Free DF1 driver

[Jiri Toman]

I have posted a free DF1 driver on TomanTron's web site
at www.tomantron.com.
This is a .NET framework component (DLL). Use with Visual Studio.
It is not a demo that will expire, it's a completely free
piece of software.
It works with Micrologix and SLC500.

Very easy interface.
Adjustable polling rate.
Read and write 100 integers.
Supports embedded responses.
OnDataAvailable event.
No need for RSLinx.
Supports 8 COM ports.
Multithreaded for maximum speed.

Looking for some feedback.

Jiri Toman

[panic mode]

Don't have .NET yet... Still VB6.

[ndzied1]

Jiri,

You're an honor to industrial controls. Thanks for this valuable resourse!

Now I just wish I was still doing AB stuff and could make better use of it. :-) Would have been able to quote more jobs if I had this a few years ago.

nOrM

[chavak]

Jiri,

Thanks for the DF1 driver.

Me too do not have .net yet. Our MIS guys in the company is not ready for it yet due to some security reasons?.. which I do not know exactly what they mean (Virus attacks.....they definetely don't like Bill).

But I will take your advice and venture to .net at home. But I do not have a PLC at home to play with. It's alright, I have got a lot to learn. beerchug

[Contr_Conn]

Supports 8 COM ports.

Do you support COM1-COM8 only or it is possible to open up to 8 connections same time?

Limitation of COM8 may be a major problem with virtual serial ports like USB-serial why high COM numbers assigned by USB drivers.

[Contr_Conn]

Don't have .NET yet... Still VB6.

Watch promotions at Microsoft, few month ago they had free VB .NET for watching .NET tutorials.

[Peter Nachtwey]

I am sure this will help many people or businesses and contribute to the general productivity.

I read the documentation. It seems simple enough.

I don't have .net yet either, but we have spare copies of vb.net that I can obtain. If I don't get too bogged down in other things I will check our your dll. I have written DF1 drivers too, but only for embedded processors or DSPs. I found that I needed two threads per serial port to implement DF1 correctly.

[jimbo3123]

I think it's cool that you wrote your own DF1 driver, but I would like to know how useful this is.

How is this better than using RSLinx Lite that comes with every other programming package? To communicate with a processor you (of course) need communications drivers, but you also need a program do do the communications/editing/etc.

If direct communications is not the objective, (the objective being PLC communications through some other program), why not distribute your source code? And even if you do, what is so special about your source code versus any other that is based on the (open) DF1 standard?

[Peter Nachtwey]

Originally posted by jimbo3123
I think it's cool that you wrote your own DF1 driver, but I would like to know how useful this is.

How is this better than using RSLinx Lite that comes with every other programming package?

It probably, isn't but if it works and its free that is still pretty good. I know that RxLinx makes undocumented calls to the PLCs. Until one figures out these undocumented calls it will be hard to have all the features of RxLinx.

Originally posted by jimbo3123
To communicate with a processor you (of course) need communications drivers, but you also need a program do do the communications/editing/etc.

If direct communications is not the objective,
(the objective being PLC communications through some other program), why not distribute your source code?

Would you understand if he did? If you could then you could write your own driver.

Originally posted by jimbo3123
And even if you do, what is so special about your source code versus any other that is based on the (open) DF1 standard?

It is free. Is there free source code available that is useful? As I have said above, I have written a couple DF1 drivers. I know what it takes. Where is yours Jimbo? Where is anybody else's? I haven't seen anybody else post a DF1 driver. Give Jiri some credit for his contribution.

[Bitmore]

Peter, you can please some of the people sometimes,......

[ndzied1]

How is this better than using RSLinx Lite that comes with every other programming package?

Can you get PLC data directly into an excel spreadsheet or an Access database with RSLinx Lite? I'm not sure but I don't think so. Maybe Jiri can correct me if I'm wrong but having your own DLL should allow this. Now you might be able to create a free (except for you getting .NET if you don't have it) mini SCADA that works with legacy AB controller that are ubiquitous in many plants.

[Thomas Sullens]

Hi Jiri
That`s really something. Anyone that needs a small SCADA program should LOVE this as it will probaly save them about 12 to 15 hundred dollars. Not many can do this.

[Jiri Toman]

Contr_Conn,
It is possible to instantiate the component 8 times and theoretically
you can have 8 COMs running at the same time. They will have to be COM1 thru COM8.
I have not tested this, in fact I have only tested single COM operation.
There are no Static/Shared variables in the program so it should all
work.

Norm,
To use it with Excel spreadsheet I would have to provide real time data server. It's called RTD component. It's also a DLL
but it implements IRTDServer interface.
In Excel spread sheet you would use RTD function to update the cells.
According to Microsoft this is a better way (more flexible and robust) to get data into the spreadsheet.
It would be nice if there was a VS.NET guru here who could
use the .NET component and produce the RTD component?
I think that can be done.
Otherwise I would have to rebuild and recompile the existing
code into RTD COM. Believe me I have spent enough time on
this already.

Peter,
Since you have written the driver yourself you know that this isn't
a job for couple of afternoons. I have read statements on this forum and on control.net claiming that it doesn't take much effort to get DF1 going. Well I have spent fair amount of time coding and testing,
in order to make the data link layer bullet proof I had to run many tests. It is time consuming.
There are three threads in my driver apart from timeout and polling
timers.
Sharing the data between threads is not easy when done properly.


Jimbo,
RSLinx Lite is used with programming packages only.
You would need the Pro edition to get OPC/DDE.
That will cost you!
There are three distinct features in my driver :
1. It's free
2. It's very easy to use.
3. It interfaces to VS.NET
I do not plan to publish the source code.

[Contr_Conn]

They will have to be COM1 thru COM8.

Why you have this limitation?
Windows 2K/XP supports up to COM255 and normally virtual COM numbers are high.

[Jiri Toman]

This limitation is imposed by the SaxSoft DLL I am using for the
serial com.
Next version of VS.NET will have serial com support built in
and that will have support for lots of COM ports.