Used GE Series 90-30

I am very tempted to pickup some used GE Series 90-30 PLC equipment I've seen offered on ebay for use in a personal project involving about 250 IO, all DC or relay, and lots of logic with some timing. Nothing else fancy. Shucks, I'll have a tough enough time teaching myself how to use this stuff!

My concern is two-fold. First, is this viable equipment for, say, the next 10 years and, second, what else do I need beside the hardware. I assume I'll need some programming software--where does that come from and for how much $.

I've already found this forum very willing to help this old motor-drive specialist learn some new PLC tricks. Thanks to this forum, I've downloaded instruction manuals and think I understand about the various CPU's and their capacities to handle IO.

If you would please, help me avoid some traps here. Thanks alot!

The 90-30 has been around since 1990, making it a contemporary of the AB SLC500. It is the GE Fanuc platform that supports the greatest variety of I/O and specialty modules. GE Fanuc just introduced a new CPU module for it, so there is still development effort going on. Ten years is beyond the range of my crystal ball, but if anything GE Fanuc sells today is still around ten years from now, my guess is that the 90-30 is a good candidate.

You want to make sure that you get a RS485/RS232 converter along with the stuff you buy on ebay. The programming port on the 90-30 is RS485. There are two part numbers for the converter. The GE number is IC690ACC900. The same piece of equipment may also carry a Horner Electric part number HE693SNP232. Horner makes them for GE. The cable from your computer to the converter is a 9-pin Dsub, female both ends, straight through connections (pin 1 to pin 1, pin 2 to pin 2, etc).

For programming software, you can get a free version of the DOS-based software (Logicmaster 90) from the GE Fanuc support site. It's a couple of rev levels old, and there may be some restrictions on the size of program you can create with it. You should check the readme file included with it. If you have a good relationship with your local distributor, you might be able to get a free CD of the VersaPro (Windows) software. You can install it without registering, and it's fully functional. The only hitch is that it wiil only run for four days unregistered. After that, you have to uninstall/reinstall it. You don't lose any files when you do, so you could continue that way indefinitely. Eventually, if you use it a lot, the uninstall/reinstall becomes enough of a PITA, that you break down and buy a license. It runs around $500.

Tell me which auctions you're considering on ebay, and I'll take a look at what is offered and comment on the completeness of the package. I used to be the Automation Specialist for a GE Fanuc distributor.

I am going to toot my own horn here, if you need/want some 90-30 hardware I may be able to help at a price comparative to ebay. I dont advertise here but I have items on ebay from time to time.

Tell me what you want/need via email and I will send you availability and a price.