DH+ on 1784-PKTX issues

[mylespetro]

Hey everyone,

Ran into an issue on a customer's system a couple times recently and wanted to check if anyone might have any clue what's going on.

The system is a VersaView 1200P industrial computer (32-bit Windows XP) using RSView 32 communicating on DH+ using a 1784-PKTX card to a SLC 5/04.

Last week the customer called and said that there was an issue with the HMI, so I went out and took a look and I was able to tell by looking that the communications between the two had been lost. The runtime was still running but all of the graphics were blank like they typically are (in FTView anyways, I have very little experience with RSView 32) when there are no communications between the HMI and controller. I looked at the SLC and noticed that the DH+ light was blinking green very slowly, which I believe indicates that it's the only node on the network.

I checked the wiring and noticed that they weren't using blue hose cable, and also there were no termination resistors on either end. I put the resistors in and then checked for communications, but had no luck. I then restarted the HMI and when it came back on communications were re-established. We got a call yesterday afternoon that the same thing had happened again, so I grabbed a length of blue hose and brought it to site, swapping out the original cable for the blue hose. This also still didn't fix the issue, so I investigated further and noticed that when I browsed the network on the AB_KT-1 driver, the SLC was showing up with a red X through it. I then hit Configure Drivers, and the KT-1 driver was showing something along the lines of the following:

AB_KT-1 DH+ Sta:34 ID:0 Ch1A ERROR Running

I was then unable to stop the driver, it would give an error that said "The device AB_KT-1 could not be stopped" or something similar. I then uninstalled the Windows driver for the PKTX card and restarted the HMI and re-installed newer drivers and restarted again. When it restarted it seemed to not have communications for a minute and then suddenly the driver seemed to come to life in RSLinx. The customer then left the skid powered up overnight to hopefully keep communications live, but when they came in early this morning, they had lost communications again, and were only able to restore comms by restarting the HMI 10+ times.

Anyone have any idea what's going on? My first thought is that the PKTX card in the HMI is faulty, but I'd hate to spend a bunch of money to get a new one and have the same issue pop up.

Thanks in advance

 

[geniusintraining]

My first thought is that the PKTX card in the HMI is faulty, but I'd hate to spend a bunch of money to get a new one and have the same issue pop up.

I would think the same or its something not seated, did you try re-seating the card?

If you are loosing power for even a sec on the card RSLinx will not a low it to restart, all the drivers I have seen in RSLinx once they fail they will not auto restart... so you would need to reboot or stop the application then stop/restart the driver

If it were me... I would take a chance on a used flee bay PKTX (just a returnable one if it does not work)

75 bucks its worth a shot https://www.ebay.com/itm/194498582388

Or this seller has a 60 day money back and its a series B https://www.ebay.com/itm/294251049781

 

[mylespetro]

I would think the same or its something not seated, did you try re-seating the card?

If you are loosing power for even a sec on the card RSLinx will not a low it to restart, all the drivers I have seen in RSLinx once they fail they will not auto restart... so you would need to reboot or stop the application then stop/restart the driver

If it were me... I would take a chance on a used flee bay PKTX (just a returnable one if it does not work)

75 bucks its worth a shot https://www.ebay.com/itm/194498582388

Or this seller has a 60 day money back and its a series B https://www.ebay.com/itm/294251049781

I hadn't tried re-seating the card, but next time I'm onsite I'll give it a try. I didn't want to go poking around in there with it running but I'll shut it down and try pulling it and re-seating it.

I had found replacement PKTX cards on Classic Automation for $535USD (series A) and $544USD (series B), but $75 sounds like a fairly low-risk option. We do only need a series A as we're only doing 57.6k baud, unless there's a different reason that the series B would be more desirable.

Thanks for the info and the links!

 

[Operaghost]

When the problem arises, have you checked the Windows Driver screen to see if you have a driver bang (yellow circle or triangle with exclamation point) for that card. Curious if Windows sees an issue.

The PKTX has a memory jumper. If we are using XP, the jumper should be set for 32-bit. I don't know how it is labeled on the card, but the manual refers to the two options as 1 MEG and 32BIT. If you are looking at the card and the external connectors are on the left side, then the jumper should be on the right two pins.

For XP I believe it can work in either position, but it was intended to be set to the right for any 32-bit system. If it isn't set properly, it might be causing a memory conflict.

OG

 

[mylespetro]

When the problem arises, have you checked the Windows Driver screen to see if you have a driver bang (yellow circle or triangle with exclamation point) for that card. Curious if Windows sees an issue.

The PKTX has a memory jumper. If we are using XP, the jumper should be set for 32-bit. I don't know how it is labeled on the card, but the manual refers to the two options as 1 MEG and 32BIT. If you are looking at the card and the external connectors are on the left side, then the jumper should be on the right two pins.

For XP I believe it can work in either position, but it was intended to be set to the right for any 32-bit system. If it isn't set properly, it might be causing a memory conflict.

OG

There were no errors showing up in Device Manager for the PKTX, I did notice when I opened up the driver properties window that it said something along the lines of "There is no driver installed for this device" or something like that, but I found other people on the forum saying that theirs also said the same thing and that was normal. When I actually uninstalled the driver, the device disappeared from Device Manager completely, and when I reinstalled them it showed up again with the same message.

I'll also check on the memory jumper as well if I get a chance to pull the card. I was just talking to the customer and he said they're going to try to run a batch through the unit shortly, but he'll pull and re-seat the card after they're done. It's currently working so he doesn't want to screw with it and cause the issue to arise again.

Thanks for your input!