Hey Phil!

I just checked out the info on the videos - looks good!

But a little incomplete!

How about a video on a subject near and dear to my learning curve - networks!

DH+, RS232, RS485, RSDoran, R2-D2 ... anything!

And how about some devicenet? Profibus? Modbus? Or - dare I say it? - ethernet?

I am increasingly staggered by the amount of networking potential about there, but absolutely floored by the dearth of basic information - in plain english - available for the network newbie...

How about it, gang? Anybody else think this would be a good addition?

TM

Hi Timothy,
Thanks for the feedback!

The video are a beginners training course. A beginners PLC class... on video tape.

Personally I don't consider networking a beginners topic. Of course, other folks may disagree.

As an analogy, (maybe not a good one, but...) the majority of the people (in the USA) drive automatic transmission cars. So, to teach someone to drive, I would teach the 'concept of driving' using an automatic transmission. The student would learn going, stopping, parking, what the signs mean, etc. Understanding and experiencing the concept of driving the automatic trans car would be enough for 80%+ of the drivers. Most people need no more.(in the USA anyway)

Then with a solid background and experience of driving the student could then learn what else they needed.... if they needed it . Perhaps it is driving a manual transmission, maybe a tractor trailer, maybe a bus, maybe an excavator, maybe... The point being that knowing the 'concept of driving' is required and the rest is useful if our jobs required it . At least 80% of the drivers will only ever need to know how to drive an automatic trans vehicle. But if they know that, the other skills (manual trans shifting, for example)can be acquired using the concept of driving as a base.

I believe that understanding the 'concept of PLC programming' is required and the rest may be required if our jobs require it. However, without knowing/experiencing the concept of PLC programming we can never progress to communications methods. And realistically most folks don't 'need' to know that(of course that's a debatable topic but note that I said MOST people ). And if we do, we'll be ok if we understand how to work with bits/flags and memory registers. That base knowledge allows us to progress (build specialized knowledge) when it's needed.

So, that's my theory of what is 'required PLC knowledge' and where we go from there varies by the student. I hope it's safe to assume any experienced PLC programmer understands the 'basic building blocks' the videos teach.

Perhaps a seperate set of communications videos/tutorial would indeed be beneficial to many experienced folks here. I agree 200% with you in that the widespread techno-talk available certainly makes it seem like black-magic. But it ain't...
(ever notice how many PLC manufacturers users manuals are full of techno-talk. Why???? Aren't the USERS manuals to help the user? Can't the same things be said in 'plain english'? Sorry to rant shutit )

For reference, I have written a few pages on the subject of RS-232 in the past. (no techno-talk used because it shouldn't be considered black magic) They are here if anyone is interested:
rs-232 history
rs-232 hardware methods
rs-232 software methods
using rs-232 with ladder logic

Thanks again for the feedback Timothy!!! Seems like a good idea for the future!
Enjoy,

Not ready to give up yet!

Hi Phil!

Absolutely! Another book! More tapes! More exclamation points!

Seriously, though, while I agree that networking is an "advanced" topic, I also feel it's a critical subject. There are more and more networking posts put up here every day - I think they are outnumbered only by the traffic lights - and being an "advanced" subject does not make it any less critical.

That's my two bits. Thank for listening, and happy anniversary!

TM