PanelView 550 troubles

I found an old install disc for PB32 Ver 3.82.01 with the serial number, I have it and RSLinx installed on the laptop now.

It has the following ports: 15 pin D-Sub, Ethernet, and a few USBs.

Will I be able to connect my PV550s (CAT 2711-T5A16L1) to this laptop? Does anyone have some documentation that would outline how I make the connection?

Thank you everyone for your insight so far!

I have made a connection between my PV550 and the laptop using adaptors MJ-10-22-CS25 and UTS1009B to get from the 9-pin RS-232 DF1 to USB.

In PB32 I select "upload from panel" on startup and it recognizes that something is plugged in. When I initiate the upload it is unable to identify operator terminal, giving error 2018 at first and error 2416 when I retry. Port mode is set to Printing Disabled.

What is RSLinx for? When I run the program it doesn't even open, the RSLinx Launch Control Panel will open and say "RSLinx isn't running" but the start button doesn't do anything.

The laptop is running Windows 7 Pro.

For the PC side you will need a USB to Serial adaptor that RSLinx will use to communicate to the PV. The serial cable can be a 9pin d-sub "straight though" or AB 2711-NC13 or 2706-NC13. The file transfer utility that PB32 installed is WINPFT, you will use this to connect your PC to the PV.

WINPFT manual
https://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/td/2711-td006_-en-p.pdf

zk0 said:

I have made a connection between my PV550 and the laptop using adaptors MJ-10-22-CS25 and UTS1009B to get from the 9-pin RS-232 DF1 to USB.

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What is the purpose of the MJ-10-22-CS25? All you need is a usb-to-serial adapter and a straight serial cable (and gender changers as necessary).

What is RSLinx for? When I run the program it doesn't even open, the RSLinx Launch Control Panel will open and say "RSLinx isn't running" but the start button doesn't do anything.

Click to expand...

RSLinx is Rockwell's software that handles drivers &c for communicating with AB products (mostly legacy stuff now, newer products instead use FactoryTalk Linx aka RSLinx Enterprise)

Check whether RSLinx is running as a service, if it is then iirc it won't open as an application. Also try running it as administrator.

Once you have RSLinx started, you'll need to create the driver within the actual app. The driver you want is 'RS-232 DF1 devices'. You'll need to select the appropriate Comm Port and set the device type as 'SLC-CH0/Micro/PanelView'. Once the Comm Port is set correctly and you are physically connected you can try running the autoconfigure, but some USB adapters have issues with it in which case you should set it up manually to correspond to the settings in the PanelView.

Once RSLinx can see the PanelView, you can then simply choose RSLinx Network as the connection method in PanelBuilder32 and select the HMI to upload/download.


PanelBuilder32 does offer DF1 Point-to-Point as a method of connection, but I have not had good luck with it and have found RSLinx more reliable.

You can use

The MJ-10-22-CS25 is acting as my straight serial cable, essentially telephone cable with a 9 pin adaptor on either end.

I kept having trouble getting RSLinx to run for me. Eventually I realized it was likely an older version, I was able to download updated versions of PB32 and RSLinx from Rockwell's website using the serial number that came with my old install CD.

At that point I was still unable to start RSLinx with it exhibiting the same behavior. However, I decided to try PB32 again and this time it worked. With my panel plugged in, I selected "upload from panel" on the startup page, confirmed the communication settings, and was able to upload a file onto my computer. Confirming my communication settings was likely the problem from the beginning, rather than the version, but it's too late for me to determine now. I am not sure if PB32 calls RSLinx on its own, but I did not need to open it at all.

Now I will be attempting to repeat the upload process with the bad panel to get the file I need off of it, then attempting to download it onto the replacement panel. I will update with my results.

No luck.

In configuration mode, the Comm Setup screens are not the same between the two PV550s I am working with. I really can't imagine why this would be the case if they have the same model number and identical terminal info, the only evident difference being the file that is present.

I have been unable to replicate my earlier successful upload, looks like I need to get RSLinx working.

zk0 said:

No luck.

In configuration mode, the Comm Setup screens are not the same between the two PV550s I am working with.

Click to expand...

Just like on the CPU's DF-1 channel setup the settings can be changed as needed. Even the BAUD of DH-485 can be changed if an unusual need exists.



I just had a press today with a 5/04 that had a PanelMate HMI on the DH485 and an old modem on the RS-232 with settings I have never seen used before: 38400 BAUD, Full Duplex Modem & BCC error correction (I have never seen BCC before on a SLC, only PLC 5's)

Have been spending a fair bit of time messing with RSLinx and PB32, never was able to make the connection I needed to. Not sure if there are some default settings that might provide better results.

The PV550 I was able to make a successful connection to has what seems to be a more updated version of the Comm Setup screen. The PV550 I am trying to replace has much less on its Comm Setup. Both of them have the same Print Setup, but on the bad one I can not disable printing. I will attach pictures highlighting this, as well as of my software configuration.

I would like to replace the bad panel with the nice shiny one, but I may have to settle for replacing it with one that is nearly as worn but has the correct file already running on it.

The picture called CommsSetup2 is not a T5A16L1.
Are you sure of the part number as the DH-485 part numbers are T5A2L1 or T5A3L1.

Make sure the MJ-10-22-CS25 is actually a straight through cable. Check with a mulitmeter if it is possible. At the bottom of this document, the pinout suggests that pins 2 and 3 are swapped, which is typical of a null modem cable. That will not work with the PanelView, at least it shouldn't. What you need is a straight through cable like plvlce suggested earlier. Pin 1 to pin 1, pin 2 to pin 2, etc. As a sanity check, I took apart the cable that I made for our PanelViews years ago, and verified that it is in fact wired this way.

I used it two days ago to update a PanelView 1000, and I was able to auto-configure in RSLinx even using a Virtual Machine serial port.

Alan_505 is right about the serial numbers as well. I have received rebuilt units with the wrong covers put back on them. It is especially frustrating when you order a Remote I/O panelView and receive a DH+ PanelView with the RIO cover on it since they look identical.

I was thinking it must be mislabeled.
I will need to look into getting an actual straight through cable, as well as a computer with a serial port.

Thank you all again for your insight, it has been much appreciated.

The physical serial port isn't as important. I use this USB to RS232 on every serial device in our plant and it has not let me down yet (8 years and counting). https://www.tripplite.com/keyspan-high-speed-usb-to-serial-adapter~USA19HS As far as the cable is concerned, you can make your own simply enough. There are numerous DB9 connectors available in many different styles. https://www.amazon.com/db9-connectors/s?k=db9+connectors Here are some examples, just make sure that both ends are female.

I don't know if it is still an issue or not, but any version of RSLinx v4.00 and higher no longer supports the PanelView Classic. Read through this thread to see if any of this applies to your situation as well. https://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=115100

I mentioned the possibility of a mislabeled rebuilt Panelview as early as post #2 It would certainly explain the errors when transferring via memory card -- a file for a DF1 model will be incorrect for a DH485 model and would be expected to give exactly that error.

And of course, even if you are successful in converting the file for the other model and loading it, you then face the challenge of getting the DH485 model talking to something currently set up for DF1 (could be easy, could be hard... can't say without knowing what's on the other end of the cable).

Having the correct cabling is good, but I would recommend acquiring a method of reading/writing the memory card from a PC. I use CF cards (much easier to get hold of), with a PCMCIA adapter for plugging into the Panelviews and a USB to CF adapter for plugging into the PC.

For cabling I use the exact same USB to Serial adapter MikeyN mentioned, and while I keep a cheap standard serial cable with a gender changer for general use, in a pinch I have built my own with 3-wire cable and a couple DB9 connectors.

Note that if you actually expect to use the model with DH485 communication then instead of a standard USB to serial adapter you'll instead need a 1747-UIC adapter.

MikeyN said:

I don't know if it is still an issue or not, but any version of RSLinx v4.00 and higher no longer supports the PanelView Classic. Read through this thread to see if any of this applies to your situation as well. https://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=115100

Click to expand...

Per post 42 in that thread, it looks like as of August 2020 the latest RSLinx had corrected the issue. Still definitely worth being aware of, given the likelihood that a version of RSLinx packaged with other software will not be fully up to date.

zk0 said:

I was thinking it must be mislabeled.

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I had a customer with a cabinet full of old PanelView's.


On the ones that died they took off & kept the back covers and if one needed a new back cover just grabbed one and replaced it - not caring to write the original model # or cross out the wrong one.

i think that there was a firmware revision with 4.46, it's been a long tie since i used panelbuilder.
james