PLC 5/15 processor...Please Help

[Ron Beaufort]

sorry I'm short on time - coincidentally teaching EXACTLY what you're working on ... my students are trying to follow your progress as they work on their projects ...

suggestion: post your .RSP program file ... once we see it, we can

(a) offer hints to move you forward ... or ...
(b) modify and repost the file to nail this thing down ...

your choice ...

 

[omars]

file:///S://1771-ife.rsp

Ron, good deal...here is my rsp file. If you need any more info. please advise. I am so glad to hear that others can benefit from my learning experience, too. If someone can find a prob. with it, please modify it and repost. Thank you.

 

[Ken Moore]

Try the attached.

All inputs should be set up for 0-10VDC differential inputs.

 

[Ron Beaufort]

sorry omars, for some reason I am unable to open your program file ... it seems to be corrupt ...

has anyone else been able to open it? ...

 

[Ken Moore]

Forgot the attachement the first time.

I believe I have the setup configured to work, so that you may change the parameters more easily.

I THINK I have it configured for 0-10VDC differential inputs on all 8 channels.
If this is wrong, you should be able to change it from the setup screen now.

Give it shot. I haven't did anything with the 5's in a while, plus I did it pretty fast. Just keep you original on hand, and give this one a try.

 

[omars]

well, hey Ron...could you open Ken's upload? Looks like he was able to edit it. I changed it to single-ended inputs though and ran it. It was giving me data on like 9 channels. It seems that each input does respond to DC voltage but it never goes to zero. They all seem to be floating but if I put DC voltage on a channel and vary it, it will respond to it but never goes back to zero.

This seems to be a really weird problem. Maybe the program is good and something is up with the input module itself. Even if I don't put any DC voltage on any of the channels, I still get data on the 1st 9 channels.

Ken, I noticed that you changed the 1st word in the write transfer block data file. I guess you only need bits 00 and 01 to be high though. I see you made them all high. I am gonna do some more reading and if I come up with anything, I will keep you all posted. Thanks, all.

 

[TConnolly]

Omars,

Unconnected inputs do float around a little. Try tying all the unconnected inputs to ground. That should solve the floating problem.

And do please keep us posted.

 

[omars]

ok, actually now it seems to be working properly. I realize what Ken was doing but I also feel that the AB manual was a little vague. In the manual that Ron posted (page 31), they tell you to set bits 00 and 01 high for BTW words 1 & 2. I didn't realize I had to set all the bits in words 1 and 2 high for each channel. That is what he was doing. Also, if you look at that same page (table 4.a), they list the 0-10 VDC range under current mode and they list +/- 10 VDC under voltage mode. So, if I wanted to use 0-10 VDC, I would have to move all my jumpers to current mode to get it to work. However, I am too lazy and decided to go with the 0-5 VDC range and all my inputs had stopped floating after making the aforementioned changes.

Thank you all for your input. Cheers to a great learning experience.

 

[Ron Beaufort]

Greetings omars,



yes, I can open Ken’s attachment just fine ... I’ve attached a .PDF printout of his program for anyone who’s interested in this topic but doesn’t have RSLogix5 available ...



from your last post, it sounds as though everything is ok at this point so I won’t go into any more detail ... but ... something in your posts is making me think that you haven’t realized one of the secret handshakes involved in all of this ... specifically, you don’t really need to go into the data tables and manually set the configuration bits for the IFE module ... instead, we normally use the RSLogix5 “IO Configuration” feature to automatically set those bits for us ... the setup screen from Ken’s program looks something like this ...

sorry but I had to crop it a little to make it fit the forum’s picture limitations ... anyway, if you’re not familiar with using this screen, then I suggest that you post again and let us help you learn the easy (or at least EASIER) way to set up one of these modules ... on the other hand, you might already know all about this feature ... if so, I apologize ... I’ve probably just misinterpreted your comments ...

 

[omars]

Ron, that is so cool...how did you get that screen. I had to go into the integer file, display it in binary form and manually change the bits. Looks a lot easier your way, how did you get there?

 

[TConnolly]

Omar, when you first program the BTW for a module (note that you need to have actually created the N data file where the configuraiton data will reside) look at the bottom of the instruction.

Click on Setup Screen.

 

[Ron Beaufort]

and if you need more detail than that (or if you get an error message such as: "no modules exist"), then go back and follow the link that I gave you in post #11 of this thread ... as I said earlier, OkiePC did an excellent step-by-step run-through complete with screen shots and notes ...

now then ... want another treat? ... try clicking the “Insert Ladder Rungs” button ...

you mean RSLogix5 can actually write the Block Transfer rungs automatically? ... yep ... that’s exactly what I mean ...

just remember, you must use these powers only for good ...

 

[TConnolly]

...you must use these powers only for good.

You crack me up Ron.

Im thinking of turning to the dark side.

I get my hands on a PLC-5 only once or twice a year (even though its my second favorite PLC to work with) so this thread has been a good refresher for me as well - especially since I am doing some software enhancements for the system in the chassis I described earlier. Among other things I relocated the data files for the block transfers in order to make the analog values addresses match those on a similar line so last week for the first time myself I actually used that "insert ladder rungs" button.

 

[omars]

yah, you guys rock. Maybe someday I'll go on to teach other suckers like myself and become a legend in my own mind. - O