I am running into some trouble trying to get some old Allen Bradley DTAMs to communicate with a ControlLogix 1756-DNB module. I am hoping someone more experienced with this equipment can point me in the right direction.
Background:
Original system consisted of two SLC500 chassis each with its own SLC 5/05 processor (1747-L553) and 1747-SDN scanner module. Each of the original scanner modules were connected to separate networks but the number of nodes and their address assignments were such that they could have been connected together into one network. It is assumed that they split the line into two due to memory limitations of the processor and the desire to use I:x.xx and O:x.xx vs M file addressing for the discrete I/O. However, the DTAMs did use M file addressing for the DNet mapping.
Current System:
The SLC500 systems were replaced with a ControlLogix 1756-L55 (FW 16.23) / 1756-DNB (Series B FW 7.1) system. The two networks were combined into a single network. The two extra terminating resistors were removed and the network cabling was rerouted to balance the power and number of nodes on each side of the network trunk line. The system consists of 11 1794-ADN Flex I/O adapters, 13 SMC EX240-SDN2 adapters, and 12 2707-M232P3D DTAM Micro units (FRN 1.00 Aug 29 1996) in addition to the scanner module. All of the Flex I/O and SMC nodes communicate properly. The network has been fully checked and tested for media problems and none have been found.
Current Problem:
I am trying to get the DTAMs to communicate with the ControlLogix processor via the DNet bridge. The problem that I am seeing is that the DTAMs will appear in RSLinx for a brief amount of time and then drop communication such that they show the infamous red X. Whether or not a particular DTAM shows up at all is dependent upon whether or not RSLinx catches it up and running while browsing during that brief period when it is communicating. The DTAM messages indicate that it is doing a duplicate node address check which it seemingly passes (no error displayed), then it waits for a master connection, then waits for an I/O connection, then displays the main startup screen for maybe 1-3 sec before dropping communication on the network and displaying the "Waiting for Master Connection" message until powered off or reset again.
The DTAMs are configured for 10 words IN and 10 words OUT so I mapped each one to 5 DINTs IN and 5 DINTs OUT. In run mode, the scanner reports an error code of 78 for each DTAM node indicating that the node doesn't exist even though it is physically connected and powered up. All of them show up in RSLinx briefly and the network media has been gone over multiple times, so I am inclined to believe that the problem is software / configuration related. Since the nodes are not "staying put" on the network, I can't upload their parameter configuration in RSNetworx in order to download the information to the scanner. They all show up in RSNetworx if I set it for continuous browse and cycle power to the network, causing them all to reboot at once. This indicates to me that they are being seen on the network. If I then try to open the properties dialog, I get an "... identity communications error (8000000A)" message since they are no longer on the network by the time I try to open the dialog. The manuals I have are geared more towards the DTAMs which use a serial interface direct to the processor rather than DNet. I have a document update for the DNet version but it hasn't been much help and doesn't seem to give a clearly defined path for configuring these in RSNetworx. I have downloaded and installed what claims to be the latest EDS file for these from the Rockwell website but that hasn't resolved the issue.
Anyone with experience in this area have any ideas of other things to try?
Background:
Original system consisted of two SLC500 chassis each with its own SLC 5/05 processor (1747-L553) and 1747-SDN scanner module. Each of the original scanner modules were connected to separate networks but the number of nodes and their address assignments were such that they could have been connected together into one network. It is assumed that they split the line into two due to memory limitations of the processor and the desire to use I:x.xx and O:x.xx vs M file addressing for the discrete I/O. However, the DTAMs did use M file addressing for the DNet mapping.
Current System:
The SLC500 systems were replaced with a ControlLogix 1756-L55 (FW 16.23) / 1756-DNB (Series B FW 7.1) system. The two networks were combined into a single network. The two extra terminating resistors were removed and the network cabling was rerouted to balance the power and number of nodes on each side of the network trunk line. The system consists of 11 1794-ADN Flex I/O adapters, 13 SMC EX240-SDN2 adapters, and 12 2707-M232P3D DTAM Micro units (FRN 1.00 Aug 29 1996) in addition to the scanner module. All of the Flex I/O and SMC nodes communicate properly. The network has been fully checked and tested for media problems and none have been found.
Current Problem:
I am trying to get the DTAMs to communicate with the ControlLogix processor via the DNet bridge. The problem that I am seeing is that the DTAMs will appear in RSLinx for a brief amount of time and then drop communication such that they show the infamous red X. Whether or not a particular DTAM shows up at all is dependent upon whether or not RSLinx catches it up and running while browsing during that brief period when it is communicating. The DTAM messages indicate that it is doing a duplicate node address check which it seemingly passes (no error displayed), then it waits for a master connection, then waits for an I/O connection, then displays the main startup screen for maybe 1-3 sec before dropping communication on the network and displaying the "Waiting for Master Connection" message until powered off or reset again.
The DTAMs are configured for 10 words IN and 10 words OUT so I mapped each one to 5 DINTs IN and 5 DINTs OUT. In run mode, the scanner reports an error code of 78 for each DTAM node indicating that the node doesn't exist even though it is physically connected and powered up. All of them show up in RSLinx briefly and the network media has been gone over multiple times, so I am inclined to believe that the problem is software / configuration related. Since the nodes are not "staying put" on the network, I can't upload their parameter configuration in RSNetworx in order to download the information to the scanner. They all show up in RSNetworx if I set it for continuous browse and cycle power to the network, causing them all to reboot at once. This indicates to me that they are being seen on the network. If I then try to open the properties dialog, I get an "... identity communications error (8000000A)" message since they are no longer on the network by the time I try to open the dialog. The manuals I have are geared more towards the DTAMs which use a serial interface direct to the processor rather than DNet. I have a document update for the DNet version but it hasn't been much help and doesn't seem to give a clearly defined path for configuring these in RSNetworx. I have downloaded and installed what claims to be the latest EDS file for these from the Rockwell website but that hasn't resolved the issue.
Anyone with experience in this area have any ideas of other things to try?