How do I add a device to RSLinx Enterprise?

[LowRange]

As in add a device that is not listed on the drop down menu. For example a micrologix 1500 does not appear as an option in the Add Device Selection for a DF1p2p, Serial-DF1 driver. I would like to make and test some applications as a babies 1st step into HMI. Unfortunately all I have for spare processors to play around with are a mirologix 1000 and 1500.

Thank you

 

[Ken Roach]

The MicroLogix 1500 will be on that list, it's just a little difficult to find.

Right-click on the "DF1P2P, Serial DF1" driver and select Add Device.

From the initial selection hierarchy, expand the "PCCC DH-485 devices" folder.

From that expanded tree, expand the "SLC DH485 Devices" folder.
Page down that list until you find "1764-xxxx xA MicroLogix 1500" or "1764-xxxx xA MicroLogix 1500 LRP".

The nomenclature isn't that easy to understand, as you're using DF1 full duplex and being asked to select DH485 devices. But that's the way the RSLinx Enterprise guys thought of the communications protocols, so that's the way the tree looks.

 

[LowRange]

Ah, thank you. I was able to find the Mircologix 1000 device. I still can't test my application though.

When I test my application with a DF1 driver and a mircologix1000 as a device I get "problem writing value "fase/true" to 'test\B3_0_0'. All I want to do is hit the button and hear that little micologix click.

I've never been able to get factorytalk to talk to any controller I've ever connected to. What the heck am I doing wrong? Why is my Online fonder under HMI tags always blank? Whether I'm connecting to a 5/04, 5/01 or a mircologix it always the same problem.

 

[MarkNightingale]

Make sure you copy the design shortcut into the runtime shortcut.

In the top right of the RS Linx Enterprise window you will see a button which will do this for you.

Cheers

Mark

 

[Ken Roach]

That error message suggests that the FactoryTalk View project was converted from an old PanelBuilder project.

"B_3_0_0" is an HMI Tag. It might be correctly associated with a Shortcut and the MicroLogix data table address (most likely B3:0/0), or it might not.

Take a look at the HMI Tag Database; a screenshot would be great. Remember to take the screenshot, crop to the important information, and save to PNG format before posting.

 

[LowRange]

That error message suggests that the FactoryTalk View project was converted from an old PanelBuilder project.

"B_3_0_0" is an HMI Tag. It might be correctly associated with a Shortcut and the MicroLogix data table address (most likely B3:0/0), or it might not.

Take a look at the HMI Tag Database; a screenshot would be great. Remember to take the screenshot, crop to the important information, and save to PNG format before posting.

It's a project I have created that consists of a rslogix 500 project that is one run [ ] B3:0/0 to ( ) of O:0/0 and a factorytalk application of a single momentary push button addressed/taged to that B3:0/0. All I want to do here is make that B3:0/0 true through factorytalk test application and hear that little micrologix click. My problem is that my online folder is empty and I have been using the Import PLC Tags feature to create my HMI tag. My folder name and shortcut name in Import PLC Tags are correct.

 

[LowRange]

Here are some screen caps

 

[Ken Roach]

Are you sure that the RSLinx Enterprise DF1P2P driver is associated with the same Windows COM port number as the physical connection ?

You *cannot* use the same serial port hardware with RSLinx Classic and RSLinx Enterprise at the same time. When I have to use both drivers, I get two different USB/RS232 converters and dedicate one to each purpose.

 

[LowRange]

Rslinx enterprise is stopped when I fire up rslix classic and classic is stopped when I run enterprise so they don't fight over the com port. Even I know this much.

It's interesting how even the simplest things in rslinx can confuse the heck out of me. I fired up rslinx classic and configured a RS232 DFI under comport 3, which is the port that I normally use because rslinx blithers on about com ports being unavailable or in use if I try any others, auto configured and under Name and Description it is listed as AB_DFI DH485 Sta.0 COM3 RUNNING

DH485?What? This doesn't seem right and does this tell us anything? Boy, I didn't think I could get any more confused! I can connect to the processor and make my O:0/0 click on by toggling my B3:0/0 into true. So rslinx classic doesn't seem to care.

Thank you for the help thus far.


EDIT: OK nevermind I got it to work. I was being stupid and NOT auto configuring my rslinx enterprise DF-1 driver and once I auto configured it and saw that the micrologix 100 device popped up on it's own I knew rslinx enterprise was communicating with it. I've done this before and gotten nowhere in testing my application due to other reasons so I had written off auto configuring the driver entirely. Only after figuring out how to create HMI tags and then going back and auto configuring the driver could I see the addresses in my Online folder. Previously, I could import tags without being able to see them in the Online folder which makes me not trust the Import PLC Tag feature.

 

[Ken Roach]

In my experience, using separate serial ports for those two separate drivers yields the best results. The exact sequence and configuration of service startup and shutdown is too much of a headache for me.

I wish that the driver labels said "SLC/MicroLogix" instead of "DH485", because that's what it means. The protocol is DF1, but the software tries to describe the fact that it's using SLC/MicroLogix family function codes by calling it a "DH485" driver type because those are the same function codes that are actually used by DH485 networks.

The Autoconfigure feature in RSLinx Enterprise isn't as useful as the one in RSLinx Classic, and usually I don't need to use it. Sometimes it's important when you're dealing with flaky serial/USB devices because it causes a reconfiguration action, rather than because it changed one of the serial driver settings.

I generally don't use the Tag Import feature, either; it doesn't help me to have a tag named 'B3_0_0' that is addressed to B3:0/0. I prefer to simply type in the data table addresses I want to use, making it a "direct reference" and not requiring the data to be handled by the HMI database service.