don't have to use Logix-based alarming to use the new View objects.There is a tool in the KB ID 45583 that will convert HMI alarms and make A&E import files for you. I am not saying you have to convert, just mentioning an alternative. If at all possible, maybe someone could check the alignment of the hmi summary and its highlight and provide a way to correct this anomaly. Its just a suggestion. I see what you're talking about now. I know you can't disable highlights for that object, but can you disable highlights for the screen its on as a workaround? Are you referring to the behavior of interactive objects option? Highlight When Cursor Passes Over It is set by default. Very interesting and a very viable option for a workaround. Issue still being that with different client resolutions, there may still be an issue keeping the alarm banner from moving over other objects and also ALL highlights are disabled for that screen. I will try this an let you know if it helps. Keep in mind that moving to the A&E banner gets the alarms in the processor and I have been told that it can put a strain on a program. I can varify that removing the highlight does not work. What I can't believe is that 5.0 has been out for months and the issue has not been resolved. What am I doing different then the engineers that worked on 5.0 release? I work on a several different systems that were setup by several different companys (all rockwell solution providers) and the banner is used the same way. I want to upgrade another system to 5.0, but I will have the same problem. Yes, I actually set both options in the screen properties -- disabled the Highlight when cursor passes over and also enabled the Disable highlight for selected objects. It worked OK, but as you mentioned, it is assuming the operator will not be tabbing to other stuff (buttons/input fields) on the screen. If the operator IS tabbing through stuff and you need to see the highlight, then if the alarm banner is on a docked display by itself, you could disable the highlight on that display only. However, you are correct in that it still doesn't solve the problem of the summary object itself moving around as it resizes. kev77 wrote: Keep in mind that moving to the A&E banner gets the alarms in the processor and I have been told that it can put a strain on a program. That is not entirely true. If you convert your alarm bits in the controller to ALMA and ALMD instructions, then yes, your alarms are in the processor. But if you convert your HMI alarms to A&E Tag-Based alarms (which are polled), the controller is hit in exactly the same way. The benefit to you is the improved alarm banner, summary, and history objects. They're highly configurable and operator friendly. SharonB wrote: kev77 wrote: Keep in mind that moving to the A&E banner gets the alarms in the processor and I have been told that it can put a strain on a program. But if you convert your HMI alarms to A&E Tag-Based alarms (which are polled), the controller is hit in exactly the same way. The benefit to you is the improved alarm banner, summary, and history objects. They're highly configurable and operator friendly.How do I convert hmi alarms to A&E tag based alarms? It would just be nice to fix it the way it was before the conversion. Also kev77, this issue might not happen with the next upgrade. I also stopped upgrading projects because of this, but my other co-workers have made upgrades without the same issue. Maybe its the settings of the banner when converted. My banner is has white text with a black background. Most I have seen are white backgounds with black text. How about yours? AnswerID 45583 will get you to the information you seek. Mine is red text on a white background. The reason I upgraded is because we want the more advanced motion instructions as well as the Ethernet VFD AIO. According to techs at tech ed, the conversion works good and FT alarms and events banner supports hmi alarm tags without any issues. AnswerID 45583 is the conversion tool. Thanks, I will check it out! I see under the known issues on the release notes, it says that analog tags are not converted yet. Is that Correct? If so, does that mean that the tool will not convert them or you can't use HMI tag alarms in the A&E Banner? I have this same problem from upgrading from 4.0 to 5.0 - I put everything to pan and fixed pixel but it does not help when we have versaviews on the floor and a SCADA computer in the control room with different resoultion then the versaview. So I went through and created a seperate file for the floor versaviews and the controlroom - very fun and time consuming, but I also have found that certain graphics on the screen will not change state when it actually changed state until I go away from that screen and come back. Anyone else seeing this problem? kev77 wrote: I see under the known issues on the release notes, it says that analog tags are not converted yet. Is that Correct?No, this is not correct. Thank you for pointing that out. The readme file has been fixed. DBLD99 wrote: I have this same problem from upgrading from 4.0 to 5.0 - I put everything to pan and fixed pixel but it does not help when we have versaviews on the floor and a SCADA computer in the control room with different resoultion then the versaview. So I went through and created a separate file for the floor versaviews and the controlroom - very fun and time consuming, but I also have found that certain graphics on the screen will not change state when it actually changed state until I go away from that screen and come back. Anyone else seeing this problem? Do I hear an echo, This sounds like a problem I had with a 17 versaview I purchased in January. I installed a versaview in March because the touchpanel on my old one was bad (design problem). When I put it online it would run fine for about 20 minutes and the longer it was online the worse the connection got. It had no problems changing the state of the buttons, the the screen would stop refreshing. No events would be logged, no errors to be found. I had too many hours and case # on this problem. Rockwell seemed to think that it was a bad NIC card. But who knows. Rockwell is going to come out and install a new Versaview soon. Your comment about not changing state sounds like what I saw. Is there a problem with the Versaviews? I run two versaviews and when I pressed a button on the new versaview it would change the bit, and I know this because I went to my other Versaview and saw it on the same screen. I don't think it is a problem with the versaview - but a problem in 5.0 that I did not have in 4.0 - When I upgraded to 5.0 from 4.0 I started to see the graphics not changing state - and even the Start / Stop buttons would not change color and the text inside the button would only be half way showen until you go away from the screen then back. It just sucks that the project in its current form developed in 4.0 will not upgrade to 5.0 without a lot of modifications. I think I was having alarm disconnection error in 4.0 and that promped to move to 5.0. I think that was a DCOM error on 4.0. As far as what you describe on what the buttons were doing, that is the same thing I saw. Do you run a Versaview in your Control Room? I have two Versaviews on the Production floor and a Windows Server 2003 R2 running the displays. How old are your Versaviews? Well one is 2 years old and the other is less then a year - we are updating one machine a year for the next 6 years - So I create the screens in whatever version is out now and go back and will update the other versaviews. I just have 1700p's on the floor and a Windows Pro box for the overall SCADA in the controlroom - So I had too create 2 projects to get the graphics to work right. I just hope next year if 6.0 is out it does not do something stupid when I go and update the other 2 to 6.0 I am running the 6181P 1700 series, one installed in 12/06 and the new in 3/08. What I can't understand is why do some projects have a problem and some don't. The version I am having problems with was created in 4.0 from an OEM toolkit. The versaview line has had some glitches in the past due to memory issues. Also, if you dont have the current patch rev in 5.0, you will see issues with change of state in indicators. I havent seen such an extreme issue as you guys describe with the versaview when using 5.0, but I dont use versaviews for those reasons. I would be interested to know if you had the same issues when running a thin client as opposed to a thick client. This would let you know if its a versaview or 5.0 issue. Hello all. I am Kevins distributor specialist and finally got connected to the new forums (still have not found the public link on ab.com or RSI pages). I wanted to add my own $0.02 to the parts about the A&E functionality. It is my understanding that using A&E with the ALMD and ALMA instructions actually reduces loading on the network since there is no polling when using the combination. However, there are two other considerations to keep in mind:The alarm instructions are somewhat costly in RAM.. they consume about 1k per instance. If you don't use too many of them this should not be a major problemTrue execution times of ALMA and ALMD are relatively long, so if a bunch of them go off all at once, your scan time will bump as a result. Other than those considerations, I am not aware of any other reason to avoid use of A&E instructions and the A&E client... Sharon, please correct me I'm not being accurate here! Just a quick note about the links... There are public forum links on the support pages here: http://www.rockwellautomation.com/support/ The forums link is in the nav bar on the left side. JHutch In your application, to display your main screen and all other (or a part of them) with an alarm banner, you can use two display : main (for example) and the alarm banner. In each on them specify in the display setting the place where they need to come on screen. In the command button, use the display command : display main; display banner. Instead to use a global object and make a copy on each of your screen. Maybe you need to install the patches from RSView SE / Me. You can found in this location: ME : http://files.rockwellautomation.com/UR/ME_4.0_Rollup_01_Jul_08.zip SE : http://files.rockwellautomation.com/UR/SE_4.0_Rollup_01_Jul_08.zip I am up to date on patches and the Alarm Banner problem still exists. I realize that I can do a few different things to correct the problem. Is this what we are to expect from future CPR's? I have 60 active screens and if every time a problem comes up, I need to go and modify all my screen then FT View is not for me. I opened a case on this problem back in late April and last time I checked my case was closed. What does that mean? Maybe my case was an isolated incident, maybe not. As far as the new Alarms and Events Banner, I have over 200 alarms, so I would rather keep the alarms in FTView. I downloaded the conversion program and want to try it but I need some more information on making that jump. Does anyone know if I can do the conversion and still have the old HMI alarms still work? A closed case doesn't mean the issue is being ignored. A closed case just means that the support engineer that was working with you has reached a point where no further communications between you are expected. Chances are, in this case, the issue has been run up the ladder and the product group has entered it in their issue tracking system. Now, if the engineer closed the case when the expectation was that he was going to contact you with more information ... then there is a problem. If that is the case, please contact me privately with the case number and I'll investigate further. JHutch JHutch wrote: A closed case doesn't mean the issue is being ignored. A closed case just means that the support engineer that was working with you has reached a point where no further communications between you are expected. My way of thinking is a closed case is a resolved case. If I open a case with a software issue, I expect some kind of feedback. I brought up the unknown issue in Late April or Early May and I am still guessing weather it has been corrected. How do we know if issues are resolved? Do we need to keep checking the patch rollups to see if our issue is reolved. I will PM the case # to you... Thanks kev77, I just upgraded another 4.0 application to 5.0. There are hmi alarm banners on all the screens (white with red) and not one of them had an issue. I know this doesnt help my other application or your application, but it does mean that we might be waiting a while for a resolution. The strange thing is that when I spoke with tech support the begginning of this year, they were able to duplicate it. There is really no reason that we should be forced to use alarms and events because rockwell can solve this anomaly. I will have some time in the next month to re-visit the application with this issue and hope to find the cause. I will update accourdingly and hope you do to if there is a resolution found. jperando, Was this on a 6181P Versaview? I am going to try and update to the alarms and events just for the simple fact that I can access alarm history easier. I thought that the alarms and events could only be done inside the controllogix. Now that I know that I can convert my HMI alarms, it is a better way to go for me. Thanks to the rockwell staff and cintributors for pointing it out! I can run both the old alarms and new alarms and events side by side until I am comfortable with the new setup. KEV77 You're welcome! Feel free to send me a message to tell me how awesome and fantastic you think the conversion tool is. ;) kev77, I am not having a hardware specific issue, since my application spans multiple devices in the field served from 3 main HMI and Data servers. They all have the same issue no matter what resolution or display type. It was an anomoly in the SE 4.0 to 5.0 distributed upgrade at this peticular site only. I know the new alarms and events dont have the same issue and I will more than likley go with the upgrade as well. Let me know if everything goes smooth......... I updated to the Alarms and Events and used the conversion tool and all the digital tags came across good. I did the conversion when the server was running and didn't even need to reboot. I had a analog memory test tag that was hanging up the conversion tool but I just removed the tag. I am in the process of upgrading another project that has several analog alarms. I will let you know how that goes. It is a much better way of alarming! Your post sounds promising..... I ran into another instance where there is an offset in the alarm summary after the upgrade, so I will be upgrading soon. Let me know if you see any issues with analog tags? Thanks for the feedback. Any one of you Rockwell folks know if the patch is complete yet? Don't know about this particular patch, but this is the listing of all patches for SE v5.0. In my experience, they keep it up to date pretty well. v5.0 SE Patch Table of Contents JHutch kev77 wrote: I had a analog memory test tag that was hanging up the conversion tool but I just removed the tag. I am in the process of upgrading another project that has several analog alarms. I will let you know how that goes.I am interested in any errors you receive re: analog alarms.They can be complicated to migrate. I sent you a message with my email address - if you wouldn't mind sending me the CSV files that make the tool hang up, I'd like to see what your issue was. Thanks! To date, the current patch revision does not correct this issue. I found another cause of this issue in an SE 5.0 client. When the client is configured with the Show Title Bar and show diagnostic list options there is an offset of the Alarm Summ. If the client is configured without those two options and set to maximize screen, there is no offset of the alarm summary and the client will scale accordingly to the screen size of the client The only downfall being that the client cannot be minimized at that point. Sorry to be slightly off topic but i've found that for the new Alarm and Events server, to be able to log the alarms and events, you need to configure an MS SQL database specially for this. For large projects, this would be fine but for a small project for 100 plus alarms, to create a database specially for this would be overkill. Why can't it work like the old method where the alarms are just logged onto the HMI server? mukesh wrote: Sorry to be slightly off topic but i've found that for the new Alarm and Events server, to be able to log the alarms and events, you need to configure an MS SQL database specially for this. For large projects, this would be fine but for a small project for 100 plus alarms, to create a database specially for this would be overkill. Why can't it work like the old method where the alarms are just logged onto the HMI server? Because the alarm log viewer does database queries and databases are a lot easier to work with than flat files. SQL Express is free and provided with the View installation CDs. It takes all of 5 minutes to set up the database in an application. it's really not as overkill as you think it is. :) SharonB, nice job with the conversion tool. It converted 7046 digital tags without any issues that I seen. It was easy to use and overall, very nice. Now the bad part -- After the excitement of the conversion wore off I was left with the ability to have a slightly updated version of the ME alarm structure in an SE app. The time I spent converting and setting up the Alarms and events was all wasted time for what I needed. Maybe I am way off base, but the new setup seems to of been implemented without the thought of people accually navigating in the alarms on a regular basis. The one thing I can't stand about ME alarm structure is that the description and the tags are linked by a reference # and located in 2 different sections. This might be great for the stability and structure that the software uses, but not for development and navigation by people. Also it might be ok for 100 alarms, but it is ridiculous for thousands. Correct me if im wrong, and I hope I am, but with the upgrade to alarms and events, I loose the ability to have individual colors for 9 separate severities and its replaced by 3 colors for low, medium and high based on the alarm that is closest to that level in severity. I loose any folder type structure for my alarms and they are just all lumped into one large list. If and when the need comes to have to change an alarm description, I need to wait for the alarms and events to load all 7046 tags and then load all 7046 descriptions ?(WHY)? And then scroll through all the tags to find the name listed like folder/folder/folder/tag and then check to see that its reference # 4756, now I go to the message section and find message reference # 4756 and edit the description. Great, that saves no time all and makes the alarming structure cryptic to new users. The summary display is nice, but the lack of functionality, structure, and the inability to easily navigate the alarms for development, makes this a very bad alternative to the original HMI alarming. The fact that there needs to be another piece (free SQL) installed to be able to log any alarms just adds to the pain. Then to put salt in an already gapping wound, tech support reassured me that the offset of the original HMI alarm summary after upgrading to 5.0 is not a priority right now and there is no ETA on a fix. You would think that since every 5.0 client does the exact same thing, it would be some type of priority. Just so everyone doesn't jump on the beatup the tech having a bad day bandwagon; I think the ability to assign tags to the message is great, Im not setting up 7000 string tags. I think the search option is wonderful, I can't remember the tag structure for 7000 tags for years to come. I like the options available, just not the structure and for me and this specific application, it wont work at all. On the bright side, the alarm display doesn't offset causing the inability to see graphics and select buttons. Just to be clear, Rockwell caused this issue with rewrite of the 5.0 client. There is no issue with a 4.0 client, but after seeing the 5.0 upgrade, there is an improvement in speed and stability and I wouldn't rev back for anything. So im at the mercy of those who have fixed an incredible amount of issues that resided in the 4.0 release and created some new ones with 5.0 release. Whooh....Im glad we have the forums back. JHUTCH -- Close this post, there is no fix on the way anytime soon, but im sure you are already aware of that. Maybe open a new post when there is a fix. Kev77, maybe you have heard differently........ SharonB wrote: Because the alarm log viewer does database queries and databases are a lot easier to work with than flat files. SQL Express is free and provided with the View installation CDs. It takes all of 5 minutes to set up the database in an application. it's really not as overkill as you think it is. :) Yeah i found the installation files but wasn't sure about licsensing of the product. But you said its free. My other concern was the reduction of processing power and memory remaining after installing SQL express onto one of the FT machines. So, wouldn't this require a dedicated machine to handle the SQL database? If not where would be the best machine to install SQL onto? (Ie, FTDir, HMI server or even Domain controller?) I was told over a month ago that there is a fix in the works by Rockwell Quality. I left a message for her yesterday. We'll see... I have a project that is scheduled to go live next month and I must have all projects at 5.0 to be run off my new redundant server setup. I have (2) 5.0 projects and (1) 4.0 project. I guess I can try and update to 5.0 and see how it goes... just so you know kev77, factory talk alarm and events are not compatable with redundancy. Sorry I forgot to point that out before. All of my systems are redundant, so it put me in a bad spot. jperando, thanks for the feedback on the conversion tool. I'm glad it worked for you. Now to address some of the other stuff you mentioned -- losing the folder organization aspect of alarms and message ID assignments. I agree with you in that the usability could be improved. The saving feature, from a developer's point of view, is that the alarm definitions are separate from the project itself and can be exported/imported as needed, and editted using Excel. In that sense, it's not any different than importing/exporting the tag database to modify HMI alarms. I guess I am willing to make that tradeoff until it's improved. As a user of both systems, I much much prefer the new A&E summary/banner. I also believe that requiring SQL to log history is a step up. Not only is the history object a million times better than what we used to have, since the data is in SQL, you can write custom queries for basic reporting functionality. Additionally, with 1000 alarm severies and user-defined classes, you can configure sequence of event data a lot more easily by automatically filtering out what the operator really cares about. he doesn't need to see 100 alarms when what he really needs to know is that his drive failed. And last but not least, redundancy! This will be in the next major release of View SE. Re: the alarm summary offset problem, have you guys seen technote 52404, there is a suggestion uncheck size to main window at runtime: Problem Summary: In a display client when the cursor is moved over an Alarm Summary object, the Highlight box is displayed as detached from the Alarm Summary. This behaviour is only visible when the Display Settings Property Size to main window at runtime is selected.This issue is evident only with the Alarm Summary object.Applicable: FTView SE v5.00 CPR9 onlyWork Around: Unchecking the 'Size to main window at runtime' checkbox in the graphic's DisplaySettings will circumvent this issue I didn't see this mentioned yet in this discussion, so apologies if I just missed it.Thought I'd mention it just in case. SharonB, Thanks for the reply. I can't get into the message to send you the excel file because our spam filter is too tight. As for un-checking the size to main window at runtime, what will this cause if I have it running on several different clients with different screen sizes? jperando, thanks for the information on the limitations, this saves me a lot of time. When you uncheck the option to size to main window, it will then display in what ever size window it first opens in. So if your lucky, it will be a small window and the alarm summary will not even appear because it will be completely off of the screen. The highlight will stay right where its suppose to. The issue seems simple, the highlight will scale with the screen size, the graphic within it does not. Apply the same scaling to the graphic that is applied to the highlight and its fixed. SharonB, its nice to see that you take pride in what you help develop, but at this point the alarms and events is not a viable solution to the alarm summary offset issue. I will in the future look forward to using the alarms and events features, but for current applications I have developed around using the HMI alarm summary and alarm log viewer. The tech note to uncheck size to main window is not a solution, or even a workaround. The next technote that is pointed out in this posting should be the fix for this issue and whoever posts it should at least try it first. jperando quote: JHUTCH -- Close this post, there is no fix on the way anytime soon, but im sure you are already aware of that. Maybe open a new post when there is a fix. Kev77, maybe you have heard differently........ While I agree this post has rambled all over the place and has gotten so long it is hard to follow, there is a lot of good information and too much on-going discussion to close it off or even to cleanly split into other threads. If you want to split off part of the discussion, by all means feel free to create a new thread and even post a link from here to the new one (I can help with that if you are unsure how). JHutch JHUTCH, I completely understand.It would be nice to see information towards correcting the original issue as opposed to work arounds that don't fully satisfy the needs of users that experience this problem. There has been no post that updates any response to this issue or any type of acknowledgement that its even being looked at. If this information existed somewhere in this post then it would be beneficial for those who are experiencing this problem. The post is a great resource, just not for why it was opened. We'll I got a response from Rockwell QA... The fix will be issued with the product release sometime this fall. I heard that it is like a service pack for FTView. As of this moment, no patch will be released in the rollups. Thanks for the update, kev77 Just to be clear, does this address the question reiterated here: http://forums.rockwellautomation.com/rockwell/board/message?board.id=FTStudio&thread.id=247 JHutch QUOTE:Just to be clear, does this address the question reiterated here:http://forums.rockwellautomation.com/rockwell/board/message?board.id=FTStudio&thread.id=247 JHutch No, a time frame and an acual fix for an issue are two completely different things. Well, to be fair, you said progress and a time frame for a fix *can* be considered progress ... :smileywink: But I understand what you mean. If I hear anything more specific from the SE product group, I'll let you know. JHutch Quote kev77 Check out ID 54884, the patch has been released fir the display problem. I will try it next Thursday! I stand corrected..............there is a fix available. Thanks kev77 Something strange... I have not installed the patch yet (will do so Thursday) and I have been using the new Alarms and events banner and I have been missing alarms. It would only show me the 3rd active alarm. The first 2 would not show but it would show the correct numbers of active alarms. So I did a little test, Screen properties; Set to specific size 1280X975 Size to main window at runtime- checked The problem seems to be in the Allow display to be resized box. It doesn't matter if I have that box checked, if it is set to Scale it will not show the alarms. As soon as I set it to pan, the alarms can be seen. I think it is similar to the offset problem we have seen in the past with the old alarm summary. It looks like it is not only scaling the display, but it is scaling inside the alarms and events banner. The reason I think this is because when I have 2 alarms I can see the very bottom of the second alarm text. I hope the patch corrects that problem as well! Does this make sense? Kev77 n


### Human: Basic alarm setup  troubleshooting I have a PVPlus application running and have added the alarm multiline display since I can have situations where more than one alarm happens at the same time. I went into the editor and configured some of the tags to test but I am not getting an alarm on the pvplus once its downloaded. The PVPlus is replacing an old IDT terminal and the logic in the PLC5 is using an integar file but the alarms are integar bits (n9:0/0) and then speeds are displayed using the whole word (n9:5). I have tried using the bit and value configuration but don't seem to be getting anywhere. Is there a document that can help me figure out the madness? S!eve ### Assistant: showelljr, In your case you have to configure the alarm trigger pointing to the integer that contains the alarm bits (N9:0) using a trigger type bit; than you have to assign to your messages a value, starting from 1 that means N9:0/0, until the last alarm you use (the number is the offset position of the bit inside the word) If you have more words of alarm, you have to specify the number of that words after you select the trigger( N9:0,Lx - x stays for the number of elements you use). The right source that you may use to understand your issue is the ViewME User Manual, chapter 9, pages 9-12 9-13:http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/um/viewme-um004_-en-e.pdf Hope this helps... :smileyhappy:- fuzzy logic I understand what you are saying but what I am having a hard time with is that has I put my alarms into the editor ({::[947113_PLC5]n9:0,L4] and then each one of them has a trigger incrementing from 1 up to 64, if I have multiple alarms is it still going to display all of the alarms that are tripped into the Multiline display? If I have well understand, you are using the Library Display called MULTI-LINE.This is a pre-formatted display that uses Alarm List to show the alarms. Based on the selection that you can made inside the Alarm list configuration (double click on the banner - Display Tab) the display shows you the active/inactive/all alarms; leaving it to the default settings, it will show all the alarms and, if you have for example N9:0 with all bits to 1, you will see all the associated alarms appear together. - fuzzy logic n


### Human: Generic Sercos Card Does anybody have any information on a 1756-M08SEG Card? There doesn't seem to be anything published. my local branch doesn't seem to be any help either. ### Assistant: The M08SEG is a bit of an engineered product. It has been tested with Indramat drives and others with success but should not be thought of as a canned product that will control anything out there. The major problem is in the different vendors implementation of the SERCOS standard. Here is an excerpt from an FAQ: SERCOS interface is covered by the IEC/EN 61491.standard. The standard defines multiple operating modes and over 500 standard parameters. While all vendors of SERCOS interface products generally follow the IEC/EN 61491 standard there are a number of issues that made multi-vendor interoperability and interchangeability difficult. To address this issue the Pack Profile specification was developed. It defines a specific set of operating modes and parameters defined in the IEC/EN 61491 standard that must be supported. A conformance testing/certification process is also enforced. The Pack Profile specification (V1.2) and a list of compliant drives is available at www.sercos.org. n


### Human: High CPU usage on Logix 5000 In logix 5000 task monitor I've Trends using 60% of CPU time.There are no trends set up in the processor. Please assist ### Assistant: May be there is something wrong in your application: try to Save As... the application in .L5K format then import it into a fresh .ACD file. Otherwise it seems to be an installation issue, and I think should be nice to reinstall the tool. I've seen this before. Patience is the cure. While it is connecting and retrieving data from the controller, the Task Monitor utility uses the same memory buffer mechanism as RSLogix 5000 Trends, so it mis-reports a high utilization of the controller by Trends until it finishes connecting and optimizing that communication. If you have a large program or a small amount of communication timeslice available, this condition can persist for up to a couple of minutes. On one system I just started the Task Monitor tool and got a cup of coffee waiting for it to start up fully. I've tried saving as .L5K and then importing but no luck.CPU trend usage is still high. Could it be that another workstation is online with the controller and is running a Trend? Trends are not uploaded to other worstations, so if someone else was online and running a Trend, you would not see it on your workstation. HiWhat constitutes a trend. Would a SQL server retrieving data from the controller be deemed a trend.Would RSview32 polling inform be deemed as the same. Would this no be deemed as communications. Ken Roach had it right. I have waited for up 20 minutes for the utilization to settle on a heavily loaded controller. Another suggestion is to download the latest version of the ControlLogix Task monitor 2.3.0 I have seen some older versions of the tool report the Trend thing and the newer versions corrected it. It can be downloaded from http://www.rockwellautomation.com/rockwellsoftware/downloads/ All, Note that a trend object is a Logix controller object (just like CST, WALLCLOCKTIME, MODULE, but not accessible via GSV/SSV). It is used to collect data for a list of tags that are sampled together, say by a RSLogix 5000 trend (duh), or by an HMI using RSLinx with CLx Tag Optimization turned on. Say the HMI polls a bunch of stuff on a screen once a second. When you call the screen up, the HMI goes to Linx and builds an OPC Topic with a list of Items (tags/data elements). That list is sent to the controller to build a trend object. When it's built, back comes the data (in a known order) all in a group -- a single data packet (or very few packets) containing all the data to update the screen. When you move off the screen, the trend object is marked Unused, and later deleted. So if you have a bunch of HMIs and the operators are changing screens like crazy, the number of trend objects will go up (and the memory usage along with). Trend objects are also used by the memory monitoring tools -- so if your system is running on the edge, the monitor tool will take a long time to come up, even though your HMIs are buzzing along fine -- the HMIs are not building new trend objects or deleting old ones if nobody changes screens, and managing the memory used by the trend objects takes some time. Note that the updating of the existing trend objects (gathering the data into buffers on a regular basis for sending to the HMIs) does chew up a fair amount of CPU. Well, that's my understanding of what the trend task in the Logix OS does.... Always go to the authoritative source for details! In this case, it would be good to check out the Trend Object spec in the CIP Specifications. Best Regards,Dale Hi, There are produced (consumed by 8 PLC) and consumsed (produced by 8 PLC) tags + HMI requests (15 RSview32 HMI) + 1 x RSsql server. Will increasing the overhead time splice % causeany major problems on the program. The program scan time is around 420ms. This should allow more time forback ground tasks. Thanks Moodan00 Are none of the previous replies adequately answering your initial request or is this a new question? At any rate, typically you will only see a gain from the overhead time slice between 20-40%. After that you're really not accomplishing much. How is your program configured? Do you have all periodic tasks, one big continuous task or a mix of the two? The overhead time slice will only affect the continuous task. You do have a lot of data requests being made to your CLX, but as long as all the requests are going through one RSLinx interface you should be fine. Linx will merge multiple requests into one single request to try and optimize comms to the processor. If all of those devices that you mentioned have their own RSLinx package communicating to the processor, then you definitely could improve your communications overhead by utilizing one data server. n


### Human: Authorization number !!!!!!!! I have the AB Toolkit but where is the authorization number printed!!!!!!!!!!!!!How do I get this number!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! help ### Assistant: i didnt get u.what AB toolkit?what is the part no?will u pls clarify?still whot i feel is u r talking about RA no...TechID 48743may help.cheers:smileywink: When you received your ToolKit, you should also have received TechConnect authorization number. If you don't have it, call into the Technical Support center to speak with Contract Services. They will be able to track down the information for you. *vikas* I don't think you meant that AID ... not only does it have nothing to do with this, it is an internal only document. :) JHutch Dear Vikasit is Rockwell Automation Toolkit with Catalog 9398TK1T1B i hope that is sufficient info thanksrajesh ragni, as JHutch posted, you have to call the Technical Support for your region; they will ask you the info of your toolkit, serial number etc. and should solve the problem, giving you your Authorization Number. :smileywink: If you have troubles to find the right contact, see at this link: http://www.rockwellautomation.com/locations/ - fuzzy logic n


### Human: Factory Talk View Studio ME Is it possible to print the alarm history to the external compact flash card instead of a printer? ### Assistant: No it isn't... :smileysad: http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=39255 - fuzzy logic n


### Human: KepServer on RSViewME station, what version do I need? Hi: I have:1) VersaView CE box with RSView ME v4.x2) RSViewME v5.x on my development laptop.3) A *.pfe file on my laptop.4) A v5.x APA file on my laptop I need to modify an existing project I've inherited. I know I can down compile to a v4.x MER file, but what version of Kepserver should I have on my laptop? How can I tell what version is on the VersaView (directory location?)? Do the two need to match? ### Assistant: You have to check here: http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=33968 There are all the answers you need (more or less :smileywink: ) But why don't you update the PanelView Plus CE to v. 5 ?:smileysurprised: - fuzzy logic n


### Human: RSLogix Micro Dear AllHow RSLogix Micro different from RSLogix 500? where one can find the details about this ?thanks rajesh ### Assistant: ragni, so finally you got your activation number ! :smileyvery-happy: RSLogix Micro is a more cost-effective application development software exclusively for MicroLogix Controllers. –Same reference standard features as RSLogix 500, but simplified by: • No SLC controller support • No FactoryTalk Services support (except Activation) – Standard Node-locked license only • Support of On-line editing for all MicroLogix that support it • Readily shares project files with RSLogix 500 – Cannot be installed on same PC as RSLogix 500 Also you may find the release note in KB: http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=53531 - fuzzy logic n


### Human: CREATING STRING TAGS i am trying to get my program set up to send e-mail from my controllogix controller with 1756-enbt card, it said i need to go to EWEB_EMAIL STRING, do i have to create that or is it already there? if so how do i create the srings i need to use, thank you for any advice ### Assistant: TOM. W, all the answer you need in these two technotes: http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=32295 http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=30937 Examples are attached in it. - fuzzy logic Also check this old post, it may helps.... :smileywink: http://forums.rockwellautomation.com/rockwell/board/message?board.id=Logix&message.id=331#M332 edit: renewed link - fuzzy logic n


### Human: RSlogix 5000 Does anyone out there have a easy way to check to see if a value in a register has changed? ### Assistant: I don't know if I well understood your question... :smileyindifferent: If you want to see if there are differances between your offline file and the program loaded in the cpu, you may use the Compare Tool. You have to install it from the RSlogix 5000 Instalation CD, under Tools folder. The technotes below may help you... http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=52526 http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=46140 - fuzzy logic Sorry, I wasn't clear on my question. What I'm trying to do is check a value in my logic to see if it has changed recently. I'm trying to compare and old value witha new value. I have done this before, however when I update the old to become the new I get varied results because the logic may update the old even thoughI'm not wanting to have it updated at that time. Maybe this is still not clear, but what I need is a way to compare old and new values after some logic has taken place. I'm looking at a scale value on a particular scan. I want to check that scale value on the next scan and compare to the old scan to see if I need to update and run that logic in the next scan; if not I want to bypass that logic until I get a change in the value then update the old to the new. Does this make more sense? Thanks Ok, I'm getting lost in the words, but still ok (joke) ... :smileyvery-happy: Well, I have attached my example, hope that helps...(it needs some glue logic I think..) - fuzzy logic I'm doing a bit of reading between the lines here, but this comment raised a flag (emphasis added): I'm looking at a scale value on a particular scan. From what I think you are saying, sometimes the logic works, and sometimes it doesn't (I get varied results) You need to adapt yourself to a new way of thinking when working with Controllogix: IO update is asynchronous to logic scan. Therefore, if you are looking at an input tag in two different places in the logic, even if they are on consecutive rungs, or even on the same rung, there is a chance that when the logic scans it, it could have two different values, having been updated in the time between. PLC-5s and SLCs do not work this way, but ControlLogix does Usually this isn't a problem. But it sounds like, just maybe, your logic could fail because you check to see if it's not changed (it hasn't), and then later down your code, you either check on it again, or you assume that is hasn't change, but it now has. The way to get around this problem is to buffer the input, moving the Input to some internal tag once and only once in the program, and then use that internal tag everywhere else in your program. Otherwise, FuzzyLogic has got the right answer - if an NEQ is true, store the new old value, and flag a bit. The bit could be OTL (as shown) or OTE (which makes the bit only true for one scan). Good luck. n


### Human: problems with sl500 go to error and put in fail i have problems with a cpu sl500 5/5 some times go to error and stop plc and show fail im reset the fail and run again my question is is posible write one routing in the plc for reset for no go to error i have one aplication critical and is danger when stop the sistem ### Assistant: Should be nice if you could check which error is... you have to go online with the software and see inside the ERRORS tab (register is S:6). In any case, seems possible that error is a math overflow (sometimes it happens with counter registers); in that case is enough to create an unconditioned rung in LAD2 (the last rung) with Unlatch of bit S:5/0; this doesn't solve the eroor, but keeps cpu running. ..but the best is first to understand which error is.... :smileywink: - fuzzy logic im see in the plc error 36h is in pid im see in s:54 and in s:6 im see 0h An invalid value is being used for a PID instruction parameter. For some reason, An invalid value was loaded into a PID instruction by the user program or by the user via the data monitor function for this instruction. You have to monitor manually the PID instruction to see which value is changing to an invalid value; you may also monitor the MS byte of the second word of the Control Block of that PID instruction :smileysurprised: and verify the exadecimal number tha represent the sub error code; a table is reported on this manual, pages 9-21/9-22 http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/rm/1747-rm001_-en-p.pdf - fuzzy logic To answer your question - Yes, it is possible to have the SLC execute a routine when it faults, so that it can recover from the fault. The important word is possible. Some errors are recoverable, some are not. The one you mentioned is a recoverable error. But an indirect address with a pointer outside of the range of the data table (a very common error) is not. And, even if you have a recoverable error, you have to program the SLC to fix the error and reset itself. In short, you have to anticipate what the error will be. But if you know what the error will be, why are you allowing that error to happen in the first place? Quick how-to: Create a LAD file (I typically use LAD 13, unlucky number). Don't have a JSR to it. Enter the number of that LAD file (13) in S:29 (on the Error tab of the Processor Status). When the SLC faults, it will execute that LAD program. The LAD program should, among other things, clear S:6 (fault code) and S:1/13 (Major Fault). n


### Human: duoble ENBT in each redundancy rack I put double ENBT in each rack in a redundancy system . How do switch one ENBT to the other in one rack ? ### Assistant: derek, your question is not so clear for me... :smileysad: You have 2 ENBT modules on every redundant chassis, during switchover the primary and secondary modules swap IP addresses. ENBT 1 in the primary swaps addresses with ENBT 1 in the secondaryENBT 2 in the primary swaps addresses with ENBT 2 in the secondary See at page 38-39 of redundancy user manualhttp://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/um/1756-um523_-en-p.pdf - fuzzy logic How to do this?ENBT A in the primary slot 1, ENBT B in the same chassis slot2 .ENBT #A in the secondary slot 1, ENBT #B in the sme chassis slot2 . if the connection of ENBT A is broken , it will siwtch secondary classis . But I just want to witch to ENBT B at the same time in the same classis. You may be able to do this using Alias Topics Switchover is RSLinx Classic, however, why are you trying to do this? Why wouldnt you just want the chassis to switch to the secondary? You now have 2 extra cards, and if you let the redundancy take care of the switchover normally, if you do have a communication loss to the ENBT it will switch to the secondary ENBT. derek, I'm agree with rfridulin... it is not clear the why you have to do this.... :smileysurprised: I guess you plan to have a redundant Ethernet/IP, but keep in mind this note, from the User Manual: 2 EtherNet/IP modules in same chassis does not give you redundant EtherNet/IP communication. A switchover still happens if one of the modules fails or a cable breaks. - fuzzy logic These guys are correct. In configuring the redundancy, you assign your main IP address to your main chassis and the software automatically reserves the next IP level so make sure this isn't used eslewhere in your system configuration. For example, you main rack is 10.10.10.10 then the system automatically grabs 10.10.10.11 for the ENBT in the secondary rack. Upon failover, the IP address swap and the secondary rack now has 10.10.10.10 for its IP address. Your OPC topic, HMI app, etc. never notices that it's physically talking to a different module. n


### Human: Can a String Input pop up be pre loaded for editing. My customers wish the String Input pop up could pop up with the current value so that the entire string would not need to be reentered when they only want to change a few characters. Is this posssible? ### Assistant: MBAES, if you are talking about ViewME, unfortunately it isn't possible. String Keyboard or scratchpad comes with empty display... :smileysad: - fuzzy logic n


### Human: FactoryTalk View Studio :smileyhappy: Hello everybody!!! I have a customer application which is running in a standalone HMI. The customer has only a runtime license, it means, FactoryTalk View SE Station 100 Displays. My question is: if I go on commissioning, maybe I need to do some changes, should I be able to open FactoryTalk View Studio with a dongle? Or what should I do? The activation type is Concurrent. I would be appreciate your advice. Kind regards, Yari ### Assistant: Hi. If the ViewStudio is installed on customer PC, and FactoryTalk activation has been linked to the dongle, no problem. - fuzzy logic Fuzzy logic, It means, I have to Activate the dongle for this computer? Or what do you mean with linked? Kind regards Sorry Jg Yari, maybe I was not clear... :smileysad: You have to use FactoryTalk Activation tool on that computer to select, as Host ID for activation, the dongle.After that, when your dongle will be inserted in an USB port of that PC, your studio will activate normally. Note:You may use your dongle on many PCs, one at a time; that means you can select as HostID the same dongle on many PCs. Hope this helps.... :smileywink:- fuzzy logic :smileyhappy: Many thanks... I did and is still working... Have a nice day :smileyvery-happy: n


### Human: What is the relationship between FactoryTalk and RS Logix? I've been given the heads up that I'm supposed to learn FactoryTalk, so as to maintain an app that's going to be created by contractors at my place of employment in the near future. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on about both FactoryTalk and RS Logix 5000. In fact, I downloaded the time-limited version of RS Logix 5000, watched the videos, and am reading the docs. Can anybody advise me where to go from here? ### Assistant: I guess I should add: I have been programming for a dozen years, but in the Windows desktop and web (asp.net) world - never anything remotely like this stuff! Looks like you're headed in the right direction. The only other thing I might suggest is a training class or two. JHutch Clay, I have been programming PLC's for 15 years or so andfor the life of me, I don't know what the concept of Factory Talk is. You dont program Factory Talk. As far as I can tell from my experience with the term, Factory Talk deals with licensing of Rockwell software. You also run into it when setting up users in RSView (g'luck with that, mate!!!) Now learning RSLogix is a tangible thing you can wrap your mind and hands around. Factory Talk refers to the new software that utilizes the Software Activation Factory Talk. Studio ME as an example was RSview Studio ME. After they released Factory Talk Activation, RSview Studio ME (Machine Edition) turned into Factory Talk View ME. Same Part number, new name. So far Programming software has not changed. Partially true, partially not... :smileywink: Really the change of the name in many Rockwell softwares is related to the fact that these softwares uses one or more FactorTalk services from a common shared platform Software Oriented (SOA), one of which is FactorTalk Activation.Also, not all the softwares that use this, have been renamed (RS5000 is an example).For a description of the FactoryTalk Services Platform, the software that use it and what the services do, navigate this link: http://www.rockwellautomation.com/rockwellsoftware/factorytalk/services.html Newer version of some of these software have also some changes, due to the fact that they have started to use one of these services since last CPR. - fuzzy logic n


### Human: Anyone seen this before? Trying to import a .csv file and I get this. Importing from D:DataSunRiseSunSet08.csv...Options: Create Tags=Yes, Overwrite/Discard Tags=OverwriteImport New Comments=Yes, Overwrite/Discard Comments=Overwrite, Match by Rung Number=NoError: Line 1: Import Export version mismatch. Expected version is 0.2. Import file's version number does not match current software version.Totals:0 tag(s) created0 tag(s) overwritten on collision0 description(s) imported0 new comment(s) imported0 comment(s) overwritten on collisionComplete - 1 error(s), 0 warning(s) ### Assistant: I guess you are trying to import a .csv file generated with a RS5000 software version > 13 (i.e.15 / 16/ 17) in an older version < 15 (i.e. 13 / 12) ...:smileysurprised: That is not possible, due tu differances in the compiled text file; first of all the version that in RS5000 v15 and newer is 0.3 (the version of csv import/export file is visible opening a csv file for edit) You may try to change this value manually to 0.2, but I think that you'll receive other errors.... :smileysad: - fuzzy logic Have a look at the following KB. http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=33852 Regardsbusoff n


### Human: Controling a micrologix 1500 with 2 Panel View 600 HMIs Is there a way to synchronize the 2 Panel View 600 so they display the same screen? We are using a micrologix 1500 PLC, connecting 2 Panel Views to it is possible. Using a 1761-NET - AIC interface module and two 1747AIC isolated link couplers. (DF1 to DH-485) I also know this may cause communication to slow down. Normally we would only use one HMI for our system, but we have a customer who is requesting a second HMI that will be in a remote location. What we want to do is when a button is pushed on HMI one HMI two would move to the same screen as HMI one. ### Assistant: yes, there is a way... :smileysurprised: You may use for that the Status/Control Tags in Application Setting, defining tags that advise PLC which screen is active by sending its number and, with some logic in PLC program,write a Control Tag to the other PV to command the opening of the same screen.Remember to write 0 again on this Control Tags after the screen has changed, to release the Screen change works from operator side. Here the link to the user manual, chapter 20, page 20-24 http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/um/2711-um004_-en-p.pdf Hope this helps, :smileyhappy:- fuzzy logic n


### Human: ControlLogix tags How do I export Tags from ControlLogix/FlexLogix in RS5000 to a FactoryTalk Studio - Machine Edition project. I don't have the hardware at my location. ### Assistant: You must first export your tags from RSLogix 500. Tools, Export. Samething in reverse in RSview Studio. Tools, Import. Just find the file you exported and it should import right into RSview Studio. Oops typo, I meant to say RSLogix 5000. Also, if you have the .ACD file from RS5000, you may use it in RSLinx Enterprise configuration - Local Tab - Offline fileThis procedure let you use the Direct Referencing of the Tags, instead of create an HMI tag database.Here the link to a document that explain how to configure it: http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=32298 - fuzzy logic And, unless I'm having a complete brain lock this morning (always possible), you *can't* import RS5k tags. You either get the tags online or offline from the ACD. JHutch Not really JHutch, your brain seems to run very well ! :smileyvery-happy: This direct import isn't possible. In fact, there is an utility that allows to do this:http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=45926 - fuzzy logic I tried to do the export/import but RS5000 exports .csv and FactoryTalk imports .med or .sed so the files do not show up for import. Also, if you have the .ACD file from RS5000, you may use it in RSLinx Enterprise configuration - Local Tab - Offline file Thanks for the help. This worked. Allows me to pick the tags when I make a connection. n


### Human: 1336 Drive and F10 Error We have a 1336 drive that has been faulting out of F10 error for a long time (I have seen this problem since 2006). We have replaced the Mod G2 card, we replaced the drive with another drive, we have checked the blue wire and serial cable but on occassion we still get the F10 fault. Has anyone else encountered this problem and have any suggestion on what we can do to eliminate it? ### Assistant: This fault normally comes if there is some problem with the scanport cable i.e either it is loose or faulty.This link may helphttp://www.ab.com/support/abdrives/1336f/faults/ I guess agt is talking about old 1336, not 1336Plus or Plus II...:smileysurprised: In that case, the problem is still reguardind a Serial Error, but with the module that is a Remote I/O - MOD-G2. From 1336 user manual: This fault is sensed only after the drive is powered up and has sensed the presence of the Remote I/O Board by establishing a communications link to the board. Here the Recommended Actions from Troubleshooting Guide: 1. Check the ribbon cable between the drive and MOD-G2 Board. 2. Check Fuse F1, located on the Main Control Board behind the Local Display and Programming Panel. If the fuse is open, the Logic Power of the Control Board has drawn excessive current. Replace the fuse with a 0.5 amp/250 volt Fast-Acting 5 x 20 mm fuse. Strange is that you have already changed all you can... :smileysad:Take another deepened control to the connection between the module and the drive... unfortunately I can't suggest other... - fuzzy logic Yes you are right fuzzy, I am talking about an old 1336 clasic drive. I should really have phrased the we to I was told that..... I agree that it seems that we have changed all we can and still have the problem. I received a call from tech support today and the techy guy was quite knowledgeable with the classic drives (I am not). He indicated the same kind of solution that you mentioned but he also said that it could be a noise problem and to look at how the serial cable from the modg2 is routed to the 1336 drive. I am having our electronic tech build a brand new serial cable and I will try that. I will verity the routing of the cable to make sure it is now located near any high voltage. If we come up with a solution I will post it here. Thank you for your suggestions. Thanks for the link Vikas. Even though it is for a newer drive, I still found the information useful. As I indicated to fuzzy, the A/B tech indicated it might be a noise problem and this was mentioned in the link. I might consider putting some ferrite around the serial cable to see if this helps. If fuse F1 was blown would I not be getting the F10 error continuously? Yes agt, for sure...:smileytongue: This was mentioned in Troubleshooting guide, but really isn't your case. - fuzzy logic n


### Human: RSLinx activation problem I installed RSView32 Works and RSLinx Classic on a pc that already had RSView Studio (ME) and its associated software. Everything seemed fine but my RSView32 will not get tag information from my SLC5. This may be an activation problem. When running, RSLinx has the heading of RSLinx Classic for FactoryTalk View. I am told that this means that no activation is present and it is using FactoryTalk View's license to start as RSLinx Classic for FactoryTalk View. RSLinx Classic for FactoryTalk View is not compatible with RSView32! I've uninstalled RSLinx and reinstalled to no avail. My directory has the .lic file. This file says: PRODUCT_NAME:RSLinx Single Node Any ideas? ### Assistant: Obviously Rslinx is accessing FTA.Check ur RsView 32 compatibility with FTA.Is your RSview 32 CPR 9 revision?If not better install CPR 9 FT view 32.Hope it helps.:smileywink: Both my RSView and my RSLinx are CPR9. okDid u check out for topics created in RsLinx for Slc? What do you mean? I didn't create any DDE/OPC Topic in RSLinx. I was trying the Direct Driver Node configurations. Seems that you have a FTA activation for RSLinx Single Node... there are some limitations on using it with RSView32, and the most related to your issue is that you can't use any direct driver to communicate :smileymad: Reference:http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=9709 You HAVE to configure an OPC topic (only one due to the kind of licence you got) inside RSLinx. You may follow this example in order to do that: http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=50086 Also this: http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=36620 Hope this helps... :smileyhappy:- fuzzy logic Thanks for the help. You were right, with that activation I HAD to configure an OPC topic! n


### Human: Number of PowerFlex 7 series VFD's on ControlNet We are just working on a new installation in which we need to put a number of PowerFlex VFD's (700VC, 700S & 7000). on ControlNet. The VFD's will be the only devices on this network and we will be using a CN2 in the PLC rack for communications. We have done a trial in RSNetworks for ControlNet and the result are seemed to indicate that 50 VFD's would be fine (NUT 5ms & 80 ms RPI). Does this sound reasonable? ### Assistant: If you go in RSNetworx for Cnet, in offline also, in the project that you are trying, press the right mouse button on the CN2 icon, select properties and go to the Controlnet tab; there, have a look to the peak and average scheduled usage.These values (percentage) should be less than 80%, preferrable less than 70%.Also have a look to the total scheduled bandwidth of the network with the same limits in your mind.Eventually adjust your NUT and RPI to have these value correct. Maybe useful to read this technote on this:http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=8479 Anyway,your network sounds reasonable. :smileyhappy: Also be careful to the limit of 48 taps per segment and total length of it, you'll need a repeater in your network... split the total number of drive into two segments. Here a link to the coaxial cable planning guide:http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/in/cnet-in002_-en-p.pdf Hope this helps... :smileyhappy: - fuzzy logic I have looked at both the CN2's scheduled usage and the total bandwidth and neither goes over 50%. Thanks for the reminder of the 48 taps & distance, and also for the technote. Very helpful. Gotcho n


### Human: connecting plc thru modem Hi!I want to connect plc and pc thru gsm modems at each end. once the connectiion is made then plc programme /data will be available to pc or not , and can i send sms from plc to pc. what are the commands required in logix 500?thanks ragni ### Assistant: ragni, once the connection is established, you have the same options as you are connected directly to the plc with a serial cable. In this technote, you may find example about SMS; this program is for micrologix, you have to adapt to SLC-500, but should be easy. :smileywink: http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=42779 Hope this helps.- fuzzy logic n


### Human: Macro Migration failure DMM(9:1) Macros will not migrate to project DMM(9:1) fault, any ideas. ### Assistant: Should be useful to know other informations: Which type and version of software are you using?In which manner are you trying to migrate macros?(from where - to where) The more informations you put into posts, the more help you can expect to receive. :smileywink: Anyway, this error usually indicates incompatibility between versions of software( importing new version of objects inside older revision of software) or incompatible format of the objects you are trying to move. Sometimes also is simply the location of the file on a networked drive to create an issue...move it to the hard drive in the pc and retry. - fuzzy logic KRguy, what software are you talking about - is this SE or ME? Are the macros from the same version of SE/ME or are they are different version? Can you open them in the original project or does the problem only occur in the new project that you are importing them into? n


### Human: Panel View Component and Modbus I would like to connect a third part controller to Panel View Component via serial; in order to do this, I would like to implement the Modbus Protocol in the controller; whar Modbus is better for this (Modbus, Modbus ASCII or Modbus unsolicited??) How can I have an implementation guideline explaining the protocol? And how is the Internal Panel View Component data structure? ### Assistant: atraxas, I think that the best choice is dependant on what protocol in the other controller is available; I mean that, for example, you may use Modbus RTU (when Panelview is Master) or Modbus Unsolicited (When Panelview is a slave).As the drivers inside the PVc are the same as PanelviewPlus, except for the fact that they are already embedded in the products, you may have a look to the Kepserver Enterprise Driver Help (available here ), to better understand the differances and the data types available.Also, here is a link to a User Manual for Modbus and PanelviewPlus; this may be useful also for PVc.http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/um/2711p-um002_-en-p.pdf Least but not last a link to the WebHelp files for PVc. http://www.ab.com/eoi/graphicterminals/get/PVcExtendedSupport101.zip Hope this helps... :smileyhappy: - fuzzy logic Thank you very much fuzzy for your prompt and complete answer; I think that Modbus unsolicited is the right protocol for this application. I will let you know the further developments. n


### Human: RSLogix 5 and LBL/JMP instruction question I have seen some Rslogix 5 code that uses the label instruction (1st instruction in the line) without ever being reference by a JMP instruction. I don't think this is a good programming practice. Why would someone do this? I would like to remove these LBL instruction. Does anyone know if I might be missing something here? ### Assistant: I'm agree with you; I can find any reason to explain this practice, except a forgetfulness. :smileymad: Or may be they used the labels as a placeholder or bookmark to easy find out some part of the program with Find tool....:smileysurprised: I think you can remove it. - fuzzy logic I had not thought about a bookmark but that seems to make sense. I could see using this but I would document the bookmarks somewhere in the code. (probably at the beginning of the ladder). It might have been done for that reason by the programmer but without documenting them they are only useful for him/her. Thanks fuzzy I've seen this done as a bookmark - it can be handy as it creates a visual seperation in the code and in the event of a documentation hicup - it is not some random uncontrolled bit in the program. I personally have ended up avoiding it, as it confuses some people easily (a customer had some equipment from a company in Germany - they did this a lot - everytime someone new was in the code, I would get asked questions on it) That is quite understandable as the information in the software documentation (at least the one that I read) indicates that you have to use a JMP with an LBL instruction. It does not say you can use an LBL alone. I think that the idea of a bookmark is great and can now see why it was used that way. I just would have liked to see documentation somewhere indicating that this was used for this purpose. n


### Human: programmimg a controllogix PLC to talk device net to a OPC-G11S-DEV interface. Has anyone programmed a controllogix PLC with devicenet that has a GE drive on it. The GE drive devicenet interface is a OPC-G11S-DEV. I have loaded the EDS files into RSNetworx for devicenet but can not find any info on the number of inputs and outputs in devicenet to configure and where to map the run command, speed command, speed feedback, run and fault status, amps etc. to these IO points.Thanks ### Assistant: I never did an installation with this component.... :smileysurprised: Anyway, I have found a User Manual for that card at this link: OPC-G11S-DEV At page 20 of that manual, you may read that, by default, the EDS is configured with I/O assembly 21 (output) and 71(input); this means that you have 4 bytes input and 4 bytes output to configure as polled in your scanner.The description of bits and words contained in those instances are at page 25 / 26.There are also other two instances (102/103); you may use these if you need to define every data you want to excange with the drive.My suggestion is, at first, to use the default assembly and check for the proper functionality. Hope this helps.... :smileyhappy: - fuzzy logic Thank you, spent some time reading this user nmanual and finally made some sense of it. n


### Human: compactlogix scaling i,m looking for a nice easy bit of code for compactlogix to scale a 4-20mamp input and use to control speed of a pump via 1769-SM2 comms to a powerflex 4m ### Assistant: Have a look to the Sample Code Library in the following link (use the keyword scale as Title to search): Sample Code Scale Instructions If you have RS5000 version 16 or 17 you may import the Add On Instructions downloadable from that site.These instructions simply scale an input value (with a min/max range user defined) to an output value (also with min/max range) that you can send out to the PF4x via SM2 card. Also you may find out some explanations in the following Tecnnote, where you may find an alternative example with a CPT instruction: Aid 24424 Hope this helps.... :smileyhappy: - fuzzy logic thanks i will have a look :smileyhappy: n


### Human: FT View Expressions Question Is there any function in the expression editor to round, truncate or return a remainder? For example, I want to do something like this: Tag - int(Tag/60)*60 Where the result is the remainder of Tag/60. The 'int()' function would return just the integer part of the result of the expression within the ()'s. I can't seem to find any function to truncate or round or to return the remainder of a division. Does anyone know if there is such a thing or a way to do this? The end goal here is to convert an integer (representing a number of seconds) into Hours:Minutes:Seconds. Perhaps there is an even easier way to do this if FT View SE. Thanks ### Assistant: Here we are ! The Modulus calculation is possible with ViewSE.... below a link to the right technote for you. Aid 7771 Hope this helps.... - fuzzy logic Thanks, fuzzy logic, that's exactly what I needed. (Not sure how I missed the modulus function tho.) I had to adjust the equations from the article because we are using the .acc from a timer function set to 1/1000's of a second time base. I found that an equation like (([CLX]Timer.acc/1000)%3600) doesn't work in FT View. Below are the actual equations that work for a .acc value in 1/1000's of a sec. Hours {[CLX]Timer.ACC}/3600000 Minutes({[CLX]Timer.ACC}%3600000)/60000 Seconds({[CLX]Timer.ACC}%60000)/1000 n


### Human: How to reactivate Rslinx after change of motherboard I have this RsView 32 Runtime 32k with Rslinx. Last week the CPU is spoilt, I replace it with a new motherboard. After I install the new motherboard, it seem that the cannot connect to RSlinx OPC server. Can anyone help to solve this problem Thanks ### Assistant: check for the topics created in rslinx.can u tell me what actual error message you are getting while connecting to rslinx opc server?thanx Also if your licenses where tied to a network card, they may not match the mac address anymore, so you might want to rehost them. The error message is Connection to Server Failed ~ RSLinx OPC Server when I launches RSLinx's OPC Test Client . I can see that there is communication between the CPU and Device net. I have read through the technical knowledge it say that if any of the hardware change we need to reactivate the system by the Master disk have try to reactivate the master disk it show that nothing to activation. Why I cannot reactivate the system? Try out this tech id 29721.It may help.Thanxs:smileywink: Linkified for convenience - JHutch mook, Nothing to Move means that the key is not more on this Master Disk; either it is already on the PC, or it has missed. Which name do you see in RSlinx title bar ? RSLinx Lite ? Or another Name ?If it is RSLinx Lite, you can't use OPC server; you may try to Reset the Activation Disk, following this technote:http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=36168 Hope this helps... :smileyhappy: - fuzzy logic fuzzy logic, i can see Rslinx lite at the title bar. Where is the product ID? Can i find it in the box? My product is ReView Enterprise Visualization. Is the serial number is the one label on the master disk and boxes? *Note the Product ID is only one character except for key RS5k_700.exe, and the serial number is not the Product ID mook, as I thought, RSLinx isn't activate. If you follow the procedure indicated in the link I posted last time, you need to connect to support site, and all what you need is the serial number, from Master disk or software box.Product ID should come in automatically in the Reset Activation tool when you select the drive where your Master Disk is (usually A: ) Otherwise, have a call to the Support Center to have some help on that...:smileywink: - fuzzy logic fuzzy logic, Thank you for your information. I have try to use the master disk to activate the reset code. but in the system ID is show TP instead of QC. What do it mean by TP and QC? Do i need to link up the machine CPU with the RSView software to reset activation? Thank You Here the informations : System ID field Display only. This field displays information that will be requested by the Rockwell Software technician for use in generating the reset code. You only need the activation Master Disk, the software isn't needed. - fuzzy logic My master disk for Rslinx and RsView32 Runtime 32K is spoilt. do anyone know where can i get a copy of files for the master disk? Thank You mook, you have to call in the Support Center and, giving them yor serial numbers, I think they will replace your Master Disk with a new one.It is the only way; you cannot copy the activation from others. :smileysurprised: If you need EVmove or Reset .exe files, they are usually intalled in Start --> Programs --> Rockwell Software --> Utilities, in your PC(default path C:Program FilesRockwell SoftwareRSUtil ) - fuzzy logic Fuzzy logic, Thank you for your information. I have reset the code. But i have another problem. I try to activate Rslinx by the master disk it show me a error  Activation File Corrupt - Invalid Serial Number. From the EvMove v4.7 - License Move utility it show that Destination Drive C: is having Error. Please advice. Thank you mook,tech id35759mayhelp.cheers:smileyvery-happy: n


### Human: Step 5 Conversion to RSLogix 5000 HI Is there any utility for one to one conversion of a Step 5 project to any AB controller software. ### Assistant: No, there isn't an utility to convert, but you may find out an useful Application Guide on that at the link below: http://www.rockwellautomation.com/solutions/integratedarchitecture/resources4.html It is done for Step7, but I think that may apply also to your case. Hope this helps... :smileyhappy: - fuzzy logic n


### Human: DeviceNet Communication Errors ... I have a facility that uses DeviceNet valve controllers to open and close valves and to monitor valve status. When using Control Logix to monitor the DeviceFailureRegister for communication errors, we experience one communication error every 36-48 hours, the interval between occurrences is not consistent, it is not always the same node. The DeviceFailureRegister value goes to 1 and remains there for ~14 seconds and then returns to zero. There are approximately 30 valves on the DeviceNet net work, each has 2 bytes input, 1 byte output. Connection type is “polled”. I have changed the ISD from 5ms to 10 ms with little effect. The EPR value = 75, the baud rate is 125 kbd. The network is fairly compact, with not a lot of distance between nodes/scanner. I have a DeviceNet detective on the system that captures no errors. The manufacturer has suggested that that the time for all of the devices to respond is occasionally catching a device in the middle of some function that prevents it from responding in a timely manner to prevent a timeout condition. Some solutions I am considering is changing the interscan delay to 15 ms and/or changing the message type to Background Polled or Change of State. Any suggestions? Ideas? ### Assistant: It could be useful to know the firmware of your (I guess -DNB) card, the versions of the software (RS5000 and RSNetworx for dnet) and the supplier of the Dnet valves. Anyway, to prevent timeout in some cases was useful to put the Interscan Delay to 20ms.Have a look to the Aid 34447 ; there is some informations about differances between new and old version of DNB that need to be solved increasing the ISDAlso Cyclic/COS could be useful to have less traffic on the network and decrease the frequency of the error.Least but not last, sometimes it is only necessary to upgrade the firmware of the third party modules (valves), unless it is already the last one. Hope this helps....- fuzzy logic Thanks for the input.The following is a list of revs: 1756-CNB/D 5.271788-CN2DN 1.23RS5000 16.00.00RSNetworx 8.00.02 Supplier of Valve controller: Topworx. Thanks again for any ideas or suggestions. If the manufactor is saying that if the device is not responding while in the middle of a function, then really it's a game of not catching it during a function, or slowing down how long enough to wait for the device. With that being said, i would adjust the EPR and ISD to something around 150 EPR and 50 ISD... Just my suggestion. But I am jumping on that increase the scanner time as with what everyone else is thinking. Also the series C 1756 DNB is much faster then the series B... Keep that in mind for you know knowledge sake. n


### Human: Ethernet from PLC5 just stops and restarts. We just had a flood and many rockwell parts got wet. Most including the PLC5-20/E's have been replaced. Plant is online and functional. The PLC's do all the work, SCADA is just for observation and setpoint entry.The plc's in question have both DH+ communication and Ethernet adapters The problem we are fighting with is that one of the PLC5s' that is a replacement and has never been wet will just stop responding to RSLinx, pings or HTTP. It just disappears from the planet all the while doing it's job just fine. Then it will come back and RSLinx will see it again as well as ping and HTTP. The one across from it which DID get wet, has been cleaned and dried and seems to work. It is connected to the same Ethernet switch that the first PLC is connected to and is Fiber from there to the building. This second PLC now has a bad DH+ port. I can connect my laptop directly to it, I can see everything else on the DH+ network but not the PLC itself. (This is Odd since that is how it was programmed to begin with, but I knew this PLC would be replaced anyway... once wet you just cant trust them anymore) Now, to make it worse, I was sitting between 2 SCADA terminals. These run RSLinx 2.51 with Intelliution AB and OPC drivers and iFix SCADA. The PLC dropped out on the terminal on the right (windows XP) but remained in communication with the (windows 2000) machine on the left.Ping, Http, and Rslinx all stopped working on the machine on the right but worked uninterrupted at the machine on the left. How can this be if there is a PLC communication issue? I think that this is, in a way, a PC driver problem. But that it is somehow being triggered by somethgin within this PLC. I will replace this PLC at the next shutdown (while not completely certain that it will fix this) but that may be a while so I am searching on some kind of insight as to how a PLC could possibly kill it's network connection to most PC's while both remaining functional as far as IO goes, and allowing another PC to work with it just fine. This is just bizarre ### Assistant: Splash,1.) Update your RSLinx to 2.52 or greater, 2.51 imho had problems browsing networks well.2.) What you are describing sounds like a bad router, network bandwidth issue, or device bandwidth issue. Especially your description of how one PC was working fine but the otherone dropped off. Question did any of your network components get wet? Are they replaced? Troubleshooting optionsIs the anyone who knows how to do packet capture at your site, if so, they might be able to help isolate the problem. Use a network monitoring application other then packet capture software to check bandwidth, etc Instead of ping command tracert and see if a router might be dropping off. etc. n


### Human: How do I change serial numbers in FT View SE server? I upgraded from 100 display (RSVSESRV.100) to 250 display (RSVSESRV.250) for Factory Talk View SE server. I have successfully activated the new serial number. How do I change the serial number for the package to get it to use the 250 display s/n instead of the 100 display s/n? ### Assistant: I know it's a registry entry... Ah Knowledgebase ID 39213 has it HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstall{32FF6F27-37C3-46E9-B39E-56CD420415D1} I would like to skip the restart of the server box if possible. What service or services do I need to restart for the FactoryTalk View SE Server to reread the activation once I change the key? There are a bunch of them that start with Rockwell, like Rockwell Tag Server and several with Rockwell HMI like Rockwell HMI Framework. n


### Human: RS viewME files into RSVIEW32 dear allis it possible to open rsveieME projects to open / convert for RSVIEW32 ? thanks ragni ### Assistant: ragni, I'm not sure to have well understood your post.... :smileysurprised: If you want to open an RSView32 application with ViewME, it isn't possible due to format incompatibility. - fuzzy logic Sounds like you are trying to go from ME to RSView32 ... no you can't do that. JHutch So the summary is either way, no conversion is possible. :( n


### Human: Slow communication between panel view plus 1500 and PLC 5/40 c My system has got one panelview Plus 1500 and PLC 5/40 c, communicating in serial DF1.I have fast changing IOs like sheet counter photo sensor . But these tags are updated much slower in PV.Tag update rate for all screens are kept minimum 0.05 second.and im using direct tag referencing.Baud rate for the DF1 is 19.2k ### Assistant: sumesh, which is the View ME version you're using?Have you applied all the available patches to your system?Have you downloaded the latest firmware to PVP ? After that, take in consideration that serial DF1 is not the best way to get fast responses... also consider that sometimes keeping the tag update rate to the minimum, gives worst results, due to the fact that you order to the PVP to update all the tags in that screen in that time... Try to optimize your displays, for example pointing to tags that are in an array instead of around in the PLC memory (if you don't have already done it :smileywink: ) Also have a look to the KB in the link: http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/rockwellautomation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=36745 - fuzzy logic Everything Fussy suggests above is good information and correct.And sometimes the answer is in the question. This being RS232 protocol, therefore a two state system so baud rate in this case is equal to the bit rate. From memory (maybe wrong) a character for DF1 protocol is 11 bits (8,+ 1 start, 1 parity 1 stop). So number of characters per second is 19200/11 = 1745 characters per second. Lets say all your tags are in one data file and are integer N7. So lets look at one optimized packet of 100 (default optimization), plus some start of message and end of message and ACK and NAK. Lets guess (again without getting the DF1 protocol manual out). 120 characters. So approximately 1745/120 = 14.5 packets per second (or about 1450 tags per second). So in 0.05 seconds about 72 tags. So if you have more than 72 tags (approximately) you are not going to update at 0.05 of a second. As in life - just becasue you ask - does not mean you get. Yorkshire Man is right on a very important concept. Whenever anyone talks about speed issues on a network such as update rates. We need to go back to our wire-time calculations.In addition to if you are pulling more then 72 characters, another thing since you compared the update rate to the IO, is how fast is your IO update rate. Because nearly every high speed counter I have come acrossed has speed of 32Khz or more in which case no HMI in this world will keep up with. n


### Human: How to concantenate numeric value into string display expression Hi, I'm trying to build an expression in a string display so that it looks something like this:(70 - 90) My expression currently looks like this: ( + {[CLX]Value1} +  -  + {[CLX]Value2} + )FT View Studio accepts the expression without complaints but it doesn't work in FT View Client. The diagnostic list say cannot add a number to a string. Is there a way to accomplish this? Thanks! ### Assistant: Yes you will get this error because you are trying to allocate a numeric value to a string. A way to achive this (without resorting to VBA) is to select the ‘Text’ Object (menu – Objects – Drawing – Text) (or the capital ‘A’ icon). Double click on your new ‘text’ object and use the insert variable button to insert the two numeric tags and add your padding text as required. So for your example (using my tags NumericNumeric1 and Numeric2) will give: ( /*N:5 NumericNumeric1 NOFILL DP:0*/ - /*N:5 NumericNumeric2 NOFILL DP:0*/ ) Note: You do not need the “” marks to donate text because you will be using a Text Object and it knows it’s all text. So the syntax /*N:5 NumericNumeric1 NOFILL DP:0*/ is taking the tag NumericNumeric1 and displaying it’s value formatted to 5 characters, no fill characters NOFILL and no decimal point DP:0 TavMaster, it is not possible to Concatenate a Numeric Value to a String in a String Display (it is possible to use either a Numeric Value alone or some Strings Concatenated) A solution is to move the values you need to display, to a string tag in CLX (using DTOS instruction - see screenshot below).Then you'll have the following, where the red tags are String Data Type containing the numbers from your DINT tags:  (  + {[CLX]Str_Timer_Acc} +  -  + {[CLX]Str_Timer_Pre} +  )  ...and this works fine.... :smileywink: - fuzzy logic Thanks to both of you for the suggestions! I went with yorkshire's solution because it doesn't require additional PLC coding. Ok,Yorkshire won this match, I accept the defeat... :smileyvery-happy: :smileyvery-happy: may be next time.... - fuzzy logic n


### Human: Factory Talk View Studio ME vs RS View Studio ME Are there any major differences between Factory Talk View Studio ME vs RS View Studio ME, besides the name change. I am contemplating on updating from RSView Studio ME V4.00 (CPR7) to FTView Studio ME V5.00. Are projects compatible or need to be converted from one platform to the other? I downloaded the Rockwell update 9701VWSTMENE , but upon installation I was prompted to uninstall the old RSView Studio application first. I am not sure if it is worth the hassle? Dirk ### Assistant: bieloberg, there are many differances between the two software versions: First of all, as you wrote, the name; here another post that tries :smileytongue: to give an explanation... http://forums.rockwellautomation.com/rockwell/board/message?board.id=IndCtrl&message.id=244#M244 Then the CPR (Coordinated Product Release) is the 9 (RSViewStudio was CPR7); also another link to a technote with the news. Aid 44139 The two versions cannot stay together on the same PC, as you've seen it is necessary to uninstall the old one first.When you try to open a v4.00 application, new software need to revert it to the v5.00 (and than it isn't possible to reopen it with RSView Studio v4.00 again).You can save/convert a .MER file from View Studio 5.00 to an earlier version (4.00, 3.20, 3.10, 3.00), if you need. Have a look to all the features in the new version in this technote: Aid 44333 There are also some limitations using APA files (archive). Also another technote: :smileysurprised: Aid 50502 Anyway, being aware of all the above, I think that the upgrade is the best choice... also to include all patches that solve some anomalies, and to have new functionalities available. Least but not last, a link to interesting videos that show how to install/upgrade new version 5.00 in the best manner... Aid 44618 Hope this helps... :smileyhappy: - fuzzy logic As far as the name change ... it means nothing. The software just changed names during the v4.0 release from RSView to FactoryTalk View. The software itself made zero changes. When v5.0 was released, it was released only as FactoryTalk View. JHutch n


### Human: I/O Chassis Comm Moduel Requirement in CLX Enhanced Redundany System It's clear that in CLX enhanced redundant system redundant chassis pair needs 1756-CN2/CN2R (Ser.B) and 17560-EN2T enhanced comm modules and 1756-RM redundant module. But in I/O chassis, the standard comm module (1756-CNB/CNBR) is compatible with the enhanced redundant platform? ### Assistant: Attached is an image of a possible Enhanced Redundancy configuration; the limitation is only in the redundancy chassis pairs, if you are using new -RM modules; it is shown that in the remote chassis you may use standard CNB/CNBR (as you of course may use standard Flex I/O cnet adapter, standard Drive Cnet card etc.) Hope this helps.... - fuzzy logic n


### Human: PF700S User Sets Hi! Does anybody know if it's possible to use a feature like PF70/700 User Sets in PF700S drives? I need to run two different motors with just one PF700S and need to reconfigure the drives using a digital input.Thanks.Marcinio - PU2MAS ### Assistant: PF700s actually doesn't have this feature... You can only save to HIM (copycat) the active user set and than restore it, but it isn't possible to do this via digital input.Also you can use Drive Explorer/executive, but still it isn't possible to switch via Digital input. You can do it through DriveLogix 5730. Is there a function at DriveLogix to do this? Any tip on how to do?Thanks! You may use the User Defined I/O data to write new settings inside the parameters you need; these data are already prepared for use in the Controller Tags, when you create a new Drive in the I/O Configuration.You only need to link them to the parameters you want to change dinamically. Have a look to the User Manual in the link: http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/um/20d-um003_-en-p.pdf Hope this helps... - fuzzy logic n


### Human: Can't see CPU's or backplanes in RSLinx Hello all! Having some trouble with RSLinx. I'm running 2.52.00.17 (CPR 9). I can see Ethernet Ports (such as 1769-L32E Ethernet Port), but I can't see past the port. I've checked my EDS files, and I've got everything I should need. Checked the FAQ's, etc, and didn't find this problem listed. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks,Tedinski. ### Assistant: I had this problem with ControlLogix ethernet cards once. I could see the ethernet connection, ping it, etc., but could not see anything past it. I checked my EDS files and they were correct. So, I removed all the EDS files for that particular hardware and re-added them and it started working again. The EDS file for 1769-L32E Ethernet Port of the right firmware version (I mean the firmware of your processor) is needed; also verify to have the EDS for Compactlogix System (the Backplane) and, if you have both already installed,as jmat has suggested, try to remove them and reinstall. Here a link to the second EDS I mentioned:http://www.ab.com/networks/eds/cgi-bin/detail.pl?file=XX/0001006C00380100.eds Be aware to close RSLinx and reopen it after any EDS installation/removing (also if it is open as service, shutdown it and restart). Below is a screenshot of the CompactLogix System EDS view in Unregistration tool. Hope this helps.... :smileyhappy: - fuzzy logic Going with the above, I have seen this with all sorts of bridging and communication devices. Where if an EDS is close by not quiet 100% there, it looks right, the system thinks it's right, but it's not right. I've also seen cases where newly-downloaded comm module EDS files wouldn't take, even after stopping/restarting services or even rebooting. I had to stop the Harmony service, delete the Harmony.xxx (RSLinx cache?) files and reboot and then all was well. The files are C:Program FilesRockwell SoftwareRSCommonHarmony.hrc C:Program FilesRockwell SoftwareRSCommonHarmony.rsh Good luck!Dale n