compact logix communications

We purchased a PLC trainer and the plc that is used on it is a Compact Logix.
Here is the PLC information:
1769-L16ER-BB1B
There was a sticker on the front of the PLC that said: This Series B controller requires firmware version 20(20.014 and later) Verify that you are using compatible software firmware version. Failure to do so will result in an inability to program the controller.

We are using the latest version of RSLogix Studio 5000 software. I am now what what I should be looking at to make sure we have the correct firmware.

When we configure an ethernet driver and put in the IP address that is listed on the PLC trainer, the RSLinx software can not communicate with the PLC.

Does anyone have any ideas of things that I can look at. I have a ethernet cable going from the laptop to the compact Logix plc

Basics, same subnet?

If you have not set the IP address in the PLC you will not be able to communicate to the PLC.... the L16ER has a USB port, I would use the USB port until you have the IP address set.

Open RSlogix Studio and click on help to see what version you are using, if you have the newest then you should be 33? so you need to flash it to 33

Did the trainer come with any instructions? and should of came with a sample program loaded... if yes than it has been flashed but you need to make sure its flashed to your version

It came in with the IP address set. I will find out what version the PLC is. If it doesnt match our software version, how do I go about flashing it with the correct version.

fredjohns said:

It came in with the IP address set. I will find out what version the PLC is. If it doesnt match our software version, how do I go about flashing it with the correct version.

Click to expand...

To flash it to the correct version, use Controlflash software. See pg 59 in this manual:

https://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/qs/cfp-qs001_-en-e.pdf


Also, if you try to download a RSLogix5000 program to the PLC and the firmware does not match, you will get a popup window asking you if you want to update the firmware/flash it.

Right now when I try to set up the Ethernet driver so I can communicate with the PLC, it gives me a ? over the IP address when i configure the driver. The way it sounds is that this is becuase the software is a different version then the PLC. When I get back to work on Monday I will make sure the PLC has the same version as our software and try again.

Thanks for all your help so far on this.

It sounds to me like you have a problem in RSLinx. In Linx make sure you have a driver setup to talk a on the same subnet as your trainer. You can also manually add the IP address of the trainer to save yourself some search time.


Bubba.

Please post the exact IP address of the PLC as well as the IP address and mask of your laptop Ethernet port. Is your laptop set to with a static IP address?

At a command prompt ping the PLC IP address, if you can't ping it Linx can't reach it either.

fredjohns said:

how do I go about flashing it with the correct version.

Click to expand...

Here is a video we made to flash a L32e and it may help you

http://youtu.be/FkO2BBuuwJw

Not sure what the IP address is for the laptop. Right now laptop is not connect to the network. We havent tried anything with Studio 5000 yet, just have been trying to connect with RSLinx Classic.

The manual that came with the trainer had us go into Bootp-DHCP Server and set the Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0 and then wait for the ethernet address to update and then double click on the ENET address when it came up. The ENET address is on the front of the Compact Logix PLC alone with the PLC IP Address which is 192.168.1.30 Once we double click on tghe ENET address we then entered the IP Address, clicked ok and then in the relation list Disable Bootp/dhcp

This is new to me. I had used the RSLogix500 for years and never had to do anything like this.

Once we had the above items complete we then added a driver which was the ethernet devices and then added the IP address again. Once that driver was running, we closed the configure driver section.

When we looked for the IP address under the ethernet driver, it had a yellow question mark over it.

We have not tried anytyhing with studio 5000 yet, everything has been done with RSLinx Classic. We were told that the firmware installed in the compact Logix PLC is version 30.011 Is there a special version of RSLinx Classic we need to use to communicate with the PLC

If anyone has any suggestions, i am all ears.

What you did so far sounds correct. The only thing is, it is important to know the IP address of the laptop. This could be the reason why you can't get this working. The IP address of the laptop must be set to Static, and it must be 192.168.1.xxx, since your PLC IP address is 192.168.1.30. For example, you can set your laptop IP to 192.168.1.1. Subnet must be 255.255.255.0 to match the PLC. If you're not sure how to set your laptop IP, there is lots of info you can find online. Here is one link that may help:

https://kb.netgear.com/27476/How-do-I-set-a-static-IP-address-in-Windows

I set the laptop IP address to 192.168.1.2 and then tried again.
View attachment plc picture.jpg

On the driver screen I had the following:
AB_ETHIP-1 Ethernet
192.168.1.2 Factory Talk Linx, Desktop
Backplane, 1789-A17A Virtual Chassis


On the compact logic there is also a USB connector on the front of it. When I plug a USB cable into the PLC and into the laptop, I can see the PLC on the laptop device manager but it says there is no driver installed for it

Not sure if any of this helps you help me but I really do appreciate all your help so far

Your picture just shows up as a solid black screen for me?

If you want to try to connect over USB, this thread may help:

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=110102

From everything i read the driver for the USB should show up automatically but i dont get anything. I can see on the device manager that the PLC shows up but there is no driver for it. If the USB driver isnt showing up is there something I need to do.

Not sure why the picture doesnt show up, but I did type out the information that shows up on the screen when looking at RS Linx