PLC5 and Panelview Plus

Hello,
We have been looking into adding a Panelview Plus to a machine being controlled by a PLC5/40c. I have the panelview as well as the 2711P-RN6 adapter(Data Highway). I was hoping to get some information on the configuration of the Panelview as well as the channel on the processor. I am not very strong with PLC5s and would appreciate any assistance. thanks

Are there any other devices on the DH+ channel ? If there are, you'll have to determine their addresses and select an unused one for the PanelView Plus.

You'll be configuring the runtime tab of the RSLinx Enterprise configuration only; because you have no 2711P-RN6 in your development computer, you can't use the online tag browse or test runtime features of FactoryTalk View.

I like to group together my HMI data registers for effiiency; I like to create separate files for Integer, Binary, and Floating-Point data exchange with the PanelView. The good old PCCC protocol used over DH+ to a PLC-5 is good at optimizing data table reads and writes in the same data file, but has very little ability to optimize them if they're in separate data files.

DH+ configuration is pretty simple; all you need to specify if the DH+ Node Number and the network speed.

The RSLinx Enterprise configuration you perform inside FactoryTalk View Studio contains the whole configuration for the PV+; both the Node Number and the Data Rate.

In the PLC-5, the Node Number should be set in the RSLogix 5 program's channel configuration, but the data rate for Channel 1A is set by DIP switches on the controller if your PLC-5 supports 240.4 kb/s. PLC-5 Enhanced and Ethernet controllers with Series D or later firmware had that, so I think that a PLC-5C will also have that feature. Check the hardware user manual to be sure, as my configuration knowledge on the PLC-5 hasn't been off the dusty shelf in a long time.

The simplest network would be with the PV+ at Node 2 and the PLC-5 at Node 1.

You can run DH+ all day long at 57.6 kb/s with 150 ohm terminating resistors. If your DH+ cable is under 2,500 feet and your hardware supports the higher data rate, you can try 230.4 kb/s and 82 ohm terminators.

Ken thanks for your reply. I have the controller set to use Ch2A. The channel is set at 57.6k and the Node addressis 1. In the PV+ I am configuring the Serial-DF1 driver. The configuration is set as Decice=PLC5, baud=57.6, and the com port is 2. Is the com port in this case the Node? Right now I have a flashing green light on the controller with nothing flashing on the 2711p.

Are you sure that you have PLC5/40c ?
This is a old Controlnet PLC and channel 2A is you ControlNet port

I suspect that you may have PLC5/40 series "C" and number above was just a typo

Contr Conn, you are right. I apologize for the confusion to all. I have a 1785-L40B, PLC5/40. There is a C on the label and I assume that is the version? It is not a Cnet card. Ch2 A is for Data Highway. Im confused on the setup in the PV+. I am not sure if the 2711p is being seen. I am also confused about configuring the driver in the PV+. The options are virtual backplane, ethernet, and serial. I am using DH+. I am trying to use the AB literature with not much success.

The PLC-5 is clear now; you have an older Series C hardware version of the PLC-5/40. Channel 2B is purely software configured, and on that older hardware it only supports 57.6 kb/s, so your Node 1 configuration inside RSLogix 5 is all set for that DH+ channel.

Your configuration for the PanelView Plus will be done entirely in FactoryTalk View Studio on your development computer. There's nothing you can set up on the terminal itself.

Step-by-step instructions, based on my recollection and a step-through on my copy of FTView:

1. In the project tree of FTView Studio, open the RSLinx Enterprise configuration and double-click on "Communication Setup" to open the RSLinx Enterprise configuration window.

2. Select the Runtime(Target) tab. You'll see the default backplane and Ethernet drivers already present.

3. Click on the very top item with the computer icon, labeled "RSLinx Enterprise, RSLinx Enterprise". Right-click and select Add Driver.

4. Select DH+ (1784-PKTX, 2711P-RN6, 2711P-RN8) and click OK

5. You can leave the driver name as "DH+" or change it.

6. For the Station Number, I would select "2". The PLC-5 will be Node 1 an the PanelView Plus will be Node 2.

7. The Jumper ID will be zero. While the 2711P-RN6 is almost identical to the 1784-PKTX, you can't install more than one so there's no need to identify them with onboard jumpers.

8. The Baud Rate will be 57600.

9. Click Apply, then OK. You will see that there's now a DH+ driver in the driver list.

10. Right-click on that DH+ driver and select "Add Device".

11. In the selection box, expand the PLC-5 Family Processors folder and select the "1785-L40B, 1785-L40B PLC 5" item and click OK.

12. In the Device Properties window, you can leave the name at the default and select the DH+ node address for the PLC-5 controller. Since you set up the PLC-5 controller's Channel 2A for Node 1, select "1" for the Address. Click Apply, then OK.

13. Now let's create the Shortcut and link it to the PLC-5. On the left "Device Shortcuts" pane of the RSLinx Enterprise configuration window, click the "Add" button to create a new Shortcut. Give it a name like "MyPLC5".

14. Leave that new shortcut highlighted, and click on the PLC-5 controller on the right side of the window so that both the Shortcut and the PLC are highlighted.

15. Click the "Apply" button in the Device Shortcuts pane. The software will bring up a dialog showing you the new Path that you're applying to that Shortcut. Click "Yes" to apply the changes.

Take a step back. Admire your handiwork. Note that the Shortcut and the PLC are both highlighted in gray and the Apply button is grayed out.

When you create your FactoryTalk View program, this "My_PLC5" will be the shortcut you reference in all of your direct reference tags and the one that will be used by HMI Database tags (if you use those) that refer to a PLC data register.

If you already have a project that's been created with a shortcut name, go look for that name in square brackets in the Connections of the objects. Addresses will look like

::[My_PLC5]N10:0

If you already have a shortcut in your project, of course you need to use that shortcut name instead of the "My_PLC5" name I pulled out of the ether.