AB 700-FSK Question

communications

I would caution you on the use of Ethernet for control applications. PC based stuff is extremely slow in comparison to a PLC. God forbid your using MS anything as an operating system. I once saw a application using Ethernet and another protocol for communication to provide load shedding for a generator. We could never get it to work properly. The PC had to much to do with the gui's and other crap to keep accurate track of the set points. We finally ripped it out and used a PLC for our solution.

Phoenix Contact makes some "smart" I/O that may serve you better.

Not familiar with this particular product but I would guess it is available either way or has both positions.

I think your a bit behind the times there ol boy. I have several systems running on xp pro, using ethernet for the plc io comms.

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I understood he was using a pc direct to the i/o. Applications I work on are mission critical and can not afford the lag time nor the possibility of a communications failure. Monitoring and or changing set points for sure use a pc.

I'm using the Dataforth "IsoLynx" series for data acquisition and control. A PLC would have been my first choice if it wasn't for the analog requirements.

Thanks "Nipple Clamp" for the support.

I stand corrected, been on a job today that was messed. Could have really killed Micro$oft.

Jobs been working for over a year with no glitches, then someone decides to go and update windows on the thing!

The whole plant died to a halt. Had ten men standing about while I attempted to reinstall an older versions of windows.

.....guess it keeps me in service work :)

Passwords and security levels are MANDITORY with mikerowesoft. I set up a user log in and an admin back door which I release the information on pain of death (theirs not mine). Users can not install or delete anything. They can look all they want. Wait till you find one of the newer games on the machine. That screws up dcom and adds gui crap like DirectX version XXX That putzes with your graphic package on boot up.

If the job is mission critical I will not use MS. Just to many helping teachers out there. If your still playing with anything below NT 3.51 your just asking for trouble in my opinion

The last place I worked had quite a few older computers in use on the production floor to program chips and to run test software. When the company got scared about Y2K they hired a couple characters to start upgrading their IT department. They came into the production are and were busy tagging computers left & right that stated we were not allowed to use the computers because they didn't meet the new standards. They caught one tech gone on vacation and "Upgraded" the OS on a 286 computer that was running Windows 2.0 because everything had to have the same version of windows. Well, the custom software would only run under

2.0. Luckily, I had a set of backup disks stashed away for the system, or we would have lost a couple hundred thousand dollars a year if we had to discontinue that obsolete product.

Their next blunder was a memo stating that no computer on the production floor could have any software changed without their permission. I was writing test software for automated test fixtures, so I took the memo to their office and told them that they had better change their minds or I was going to request a meeting with the head of engineering and the president of the company to file an official complaint that they were interfering with my work. They turned bright red as they realized their mistake and apologized profusely. Finally, we had to have the president of the company tell them that any computer that wasn't connected to the corporate server was to be left alone, unless the head of the production testing requested their help.