Bricking a ML 1000 and no DCOM?

SO yeah, I did it. Only AFTER did I read the help file where it mentions that you can only change to DF1 Half Duplex Slave while online. Well, I had been doing all my changes offline since it won't let you make online changes. I switched and it warned me that comms would be lost but I thought, ya know, temporarily while the new settings are taking effect. Well now I have no comms and have no DCOM setting to restore it to DF1 as that didnlt come into play until the 1200 series. I have read several places online and this forum where others have done thia but they all seem to end with the poor ******* (aka. Me) asking if there is ANY way to restore the unit to DF1. No one ever awnsers...LOL It's like the dark secret aboiut Uncle Walter that we just don't talk about.

Sorry Uncle Walter but I'm asking. Is there ANY way to get DF1 comms back after this???

Douglas

The best method is to connect up as a DF1 Half Duplex Master with the correct handshaking and port speed/framing settings. That's how to get online to monitor these controllers (or set them back to DF1 Full Duplex).

The RSLinx Classic DF1 Half Duplex Master driver isn't exactly modern; I don't think it will work at all in Windows 7, and it's tricky at best in other operating systems.

The Uncle Walter method for the AC-powered controllers was to short out the +24VDC "user power supply" terminals. This crowbars the internal power supply and about 9 times in 10 the controller recovers with a deleted NVRAM program, back in DF1 Full Duplex mode.

1 time out of 10 the power supply is fatally damaged. I was fortunate each time I tried it, but A-B isn't going to tell you to intentionally do something that could damage the controller, and it doesn't work on the DC-powered units.

Do you happen to have an SLC-5/05 or Logix-family controller handy ? Sometimes you can also pass through those controllers with their serial ports configured for Half Duplex Master.

Golden Nugget Leak! And, should I google "Uncle Walter"?

Regrettably, there is financial loss.

Get over it, move on, purchase a NEW product with an Ethernet port, and a serial port if your app requires.

ML1000 and ML1200 are "old school".

I bricked a 1200 with a single port. Used DF1 for programming, and toggle to ASCII for barcode printing and barcode scanning.

I put a ACB (ASCII Clear Buffer) command in the ladder, and once that rung scanned, ... WE HAVE A BRICK. The intent was to effect the port in the ASCII mode, but it also freezes the DFI mode.

I tried shorting the 24vdc supply, (100 times) I tried throwing severely dirty AC at the line power of the unit, to induce a fault. (Frickin AB, could NOT get the unit to FAULT). The Micrologix just sat there, in the RUN mode (green light), with a happy face.

I was mad at myself, but only for a short duration. Got a new controller in short order, and project online.

Buy new, and get busy living.

Armed with Ken Roach's post we dove back into it and got it working. Ken, were you talking about the 24v pins on the terminal board inside? That's the only place I saw 24vdc pins.

Anyhow were deleted all DF1 drivers, made sure Linx Enterprise wasn't running in the background, created a new DF1 driver with settings of 9600, SLC-CH0/Micro, set the node address, half duplex and bingo. Online and made my changes. I swear we had tried that before so I don't know if taking it apart and removing the ribbon cables disconected the battery long enough to reset something or what but it's back baby!


Thanks for all the help,

Douglas

The 120VAC powered models of the MicroLogix 1000 that have DC Inputs provide a low-power "User Power" terminals on the left side of the upper terminal block. They're marked "+ 24V - User Power".

The models with AC I/O do not have this feature; the terminals are marked "Not Used".

This is the same +24VDC power as is on Pins 1 and 8 of the Channel 0 serial port connector, meant to power comms accessories.

Glad you got the comms port connected and working. I did that a lot in 1998-99 when the DF1 Half Duplex feature had just been released.

So in my continuing effort to be the biggest idiot I can be...

We finally were called to go install this system. Everything was going along fine with setting up my 3 slave node system to talk to the master. Until I got to the last one. I had chose node addresses of 10 for Master, and 20, 30 , 40 respectively. I downloaded to the ML1000 and comms went away. No problem right? I just need to delete the old driver and set the new one to the current node address and half duplex right? But wait! RSLinx only allows the node to be set to 31 and I just dl'd a node address of 40 into the plc. ****!! So yeah, now I can't talk to this ML1000 anymore. I'm supposed to be back out to finish up on Tuesday but I can't talk to this node. Anyone know any tricks for recovering from THIS screwup? I appreciate any help or condolences given.

Kraken Fan #69

Wait, which driver are you using in RSLinx Classic ?

I don't know of any restriction in the node numbers you can enter for the polling list in the DF1 Polling Master driver.

If you have the Device Type set for "1747-KE/KF3" in the DF1 Devices driver (which does technically have a Half Duplex option) then it will only browse the DH485 node numbers 0-31. So I suppose that's what you have been using. I didn't know that would work at all with a DF1 Half Duplex Slave MicroLogix 1000.

Try setting the Device Type to in the DF1 driver to "1770-KF2/1785-KE" to see if you can browse the MicroLogix 1000.

RS232-DF1 driver with SLC/Micro/Panelview selected. Node address only allows up to 31. That's the driver I had been using for all the others. I had no luck with either the KF2 or KF3 drivers.

On a whim I noticed that the KF2 driver is Octal so I set it to 50 (Octal for 40) half duplex and Autoconfig was successful! Then a window pops up and says select an address between 0-31 and it is reset to Binary. So close! it will not "accept" the driver until I set the node 31 or lower at which poit it does not browse to the plc and see it any longer.

Kraken Fan #69

I'm confused.

The Node Number you configure in the "RS232-DF1 Devices" driver is for RSLinx itself, not for the controller you're connecting to.

I've never figured out why "Half Duplex" was added to that driver. Maybe this is the reason, because you can connect to a single DF1 Half Duplex device in a point-to-point manner. This would work essentially by coincidence.

Have you tried configuring the DF1 Polling Master driver and putting Node 40 into the Poll List ? As I said before, that driver is tricky, but it might be the only thing you have to go with right now.

That's what I told my boss when he helped set it up! He just said "well, just try it and see what happens." with that knowing smile and it worked to bring the 1000 back from the dead with my first error in this thread. It doesn't make sense to me either. Could it have to do with it being set up Half Duplex Master/Slave? Regardless, if I set the station address to say 3 it doesn't see the plc. The nodes that I have gotten online with I have to set the station address to match the node set in the DF2 Channel Configuration in RS Logix 500. I'm so confused. haha

Kraken Fan #69

The Full/Half duplex option wasn't always in that driver. They probably added it as a workaround for how hard the Polling Driver was to create, edit, and run.

My best suggestion is that you try the DF1 Polling Master driver, or attempt one of the other methods of passing through a DF1 Master controller.

I have tried several iterations of drivers and settings including the Master Polling and the DF-1 Slave drivers. I'm at a loss. IT looks like I may have finally killed this thing. Seems crazy that the software allows the setting of an address that it cannot be configured for to be downloaded. Well we tried and I sincerely appreciate all the help i trying!

Anybody want to buy a slightly used ML1000? Powers up and lights come on. Sold as is. LOL Sounds about like all those E-Bay ads doesn't it? I"ll have to make this a bookend or paperweight as a reminder.


Kraken Fan #69