Ab Plc 5/15 Comm

I HAVE AN ALLEN BRADLEY PLC 5/15 I WOULD LIKE TO DO SOME ONLINE PROGRAMMING ON AND HAVE NO WAY THAT I KNOW OF TO COMMUNICATE WITH.I HAVE A LAPTOP WITH A.I SERIES PLC2, A.I SERIES PLC5, RSLOGIX 5.0 AND 500 RUNNING ON IT. I CAN PROGRAM ANYTHING I HAVE RUNNING EXCEPT THE 5/15. IS THERE ANY WAY TO DO THIS WITHOUT BUYING A PCMK CARD, FOR EXAMPLE 1770-KF2 OR SOME OTHER STAND ALONE DEVICE , AND THE TYPE OF CABLE TO USE AS WELL AS SOFTWARE? THANKS

Unlike the "new" line of PLC-5's the serial port on the 5/15 (and 5/25 and other "classic" PLC-5's) is just a serial port, and not a DF1 port.

To program it, you must get your PC onto the datahighway (DH+). There are several ways to do this, most of which you seem to know.

One way, as you suggest, it to use a KF2 box. These are regularly found on eBay for about $50.

Outside of that, you need a special card in your PC - a 1784-KT card (in whatever flavor that matches your PC motherboard - 1784-KT; -KT(D), -KTx, -PKTX, etc.) if your PC is a desktop variety that has expansion slots, or a PCMK if using a laptop. The latter is quite expensive, as I'm sure you know. The former can also be found on eBay, but you need to be careful of your PC's clock speed. Newer computers (like from the late 90's) run too fast for the older boards to keep up.