1771-IFE For Dummies

Does anyone know of a decent alternate source of information on the 1771-IFE other than the user manual?

I hate to call myself a dummy, I prefer "knowledge challenged", and the manual could take awhile to figure out.

Vetteboy

Are you looking for programming information? If you are and are using RSLogix 5 step through an offline configuration of the module. It is pretty intuitive and easy to configure when using RSLogix 5.

Vetteboy

As I remember, Allen-Bradley has a floppy demo disk that gives example setup and configuration for all their modules. If I can locate more detailed info I will post it.

Roger

Any extra info over and above what the manual has, or more explicit detail would be great. We had a card "mysteriously" change all it's maximum scaling to 4095 (16533) and was wreaking havok first thing yesterday morning.

Vetteboy

I've seen this one before

Vetteboy,

This COULD be your problem:

Be aware that when a "new" programming station tries to access the Configuration Screen for the IFE card - (usually this is done through the "I/O Configuration" icon or by clicking "setup screen" on one of the block transfers) - a small dialog box opens which says:

Does configuration data already exist in the Data Table for this module? (Answering no will result in default config data being written) “Yes” button - “No” button

Click to expand...

I highly recommend that you ALWAYS - I repeat ALWAYS - respond “Yes” to this question. (Just say “Yes”). Why? Well, suppose that some engineer has spent a significant amount of time coming up with the correct scaling values, Data Format, etc. and that these values have already been loaded into the processor’s data tables. Then someone (either you or another technician) stumbles into this screen and incorrectly presses the “No” button. Oops - there go all of the correct values right out the window - they have now been replaced by “default” values. And since “4095” (which is 16533 in Hex/BCD format) IS the default value for the “Raw Max” scaling - this sounds a LOT like what I think you are describing in your most recent post. Note to all readers: If this “rats-I-pushed-the-No-button” situation ever happens to you, there is still a chance that you might catch your error and gracefully exit the module configuration screen without actually “saving” the bogus data to the actual Data Tables - but if someone has made the first mistake then I doubt that they’re going to have enough presence of mind to grasp this last dangling lifeline. The common instinct when asked “Do you want to save?” is to say “Yes - I do” - in this case that would be the wrong answer.

Continuing on: Just suppose that you were to answer “Yes” as I’ve suggested above - but the configuration data does NOT already exist in the Data Tables. Question: Will that “incorrect yes answer” actually “hurt” anything? Answer: No. Worst case scenario - you’ll just have to type in the default values yourself - and that’s not something which I would consider to be a particularly difficult task.

Another possible (but HIGHLY unlikely) cause for your problem: Someone went back into the data tables and wrote in the wrong values. Basic idea: Many technicians think that the only way to alter the configuration settings for the IFE card is to make changes on the module’s I/O configuration screen. This is NOT true. Just changing the values right on the data tables will actually change the values on the configuration screen. Big picture: The I/O configuration screen is just “window dressing” which displays the VALUES ON THE DATA TABLES in a nice spreadsheet type format. Since you’ve specifically mentioned the value 16533 (which is Hex/BCD format for 4095) then I sincerely doubt that this “misdirected typing” scenario is related to your particular problem - I’m just mentioning it here for a sense of completeness.

Note: The term “new” as used in the first paragraph above indicates a programming computer which does not have the documentation file (.RSP) available. Secret handshake: The I/O configuration screens are stored in this file just like other documentation such as the rung and instruction comments, etc.

Finally, if you really do need additional help with setting up the IFE card, please post again with specific questions. Also mention whether you’re dealing with catalog number 1771-IFE/A or 1771-IFE/B or the newer 1771-IFE/C. There are some differences between the internal jumper settings and in the number of configuration words which may be written - and some other issues as well. And also please tell us whether you’re using Single-ended or Differential wiring. If you mention how each individual channel is to be set up (voltage or current) we can even offer advice on how to position the internal jumpers. And do you already understand the concept of using Block Transfer Reads and Writes to communicate with this type of module?

Thanks Ron, this is what I was looking for. Your first guess seems most likely to me, as we had someone browsing the IFE module config the night before (he is installing an additional one), but he swears he didn't change anything. More than likely he inadvertently said "no", thinking he was safe. The check is the mail!

Vetteboy