using 6200 software with win2000

Join Date
Mar 2004
Posts
60
Hello:
Are there anyone out there that tried this combination and has problems?
We've recently replace an old computer that had win 95 with 6200 software with a new computer running on win 2000, what we notice is not only we periodically lose the connection, but have the tendency to freeze up windows.
Does anyone know how to get around this problem or must we spend $5000 to buy RS logix 5?
Thanks
George
 
6200-PLC5 uses direct DOS-mode hardware access that Windows NT, 2000, and XP don't support well. 6200-PLC5 was made to run on, well, DOS !

The last release (about six years ago) of 6200-PLC5 was, I think, version 5.32 and allowed you to use RSLinx as your communication driver. It was slower than the native mode, but it worked in Windows NT and allowed you to use the 1784-PCMK for DH+.

RSLogix 5 Standard software list price is about $3470, George. You'd have to buy the Professional bundle (which does a lot more than 6200 did) to get up to the price you're stating.

It's not cheap, but it's what you need to use modern PC's with PLC-5 controllers.
 
Thanks for your reply Ken:
We were using serial communication with the old computer and from what you are saying, we can try to buy pcmk card for the new win 2000 computer and use DH+ with the 6200 software? BTW, the price is $5000 CAD.
George
 
Being of the mind that "if it ain't broke, why fix it?", I keep an old Toshiba Techra laptop with Win95 around just to run old DOS-based software packages. (I just reloaded Modsoft this morning to look at some old programs.) Sure, it weighs a ton, has a bad spot in the corner of the display, but it still runs our old PLC-2 ICOM software when we need it.

Why not pick up an old used Win95 machine to use for your 6200 software if that will let you support your existing programs? Spend the money you save on a nice new office chair or something...
 
georgeofthejungle02 said:
We were using serial communication with the old computer and from what you are saying, we can try to buy pcmk card for the new win 2000 computer and use DH+ with the 6200 software? BTW, the price is $5000 CAD.

RSLinx will work with ANY of the selectable drivers, including DF1. So there is no requirement to purchase a PCMK card, if the max baudrate of 19200 is enough for you.
(To use RSLinx with 6200 would require you to upgrade anyway if you dont have the latest version).

To use the native PCMK drivers in 6200 under Win 2000 will NOT work.

The easiest and cheapest is to have an old spare Win 95/98 PC with the 6200 software of your current version.

Alternatively use dual boot on your Win 2000 PC so you can load Win 95 when 6200 is needed. But chances are rising that new PC hardware will not work with old DOS software (no serial port maybe ?). It can require some effort to get it to work.

Or, fan out the dough for RSLogix5.
 
Last edited:
You may well discover that 6200 to DH+ via RSLinx offers no speed improvement over your current direct serial connection on DOS. The only advantage would be single-point access to a network of PLC5's.

And if you're using any CAR's, RSLogix5 is a step backwards.
 
On a similar note;

The plant I am currently working at has one lone PLC 5-15 that has been around for years and is currently controlling its process just fine.

The problem I have is that we are using old 6200 series software and the technicians we have been hiring as of late don't know a thing about DOS and are having problems troubleshooting this thing. We have several Slc's with logix 500 and the guys are familiar with it.

I was thinking about asking my company to issue a public offering of a few thousand shares so that we could afford to purchase RSLOGIX5. ;)

My question:
Can I just upload the program from the processor into logix5 and then manually enter all of the tags and rung descriptions?

thanks in advance, sorry for the sarcasm.
 
My question:
Can I just upload the program from the processor into logix5 and then manually enter all of the tags and rung descriptions?
You could, but why not save yourself some time and effort and just import the 6200 files directly into RSLogix5.
 
allscott -

Logix5 is *supposed* to be able to open a 6200 (or AI) program and save it as a Logix5 project. I just tried it with the only two 6200 files I can find in our archives, and it could not. (At least I think they are 6200 files.)

The database import/export feature of all of the Logix packages is one of the things they've done right. Export one of your existing programs' comments to a .csv file, and then open in Excel or a text editor, and you'll quickly see how the comments are formatted. (From the menu bar, Tools\Database\ASCII Export) Poke about in your 6200 files and you may find some text files that you can massage into the import format. Even if you end up manually retyping your comments, doing them in Excel and importing them is way quicker than using Logix' awful database editor.
 
Hi allscott
I actually have written a simple to understand document to help
electricians put forces using 6200. That is the main thing they need to know anyways.
The file is 20 MB though (pictures/screen captures).
But if you are interested, I can send them to you.
 
Logix5 is *supposed* to be able to open a 6200 (or AI) program and save it as a Logix5 project. I just tried it with the only two 6200 files I can find in our archives, and it could not. (At least I think they are 6200 files.)
Just for the record - I have successfully imported 6200-PLC5 files into RSLogix5 with no hassles, complete with descriptions.
 

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