gem80 plc to pc interface

I was wondering if somene can help me. I want to display certain input/output status on a dipslay screen. I have picked up that I can do this using something like Visual Basic. However with gems being not the most modern of choices, I don't have a complete picture of what I need to achieve this.

What I'm trying to do is to monitor I/O status ie is limit switch high/low and display this on the screen (along with other 100 I/Os). I only need a facility to receive a signal, not to transmit.

So far I have gathered that I need an OPC server which should make the link from the plc to the pc. (Can someone confirm this?) and an ActiveX control in Visual Basic to communicate with the OPC. Pricewise, I dont know what I'm looking at. I assume getting a SCADA package will be much more expensive for such a small task. Am I going in the right direction?

Hi,
What Gem PLC are you using? We have some Gem500's which support the Modbus TCP protocol.
Although we are using iFix with an GeFanuc MBE driver you may want to have a look at Kepwares website, they sell a Modbus TCP driver and have some VB examples on how to do what you want to do.

There are comprehensive options as well... the Universal PLC Server. Whether you have GE Fanuc or just plain Modbus, you will be able to get your data out quickly.

If it supports Mobus/RTU, the AdvancedHMI project has a limited driver for Modbus. That gives you a free software option to display data.

I do plan to eventually complete the driver so that it supports all data types.