A-B Panelview Plus 7 series and version information

[Tmiller2]

Rockwell in their wisdom have made a mess of the Panelview Plus 7 operator interface terminals with all the different series hardware revisions. This stems from the chip embargo and moving Panelview Plus 7 production to new facilities. We have been struggling with firmware revision compatibility and the hardware series. New Panelview Plus 7's are coming in various different series and it is causing problems. They are no longer directly replaceable and our maintenance department can no longer swap these units on their own.

Series A - Compatible with firmware version 11 and previous
Series B - Compatible with firmware version 13 and up
Series C - Compatible with firmware version 12 only
Series D - Compatible with firmware version 13 and up

We have noticed anomalies between Series A & B ethernet settings. Series A Panelview Plus 7's will accept and change the ethernet IP address through the Panelview Configuration screen after a reboot without being connected to an ethernet network. Series B panelviews must be connected to an ethernet network and rebooted before the Panelview Plus 7 will accept a new IP address.

In our facility alone, we have over 150 panelview units in operation ranging from the original standard panelviews to PV5500's. All the different models, types, versions, and series make it difficult to maintain our operations. I wanted to pass on any help that I can for others.

 

[kekrahulik]

Just experiencing the joy you speak of.....

 

[Tmiller2]

Just experiencing the joy you speak of.....

Lol! welcome to the insanity party..... We even spoke to the developer about series C and they could care less. Try calling tech support about the issue. If it's not in a tech note they don't know.

 

[kekrahulik]

So I didn't have the enet connected, so it gave me an error about that. After I connected it, it still wouldn't let me change the IP. If I rebooted would it?

Now is says it needs a Firmware update?????? Do they not load firmware on these from the factory? They used to come with the latest firmware - which would run applications developed on older firmware.

What am I getting into?

 

[504bloke]

Glad to see Rockwell havent got any better since i went to the dark side

 

[Operaghost]

The Plus 7 Performance model Series B and newer introduced a new underlying operating system. That changes the Out-Of-Box-Experience (OOBE). These units do not currently support assigning an IP address on the initial OOBE. The screen is there, but it isn't supported yet. Have not heard if, or when, it will finally be supported. As for the firmware, yes, these no longer ship with the latest firmware. Much like the Logix controllers, you need to flash them to the firmware version you wish to use. And that needs to be done via a USB thumb drive. ControlFlash is not supported for the OOBE, though it can be used after the OOBE. For now, you set the IP address after performing the firmware upgrade. It is done just like you always did, via the Configuration Screen. Personally, my PVP7 updating experience has always been with the network cable plugged in when I perform these steps, so I have not noticed a difference if the ethernet cable is unplugged. So my experience hasn't brought that issue up.

As for the first post in this thread, my experience has been with Series B units. The Series C was just a stainless steel version of the Series B. I have not heard of any firmware issues that set it apart from the Series B. I believe only the Standard Edition is currently available in Series D. Of course when someone reads this thread a couple years from now, they will correct me. The Standard Editions are still using the old Windows O/S so they don't have the new OOBE unless that changed with the new series. But I don't see any reference to that changing.

OG