SLC500 with RSlogix500....driver issue?

2stroke1971

Member
Join Date
Mar 2020
Location
PA
Posts
9
Ive got an SLC500 rack that I want to use for some hands on learning.
SLC 5/05 CPU

Ive got RSlogix 500 v 8.10.00 cpr9
RSLinx classic 2.57.00

When I try to go online with the PLC I get the following:

Init failed code-1
Current driver (Linx Gateways) may not be running


Any ideas? Ive reinstalled linx...
ive disabled the firewall.
Im running an XP computer.
Is this specific to the ethernet connection?\
if I used a serial cable would that bypass this issue?

Thanks in advance.
 
You need to create a driver in RSLinx first. Open it as a separate application (not from within RSLogix 500). You will need to know the IP address of the SLC 5/05. There are ways to find it if it is unknown. It is easier to use a serial cable than to find the IP address if you already have a good USB to serial converter and a proper cable (or can easily make one).

Let us know whether you intend to use a serial cable or Ethernet and we can help guide you setting up the right driver. Tell us as much as you can as specifically as possible including the IP address of the SLC and that of your programming PC.

There are about 3 different ways to go online with RSLogix 500 and there are differences depending on which method. If you pick the drop-down on the left to try to switch from "OFFLINE" to "Go Online" then the software will try to get online using the last driver and path saved with the file and if that driver and/or Node number does not exist, you it will fail.

If you pick the Comms menu and choose "Who Active Go Online", it will open up an applet version of RSLinx Classic and let you pick the processor you want to go online with. Within this applet, you can't configure drivers, but you can select an existing one and select a processor (if any) from those that appear to be available.

If you go to the Comms Menu and choose "System Comms", you will get that same RSLinx applet but have more buttons on the right, including one that just says "OK" which has the effect of changing the open project default path to the processor you have selected.

Getting online with RSLogix 5/500 can be one of the more complicated tasks with A/B PLCs. Those of us who have been doing it since the mid 90s, are used to it and take for granted all the little nuances that go along with it. There are so many different protocols and hardware methods that can be set up and used, it is somewhat necessary for Rockwell to make all these different methods and make the process a little confusing for the beginner.

Hope this helps, and welcome to the forum.
 
Thanks!

I don't know the IP address of the processor, of course it is not on the handy little sticker.

The laptop Im running has a serial port so there's that. Its a windows 7 Dell that is exclusively an XP machine now.

I suppose in the end it doesn't matter whether I use ethernet or serial for my purposes, but I do want to get the ethernet figured out for the sake of knowing how.

Can you describe a method of figuring out the IP address of the CPU? Ive read it can be had/set using the serial port and going online. Looks like I have to dig up serial cable!


Just a quick background....I wanted to be a programmer out of high school (1989) but I got married and went right to work in a factory and did the family thing and all that. Went to school part time, and got a degree in data com in 2004 but never did anything with it.

I changed jobs/careers 2 years ago. Im a multi disciplined maintenance tech at a large company.(mechanical, electrical, fabrication, etc etc.) Ive settled in there and want to learn about controls systems now. For one, to get back into programming. Im looking at it as a hobby for now. Im trying to get to the point where I can tinker with these sorts of things in my spare time. I learn best that way.

In the early '90s I did actually set up a VERY small system from Omega at my first job. I was just a machine operator there but they got wind I was handy with computers and programming. We used that to monitor a lot of sensors. We were headed towards controlling devices with it but the place went under before I got that far. Software was all drag and drop, no ladder logic that the user could access. Other than that, I did back ups and reloads for a panasonic sigma system at my last job. Did a little study on ladder logic over the last 6 months.

Thanks again!
 
Download wireshark (free ethernet data sniffer software) and get it running, then with the cable between your laptop and the PLC plugged in, power up the PLC. Within a few seconds, wireshark will start spewing info on the screen. I think the IP address can be revealed that way even if your PC is on a different network.

Some of the network gurus on here can tell you more (or me if I am wrong about this). it has been 10 years since I did this and it worked painlessly enough, I don't remember the details.

The serial cable you want is a 1747-CP3 which is a D9 female to D9 female cable and can be made from a straight serial cable plus a null modem adapter.

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=40432

If you have to order parts, I strongly suggest PLCCable.com The owner is a forum admin here and provides top notch parts and service at great prices.

Here's the short version of his cable but he sells a couple of different lengths:
https://www.plccable.com/allen-bradley-20-inch-1756-cp3-1747-cp3-si-slc-controllogix-compactlogix/

Your path and mine are similar (married in '89, straight to the factory floor) but I was lucky enough to get into the maintenance tech program after ~five years of hard labor and was getting into PLCs about '96.
 
Possible solution

compare the results of



arp -a


with the Mac address that should be printed on the label of the SLC500.


TL;DR



Assuming the SLC500 is getting its IP address from somewhere, perhaps you could query that [somewhere] to see what it provided.


for example, my laptop uses dhcp, which means when networking starts up, and when its lease expires, it broadcasts is MAC address to the LAN and asks if any DHCP server will provide it with an IP address. So first, I need to know my Mac address:


on Linux:


/sbin/ifconfig -a
...
ether 80:91:33:ca:26:71 txqueuelen 1000 (Ethernet)


on Windows cmd shell:


ipconfig /all
...



On your SLC500 I suspect the Mac address is printed on th label.



Now the router is the most likely DHCP server, and maybe you can query the router's DHCP table to see what IP address has been assigned to the Mac address of the SLC500. You may need the router admin credentials and/or the site network manager.


Or, your PC may already know the connection; try the command


arp -a



Or, and this is where it gets fun, disconnect the SLC500, and tell the PC to ask for an IP address via DHCP while spoofing (easiest with a linux box) the Mac address of the SLC500; then get the IP assigned using [ipconfig /all].


This all assumes that DHCP is used; if the IP was set via the serial line, the [arp -a] is almost your only hope; others are another serial line, and the trick below.


Another trick would be to try to ping all possible addresses on the LAN (e.g. 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.168.254(, and then running [arp -a] to see if one of those pings resulted in an entry in the ARP table.
 
Thanks guys!
I got my null modem cable in the mail today, and was able to connect to the processor!

I ran out of time, but at least the processor is not DOA, and I can do something with it now!
 

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