AB6200 Online Issues

[mmpang]

This might be a shot in the dark since our setup is pretty archaic, but here goes:

First, here's a description of our setup: The workstation is running Windows 98 and contains a 1784-KT DH+ interface card. The interface card is connected to our PLC-5/20 device to channel 1A (3-pin DH+ port). Our version of AB6200-PLC5 S/W is 4.12 (pretty old huh?).

We're having issues connecting to our PLC device in the AB6200-PLC5 S/W. When I attempt to go online (invoke the F1 command), I receieve a variety of errors including "Error loading communications driver" or a message that the PLC5 device is not present.

We use the AB6200 S/W in our calibration procedures and this is the first time we ran this in a long time. I checked the online configuration settings (F2 menu) and I believe we are selecting the correct DH+ KT device. I'm not sure about the address settings though. In our calibration procedure, we turn the keyswitch to REMOTE mode prior to starting up the AB6200 S/W. Per the procedure, we shutdown all instances of RSView prior to starting the AB6200 S/W so there are no driver conflicts.

Note, when the keyswitch is in RUN mode, we are able to run just fine in production mode using our RSView and RSWorks products. The communication issue only appears in this older AB6200 S/W. Unfortunately, we need to use AB6200 since it's part of the procedure.

Interestingly, when we invoke the WHO ACTIVE command in the AB6200 S/W, the PLC device is identified as a PLC-4 instead of a PLC-5. Is this the source of our problems? Is our version of AB6200 even compatible with Win 98? Should we be booting directly to DOS before running ABMENU.exe? In RSView, the PLC device is correctly identified as a PLC-5/20.

I'm relatively new to the PLC world, so any troubleshooting advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[JesperMP]

A blast from the past.

Per the procedure, we shutdown all instances of RSView prior to starting the AB6200 S/W so there are no driver conflicts.

Do you mean that RSview is running on the same PC as 6200 ?

Is the 6200 software and the 1784-KT card installed in an old PC, or is it a never PC ? Has it been working OK before on this PC ?
I remember there were issues with PCs that were simply too fast for the KT card.
If running on the same PC as RSView, I guess it must be a newer PC and the RSLinx is installed too.

What are your settings in 6200 for the 1784-KT card ?
There are both memory areas and and interrupt that must be free.
Are you using interchange ? (dont remember if the older versions of 6200 could work with interchange).

Keyswitch RUN or REM should have no influence on you being able to go online.

 

[OZEE]

Unfortunately, we need to use AB6200 since it's part of the procedure.

Though it doesn't fix you current problem, your long-term solution is not necessarily to fix the 6200, but to update your procedure. 6200 hasn't been supported for, what, 20 years??

I don't remember if it worked directly out of Win98 -- but you might try directly out of DOS.

With the exception of the exact keystrokes, you can do everything in your procedure after converting to modern RSLogix and RSLinx. 6200 was very sensitive to being configured correctly - and everything had to be "hard-configured". If it used to work on that computer, there's a chance it may again. If it has never worked successfully on that computer, it may or may not, as Jesper has hinted.

Though I don't know what industry you work in, I'm personally a little bothered by a calibration procedure that requires you go edit PLC code. You should only be changing some register values - which you could just as easily do through a properly configure RSView screen. But while you're in the code with 6200, you could also very easily - and unintentionally - break something! A properly written calibration procedure shouldn't allow for that possibility!!

 

[mmpang]

I appreciate the replies. This problem has been really frustrating!

JesperMP: Yes, RSView is running on the same PC. It runs in conjunction with the RSWorks S/W for production test. The 6200 S/W and 1784-KT card is installed on an older Allen Bradley industrial PC. I unfortunately do not have the model number. I'm not sure if the 6200 S/W ever worked on this PC before. Like I mentioned, they haven't touched this cal procedure in a long time. Thanks for the tip on the keyswitch (I wasn't aware of that). We are not using Interchange to the best of my knowledge. How can I confirm this? When I get access to the system, I'll take a note of the F2 online configuration and post them. I have a strong feeling that something is incorrect in the configuration. When you refer to memory areas, are you talking about memory areas allocated on the PLC or workstation interface card?

OZEE: I understand we need to migrate to RSLogix5 because the 6200 is godawful old. I unfortunately just jumped on this project and we intend to move away from the 6200 soon. I also agree that the cal procedure was poorly thought out. It was written ~20 years ago and should restrict the user from making harmful changes. I will try to boot straight to DOS and see if it makes a difference.

 

[mmpang]

I tried to run the AB6200 S/W straight from DOS but that also failed. The same error message appears: "Selected Station is not a PLC-5". Recall, when I run the 'WHO ACTIVE' function, it says my device is a PLC-4 at node 0 instead of a PLC-5. This seems to be the issue, but how do I correct this? How does the AB6200 grab the information on the connected PLC device?

Here's more information about our setup:

Workstation: AB RAC6000 Industrial Computer

Online Configuration in AB6200:
F1 Network Access- LOCAL
F2 Current Device- 1784-KT (DH+)
F3 Connection- DIRECT
F4 Terminal Address- 1
F5 PLC Address- 0
F6 KT Address- 101011
F7 Local Bridge Addr- 110
F8 Remote Bridge Addr- 376

RSLinx Info:
(RSWHO correctly identifies the PLC-5/20 device)

Driver Configuration for the 1784-KT/KT2:
Device Type- KT
Network- DH+
Station Name- RSLinx
Station Number- 1
Board Addr- D400
Interrupt- None
Terminate DH+ -No

 

[JesperMP]

F6 KT Address "101011" equals "D400". That looks right.
F7 Local Bridge Addr 110. Dunno.
F8 Remote Bridge Addr 376. Dunno.

Not sure if RSLinx and 6200 direct driver can run simultanously.
Try shut down RSLinx.

edit: Btw - dont invest more in new software for the PLC5.
Save the money for the inevitable complete replacement of the PLC5 for something newer.

 

[mmpang]

Wait, how does "101011" equal "D400"? Isn't D400 in hex? Also, we do shutdown RSLinx prior to running AB6200.

 

[JesperMP]

It is from the manual. The 101011 resembles the up/down dip-switch positions on the KT card.

 

[OZEE]

Yes, D400 is in hex, but the 101011 represents some DIP switch settings. According to the manual, that's the correct switch setting for D400.

Try Jesper's suggestion -- 6200 and Linx can't work at the same time. I still think your best bet for getting 6200 to work is going to be running it out of DOS.

 

[mmpang]

Ok, gotcha. I tried running the 6200 from DOS but had no luck. Any ideas why the WHO ACTIVE call identifies the device as a PLC4 instead of a PLC5? That probably is the source of the problem. Or the other addressing is off (Local Bridge Addr or Remote Bridge Addr). Also, RSLinx is not running when 6200 is active.

 

[mmpang]

bump^

Any ideas why the 6200 S/W is identifying my PLC device as a PLC-4 instead of a PLC-5? I appreciate any ideas. Thanks!

 

[OkiePC]

Here are my thoughts on this:

You need to perform a calibration which typically involves applying two or more known measurements to a sensor, and then adjusting values in the PLC to get the data to scale or be otherwise interpretted correctly.

If you know what those addresses are which need to be adjusted, just edit your RSView application and add a screen which accesses them for you. This would get you through the calibration and back into production probably much quicker than a battle with 6200 and Interchange.

Then you can work towards updating your software to something like RSLogix5 version 4-ish which I think is compatible with windows 98.

If you actually need to edit logic to perform the calibration, then I still say going to RSLogix5 might get'r done quicker.

 

[OZEE]

There are sooooo many configuration issues that had to be exactly right with the old 6200 system that it's really anybody's guess. IIRC, there was the basic setup, but the final configuration was more trial-and-error than anything. At least it was for me, but I was a brand new rookie at the time.