Serial communications can be difficult to set up because of the many combinations of setup parameters. Setup parameters include: Communications Port, Physical Wiring, Baud Rate, Framing, Handshake and so on.
The Idec Micro Serial Autodetect Wizard can simplify the setup of serial communications. The wizard tries different combinations of communication parameters until an Idec Micro device is found. The wizard can automatically:
Note: The Wizard will only work if the physical connection to the device is wired correctly. If you run the Wizard with an incorrectly wired connection, the Wizard will not detect anything. It is worth spending time checking the physical connection is correct before running the Wizard.
Start Configuration Tool. Use one of the connection options on the Start Page to connect to Fernhill SCADA.
Select the Tag Window in the Configuration Tool.
Right-click the folder where you want to import the detected configuration. The Tag Window Menu opens:
Click Autodetect.... The Autodetect... Wizard opens:
Click Next.... The Choose Device Type or Protocol page opens:
Note: You can only detect one device type or protocol at a time.
Select Idec Micro Serial then click Next>. The Choose communication ports page opens:
Note: The list of ports available on your computer may be different to the list shown above.
To select a port, do one of the following:
The Autodetect Wizard will try the port(s) in the order shown in the Selected Items: list. You can reorder the list using the up and down arrows.
Choose the port(s) you want the Autodetect Wizard to try, then click Next>. The Choose Baud Rates page opens:
Choose the baud rate(s) you want the Autodetect Wizard to try, then click Next>. The Choose Framing page opens:
Choose the serial framing you want the Autodetect Wizard to try, then click Next>. The Choose Address Range page opens:
Choose the address range you want the Autodetect Wizard to try, then click Next>. The Ready to Start page opens:
Review the autodetect parameters and, if you are satisfied with your selection, click Next. The Autodetect Wizard will start:
Note: If you selected many options in the previous pages, the wizard will take a long time to run.
When the Autodetect Wizard has finished searching the progress bar shows Complete:
If the Autodetect Wizard has found devices, you can click Next to review the results:
Click Finish to create suitable configuration to communicate with the device. Click Cancel to cancel the operation. If you clicked Yes, expand the NewConfiguration folder to see the automatically generated tags:
Idec Micro PLC Data Address Format
To learn how to choose a data location in an Idec Micro PLC.
For a list of autodetect wizards supported by Fernhill SCADA.
For background information on serial communications.
For the meaning of terms used in Fernhill SCADA.