Step 7 Communication with Red Lion EPAX 600

Has anyone ever set up communications with a Red Lion EPAX-6 Digit Display via Profibus? The hardware configuration was no problem, but I have never sent information via profibus. Where should I start with the programming?
Here are the specifics: I'm using a Siemens CPU413-2DP processor and trying to get this Red Lion Display to display an input where it will be a footage counter. I have the footage in the PLC I just need to get it to the display.
This is the display: http://www.redlion.net/Products/Groups/Process/EPAX/MPAX/Docs/08010.pdf
This is the profibus card for the display unit:
http://www.redlion.net/Products/Groups/Process/EPAX/MPAX/Docs/08010.pdf
This information they sent doesn't seem to help a profibus newbie like me in the slightest.
Any help would be much appricated.

AKShark

I didn't get much help from the links you posted as to how this display would communicate over a profibus network. I have never worked with or even seen these displays, so I will have to have a guess at your problem.

Is the display configured via the hardware setup in step 7?

If it is, does Step 7 automatically assign I/O address for the display? It might just be a case of a load / transfer to the required address.

For example, if the 'output' address of the display is Q240-Q241 (1 word long) then your logic would look something like this:-

L MW100 // Footage counter data

T Q240  //Output address of display

Or it might be a peripheral address in which case:-

L MW100 // Footage counter data

T PQ240  //Output address of display

This is only a guess, can you post some more information on these displays?

Paul

It did automatically input I/O address in the hardware config for me. When I try to write to them just like you had the processor faults out with the error I/O access error and calls OB122 as if the address does not exist. It is in the hardware config, I double checked, (also online). The only other info I could find was the display itself has a configuration but it dosen't look like it has anything that pertains to me. Here is that link: http://www.redlion.net/Products/Groups/Batch/PAXI/Docs/02021.pdf

I'm so far behind in this race, I must be wining.

This is how I did the hardware config. This is their only Tech note on the subject also. http://www.redlion.net/Support/TechNotes/DigitalandAnalog/TNDA04.pdf

AKShark

I am at a loss as to what you are doing wrong.

What fault code does OB122 come up with when it is called? That might give you a clue as to why it is being called.

It might also be that the data you are trying to write to the module is in the wrong format or doesn't start with the correct character, although I am not sure if this would cause OB122 to be called if the data cannot be written to the address area.

Hopefully, someone like Daniel or S7guy will see this thread and have some idea on this.

Paul

AKShark, do you think you could post an archive of your project? I don't care about the code (in case you don't want to post that part), but it would be nice to look at the hardware configuration.

Also, try some methodical troubleshooting. When it faults out, did you call up the Module Diagnostics? If so, what did it say? If you checked out the IStack, did it point you to the code where you are addressing the module?

If you look at the CPU, are you getting internal faults, external faults, or both?

Try putting a BEU right at the beginning of OB1 (a Block End Unconditional) so that no code is executed. If you get no faults, then we know that the module is recognized as valid hardware.

Check out those few things and get back to us.

One more thing: I strongly suspect that you will need to use the Siemens system function SFC14 to read this module (and SFC15 to write to it), and that might be your problem. Try reading the module that way (let us know if you need help setting up the pointers).

HERE is the manual for the RedLion Profibus card.
It talks about a 'parameterization telegram' but I cannot figure out exactly what they mean.

I am mystifed as to how the station address is set. In the technote example it is set to 5.

Here's an interesting snippet from the manual:
'The Station Address is set by the Master device through the PROFIBUS Network, and is stored in non-volatile memory on the card. The Factory Default plug jumper will restore the Station Address to a known default value of 100, if necessary.'
If the station address is set by the master, how can the master connect to it ? Looks like a catch-22 to me.

Try mailto:[email protected]

Thanks everyone for the help. It is now communicating. I did have to use the SFC14 and SFC15 to read/write to the display. (Thanks S7 guy). The display also had to see the last bit of the forth byte toggle to pass information from the profibus card over to the actual display. I don't like that becase it takes aprox. two seconds to do this, but I guess I'll live with it.
Thanks again,
AK