RSLogix Beginners Course

I want some feedback about the quality of the following course. Is it worth paying for?

https://allen-bradley-plc-training.teachable.com/courses/433189/lectures/8692597

I'm a bit suspicious of this look at the title it talks about RSlogix5000 but shows 500 ? surely they could get that right, however, in saying that it could be just a typo, there are probably loads of UTube ones that will give you some good grounding for free.

I;ve been pouring through hundreds of youtube videos and they simply aren't structured for ease of following or complete explanations. It' a rare talent to be able to teach. These guys write their lessons as if the reader knows the material.

Do you have access to a 5000 or 500 based PLC? I find that training where you pay money are usually worth it when you bring questions already rather than listen only to what you're being told as it assumes a lot that may not be the case in your plant.



I hate Youtube for learning too...

That guy is good but I would check his youtube channel out before I bought anything.

In my opinion, learning PLC's online is harder than a live, instructor led class.

Understanding configuration and hardware is a whole 'nother kettle of fish, but for understanding ladder programming (and by inference FB, ST, etc.), I think Ron Beaufort's level 0 tutorials lays the best foundation: https://www.youtube.com/user/RonBeaufort


N.B. I don't mean to imply Ron does not know about the rest, rather that that series, and his "look for a one" and "look for a zero" mindset, really made ladder seem easy.

Ok, here's my opinion. As a beginner, there's no "one" course that will do the trick. A lot of it is about exposure; learn some by watching, learn some by doing, make mistake, re-watch video, then attempt again, get stuck, repeat. Youtube is good for answering a specific question but PLC is bit of an niche so videos are harder to come by than other topics.


The best course I found are vendor provided courses, but those goes for $thousands. I see this course is lot less than that, so just pony up and pay for it. If you are serious, take as many of these course as you can, from your link and others like Udemy. let's face it, couple hundred bucks is a bargain if that's your intended career direction.

harryting said:

Ok, here's my opinion. As a beginner, there's no "one" course that will do the trick. A lot of it is about exposure; learn some by watching, learn some by doing, make mistake, re-watch video, then attempt again, get stuck, repeat. Youtube is good for answering a specific question but PLC is bit of an niche so videos are harder to come by than other topics.


The best course I found are vendor provided courses, but those goes for $thousands. I see this course is lot less than that, so just pony up and pay for it. If you are serious, take as many of these course as you can, from your link and others like Udemy. let's face it, couple hundred bucks is a bargain if that's your intended career direction.

Click to expand...

The cost - hardware and software - to enable "lab" work, which is probably the best way to learn, is also very high. One can only go so far with emulators. Even at a several hundred dollars and up, I think the various trainers are probably well worth the cost, although I suspect the lower end is going to be MicroLogix and such, not the cool ControlLogix/CompactLogix hardware, where you can mess around with cards and slots.

If possible, go for a paid internship somewhere, where you work under a programmer. That's the best way. I've seen many threads asking about classes, and usually there expensive and you won't learn real world problems from the get-go.

The Basics

Too many people dive into some sort of Brand-specific stuff without having the digital electronics basics. It's like trying to play songs on the piano without having first playing scales.

You need to have a good background in boolean algebra and binary numbering before you tackle a PLC. Have some knowledge of the difference between a signed and an unsigned, how far you can go with a 16-bit integer, and so on. Understand DeMorgan in circuit design and then you can see how it works in ladder. Understand boolean algebra rules and how they translate to rungs.

The operating engineers are smarter than us in their marketing. When you call the union hall for an operator they send you someone that may need a short time to shake out your machine - but he is an operator. He's too smart to be known as a 'Case Man' or a 'John Deere Man'. There is a place for machine-specific experience but don't be limited by it.

The key to being a brand-independent PLC programmer is to know how to play the scales first. After that you can pursue brand-x training. The world is full of people that have a head full of how to punch the keys on brand-x software and no clue as to how PLCs work and how to make them do what they need to do.

Forgive me if this sounds like a rant - I guess it is.

I sort of agree with corsair, however, I think the first step is the bool logic rather than analogues or maths in registers. A grounding in understanding logic circuits goes a long way as well as understanding of how a PLC generally works at the start forget about immediate I/O update etc. get the basics right first.
My first go at programming a PLC in 1980 ish, was to take the programming console & manual and an original ladder diagram (built out of dozens of relays), to site with no prior warning as the panel had been built & installed this was a cutting press with 9 programs for different patterns, the original hard wired relay logic was very clever in that they used certain contacts via connections throughout the ladder (sort of like MCR's) and contacts in the cold side of the coils, not possible on a Square "D" at the time, My background in pure logic circuits was a great help & I got it working within the allocated time. Not ideal to be put in such a position but getting back to the point understanding logic circuits made it easy to apply.

The Extreme

I've done PLC work as an integrator full-time for over 30 years and NEVER taken a manufacturer's class or sat through a product-specific U-Tube video. I WOULD NOT recommend that as a course of action - but it does show how a solid foundation in the basics can serve you through the years and several generations of equipment. One part of strong background followed by one part of brand-specific may trump 5 parts of brand-specific any time.

Got my start with Square D stuff.

This instructor is very knowledgeable, l have seen some of his stuff. He is normally doing it as he goes along, so in that sense it is good learning, because he makes mistakes and goes back and rectifies them, but it does get a bit off putting the way he can go around in circles.
If starting at the basics like dr said, Ron's series of free videos are hard to beat. But IMHO after you have watched Ron's stuff, is to use Logic Design stuff, starting with the LogixPro, RS500, then moving to PLCLogix, RS5000.