Experience with Kinco HMIs and LCD ghosting?

Has anyone used the Kinco HMIs (Anaheim Automation)? I just got a MT4532TE and uploaded a small test program. I've had it running for about 3 days, with the backlight set to go OFF after 10 minutes. Today, I uploaded a different program, which removed some of the on-screen components of the previous one. Now I can see "ghosted" patterns where some of the previous components existed. Apparently the screen timeout doesn't turn off the LCD panel itself, so the pattern gets burned in.

I just noticed that they have another option, Screen Saver, which lets you show a different screen for this purpose, but I certainly wouldn't have assumed such ghosting would happen in only a couple of days.

Does any one else have similar experience with ghosted images, and any suggestions to get rid of the ghost image lines? I assume this can be prevented by using the "screen saver" feature to display either a white or black screen when not in use. I guess this indicates a very cheap LCD panel.

Any thoughts/suggestions appreciated.

One thing to try, you kind have already mentioned it, is alternate a white then black screen with the backlight off for a time period close to the time it took for the burn-in.

Thanks I will give that a try.

I am anxious to get an impression of these HMI's. The price can't be beat, but perhaps we are finding out why... I hope not. If nothing else, perhaps it will pressure some of the existing manufacturers to reconsider the current pricing I know they are coming down all the time, as more LCD screens are being used in high-volume consumer products.

Hi Gene, I agree with you about the price. I have been working with this unit for several days now, and so far I'm fairly pleased. I set up a screen saver which alternates between black and white, even when the backlight is off, and the ghosted images are almost invisible now (after running the black/white alternating pattern for about 24 hours).

The software is clunky, but it has a reasonable feature set. I'm able to create my own vector graphics with different "states", connect to an AutomationDirect CLICK PLC (Modbus/TCP) and read/write registers.

Not sure yet about the long-term quality and resilience of this unit, but I guess we'll see. Tech support is not great. I called Anaheim Automation yesterday and requested a tech. I got his voicemail but have not received a callback yet.

Thanks!

AA has been around a while, I don't know much about their products or people, but I have run into them from time-to-time over the years. I assume they are decent, since they are still around.

Interested in learning about your KINCO hmi experiences. I can only find 2 reviews on amazon, and they are clearly spoofed. Wanting to automate some stuff at home without using AB licenses.

@KingPresident I am pretty pleased with it so far. I am building a control panel for a pumping station, and have multiple screens with about 100 tags. It works very smoothly. After doing the black/white alternation I mentioned above, the screen doesn't ghost anymore. If you need it, I can share the code/procedure for setting this up.

Here are my complaints so far:
- Manual is Chenglish, but decipherable with some effort.
- If you enter an invalid Modbus address for a tag, you don't get an error - instead the Modbus comms freeze up (you get all zeros), and soon you get a PLC Timeout error. Then you have to go searching for the offending tag.
- Compilation takes a long time, and needs to happen every time before downloading.
- Anaheim Automation's "tech support department" is useless, but so far I've been able to figure out the issues I've encountered without their help (partly thanks to you guys at this forum!).
- Modbus addressing is a bit tricky, but if you have a PLC like the CLICK, the Modbus addresses are displayed right in the Address Picker, so it's basically copy/paste.


Positives:
- VNC access - view and control the panel screen from anywhere with a VNC viewer. Makes debugging and remote support much easier.
- Price Price Price Price Price!
- Supports both AB protocols (Etnernet/IP and the SLC/5 protocol) as well as Modbus and many others.
- Can connect to multiple PLCs simultaneously. In this way it can be used as a very cheap Modbus-to-AB bridge. (Another project I have in the works.)
- I don't think it's any harder to program than the older PanelView units.

I also dabble in home automation, and even with some rough edges, it gives us as hobbyists an option that was previously out of our grasp. For that reason, I'm a fan. While the quality is not super high, it's "good enough" for many applications. I suppose time will tell how durable it is.

If I can answer any questions from my experience, I'm happy to do so.

Best,
Ryan

What are your costs, I have been using the Weinview MT series, They don't cost much and use Easybuilder Pro software that is free. Some of the older ones used EB8000 (free also) and they are easy to change software programs between the 2 also easy to change a Maple Systems EB5000 program to replace with a Weinview
Weinview manufactures them for both Maple Systems and Weintek
The software package makes it easy to configure what PLC and comms used and you can talk to multiple PLC's from one screen. 10" for around $350 usd

@roxusa the Kinco KNC-HMI-MT4532TE is $287 direct from Anaheim, and also available on Amazon Prime for the same price. It's 10.1", 1024x600 resolution with Ethernet and the dev software is free (Kinco HMIWare).

I looked at Weintek and Maple, as well as AutomationDirect's C-More and EZ Automation's EZTouch when considering different units, but I think I liked the software for the Kinco better, or maybe it had more features... I forget. I find it very helpful to download and test the development software first, as it gives a really good representation of the unit's capabilities before purchasing. That's one reason I try to steer clear of HMIs that don't offer free development software - you really don't know what you're getting until you pay for everything, then it's sometimes a real headache to return things.

I ll have to check out their software sounds good and I see that model on E-bay for $179
NIB, never dealt with that seller but all the Weinviews I get from E-bay have been great

@ryangriggs. I am working on a project with a AD Click PLC and a Kinco HMI somewhat like yours. It has been painful to get the to to communicate. Is there a way you can share your PLC program to see what you did to make them play together?

@KLaugh, hi and welcome to the forum.


To clarify, my PLC program does not actively communicate with the Kinco HMI. Instead, I configured the Kinco HMI to connect via Modbus/TCP to the PLC, so that the HMI is acting as the Master/Client and initiating all communications.


It was quite easy to set up, but the Modbus addressing can be tricky. You have to look up the Modbus addresses in the CLICK software Tag Viewer.


Here's how I did it:

1. Build my PLC program and download to the Click.
2. Note the Click IP address.
3. In the Click software, go into Address Picker (CTRL-T) and turn on "Display MODBUS Address" checkbox and "MODBUS 984 Addressing" option. Note the Modbus address of each register you want to access from the HMI, and also note the type of register (bit, word, dword, etc).
4. Create your project in the Kinco HMI software and set up the network connection:
   1. In the Construct window, drag and drop the correct Kinco HMI and also a Modbus TCP Slave device onto the screen.
   2. Next, drag and drop the Ethernet Connector and add the HMI and PLC to the list, using their appropriate IP addresses.
      Make sure to set the Kinco HMI's Comm Protocol to "Modbus TCP" or your connection won't work!
   3. You should now see the Kinco HMI and Modbus TCP Slave connected to the Ethernet backbone.
5. Right-click on your HMI and choose Edit. This takes you to the HMI Edit window where you can create your HMI.
6. Add each tag from your PLC:
   1. Go to the Option(O) menu and choose Address Tag(A). The Address Tag window opens.
   2. Add a new tag for each tag on your list:
      Give the tag a name
      Choose HMI0
      Choose PLC number 0 (If you don't see PLC #0, then you didn't set the Kinco HMI Protocol to Modbus TCP. Go back to the Construct window, click the Ethernet line (left-side) and fix this.)
      Set the data type to "word" for any data types other than "bit".
      For Word data types, set the address type to "4X"
      For Bit data types, set the address type to "0X"
      In the address box, type the full modbus 984 address you noted previously.
      Repeat for each tag you want to create.
7. Create Bit State Setting/Bit State Lamp elements for bit tags, and Number Input/Number Display elements for numeric data types, or create graphs/etc. Be sure to set the data type appropriately inside the element. For example, to access a DD register, you need to set the data type to DWORD in the Numeric Data tab of the element.

Hopefully this helps. Feel free to ask any questions.
Good Luck!
Ryan

Ryan, The one thing different is that I am using RS485 with modbus. I don't think that should make a difference.

If I can get 1 bit to feed to the HMI then it should be easy from there.

@ryangriggs. I have the HMI communicating with the Click PLC and can see bit states change. The problem I am having now is with Counters and number registers. I have the HMI set up to word data type 4X but the address only allows me to enter 5 digits. All of the MODBUS addresses for counters are 6 digit. What am I doing wrong?