from ChuckM:
[/color]
“Jones” ??? ... that’s a new one on me ... but I think I get your point ...
maybe it’s because of my line of work, but in my personal experience, the VAST majority of people who are asking for free copies of the Allen-Bradley software have no intentions of “ripping off” the company - or using it for nefarious programming purposes ... their sole reason for wanting access to the software is just to LEARN about it ...
frankly I can’t remember the last time someone asked me how to “obtain” the software for any other purpose ...
usually (INVARIABLY!) it’s someone who recognizes that the more he knows about PLCs, the higher up the employment totem pole he can go ... who can blame him for wanting to move up a notch, make more money, and better support his family? ... so he decides he can scrape up enough cash to buy some used PLC hardware off of eBay ... but the RSLogix software is another VERY expensive matter ...
in my opinion, Allen-Bradley could gain a TREMENDOUS amount of industry goodwill - and eliminate a TREMENDOUS amount of grousing in the ranks - by making some type of “stripped-down” versions of RSLogix5, RSLogix500, and RSLogix5000 available for people who just want to LEARN how the stuff works ...
think about it ... it shouldn’t be too hard for AB to come up with a limited-use version that would allow opening a program with less than “X” number of rungs ... or less than “X” words of memory ... or that would be unable to save or download a program of greater than “X” size ... or something else along those lines ... such a package would be totally useless for someone working on a “real” industrial program ... but it would be fully adequate for someone trying to learn the ropes by poking around on a small PLC system in their basement ...
I can’t see how something like that would cost AB much at all - and I can easily see how it would gain them a great deal ... but then again, that’s just my way of looking at it ...
and before anyone reading this decides to send me a PM with a related “request” - save your time ... I can certainly sympathize with you - but my advice is to try the FREE download version of RSLogix500 - or check with your local tech school ... even if there’s no PLC course available in the school’s catalog, look up the lab technician or a friendly electronics instructor ... sometimes there’s a “forgotten closet” full of unused PLC gear just waiting for someone to dust it off and make some “self-study” use of it ... been there - done that ... (it was room #312 in my case) ...
