SLC 500 What do I need

A friend of mine asked me if I could reprogram a SLC500 that he has. Unfortunately I have no experience with Allen Bradley but I have been looking for an opportunity to get some. Can someone tell me what I would need at a minimum as far as programming software and connection cables go so I can at least get an idea of what I might be getting myself into.

I checked out the Rockwell Automation website and they have an RSLogix 500 Starter Kit for $499. Is this all I need? Does it come with programming cables? I looked for a description on the site but couldn't find it.

RSLogix 500 Professional was a little out of my price range at $2499

Thanks in advance.

There is an RSlogix between those, Standard, somewhere in the $1500 range.

If it is a SLC 500(brick), 5/01 or 5/02 you will need a 1747-PIC (RS-232 to DH-485 converter) or an AB PCMK card (very expensive) which also supports DH+ and devices on RIO.

If it is a SLC 5/03, 5/04, or 5/05 you will need a 1747-CP3 cable which is a 9pin d-shell female to 9pin d-shell female null modem cable, to communicate RS-232.

A 500, 5/01 or 5/02 has one port:
1. DH-485

A 5/03 has two ports:
1. RS-232(DF1 or DH-485)
2. DH-485 (same as the 500, 5/01, 5/02)

A 5/04 has two ports:
1. RS-232(DF1 or DH-485)
2. DH+ (the same as PLC 5's)

A 5/05 has two ports:
1. RS-232(DF1 or DH-485)
2. Ethernet

We'd love to help you but we need more specific information. Exactly what model SLC500 do you have? Yes, there is an actual SLC500 model. It's often called a BRICK because it doesn't (usually) have plug-in type modules. But the name SLC500 is also used generically for an entire Allen-Bradley family of controllers which includes (besides the actual SLC-500) the SLC-5/01, SLC-5/02, SLC-5/03, SLC-5/04, and SLC-5/05. The biggest issue you'll be concerned with from the beginning will be the differences in communciations capabilities between these models. To answer one specific question: No, the cables do not come with the software. Further, we can't tell you which cables you'll need until we know the model. If you're really tight on cash, some of the cables can be built with Radio Shack connectors. As for the software, you won't need the "Pro" version - the added cost is for mostly "power user" type enhancements that you won't need. The biggest difference between the $499 "Starter kit" and the $1,100 "Standard" package is the ability to do online programming. Specifically, with online programming you can make changes to the ladder rungs without having to shut down the processor. Without this feature, every change to the rungs requires that the processor be shut down briefly for a program "download". Now back to the model numbers again ... Suppose your friend has an SLC-5/01. Since this lower cost model doesn't support online ladder programming changes anyway, you could get out cheaper with the "Starter" package. But then again, someday you'll probably run into a situation with a higher priced SLC and end up wishing you'd bought the "Standard" software in the beginning. Personally, I'd get the "Standard" package.

Yes, I'll admit it's confusing. The best advice I can give you so far is to make a list of your friend's hardware catalog numbers. I'd get the info for the processor, chassis, I/O modules, etc., in other words, EVERYTHING, and then post again. You'll get much better answers that way and probably save money in the long run.

Good luck.

Thanks for the replies guys. Like I said I haven't worked with AB stuff before but I am trying to get my hands dirty. I haven't actually seen the unit he wants me to do the work on. He just called me and said it is a SLC500 can you reprogram it. So now I am left trying to figure out what I need. Obviously more information is going to be needed. But you guys gave me a good starting point.

I know that whenever I have that much info (it's an SLC and that's all we know) then I always bring a null modem cable like the 1747-CP3 and a 1747-PIC.

The PIC can communicate with any 500 (brick as it was earler referred), 5/01, 5/02 or 5/03.

The null modem cable can talk to any 5/03, 5/04 or 5/05.

The cable is nothing special. You can make your own or buy one at a computer store or Radio Shack.

The PIC can usually be found on eBay. Make sure you get the cable that goes with the PIC and a 25-pin to 9-pin converter.

OG

Yo, Operaghost,

You were certainly correct in saying that "The null modem cable can talk to any 5/03, 5/04 or 5/05." But a word of caution for some of the newcomers ... The Channel 0 port on the front of these processors can be RECONFIGURED. Normally the port is left in its "off-the-shelf" setup (for example: as DF1 Full Duplex) and in the "System" mode. This way the port may be used as a cheap handy programming port when connected to a null modem cable.

But, on the other hand, if the Channel 0 port has been configured for the "User" mode (to connect for example, to a barcode reader) or for one of the other available drivers (to connect for example, to a radio or telephone modem) then you won't be able to program through your null modem cable. I know a guy who went literally halfway around the globe to make programming changes to one of these processors only to find that his trusty old "cheap gray cable" wouldn't make the connection.

If you find yourself in this predicament, the best solution (for those of you who are wondering) is to FED-EX in a 1747-PIC if you're working on the SLC-5/03. In the case of the SLC-5/04, you'll probably need a 1784-PCMC kit. With the SLC-5/05, you may be able to connect through the processor's Ethernet port assuming that your programming computer has a network card installed.

Another (but brutal) alternative is to disconnect the processor's battery and find two special solder pads on the processor's mother board. These pads are marked VBB and GND. You have to short these two together for about sixty seconds to drain a capacitor and that resets the processor back to its "off-the-shelf" state. The good news is that now you can communicate through the null modem cable for programming purposes. The bad news is that this operation COMPLETELY WIPES OUT ANY EXISTING PROGRAM in the processor. If you don't have a good backup copy of the program, you're really going to be in serious trouble after this. For those of you who simply can't wait to go out and kill a processor, details of this operation may be found at:

http://www.ab.com/manuals/cp/1747-um011c-en-p.pdf

Start reading at page 10-17 (or Adobe page 153 of 276).

Finally, if you ever need to set up one of these ports for something special, you might want to research the "Mode Change Enabled" feature. Using this feature may allow you to tell the processor to switch the port's configuration from the "User" mode back to the "System" mode. This is done by sending a special command (by using Windows HyperTerminal, for example) through the null modem cable before you try connecting with RSLogix500.

Best regards.

Doesnt the PIC/AIC+ driver work for this??