FieldPoint installation with SRM6000 Radio Modem

[newby]

I am trying to install a series of field point modules using an FP-2015 as the interface module to SRM6000 Radio Modems. The modems are communicating with each other and the PC but when I connect the 2015 to the slave modem and use MAX to "find devices" I get a timed out error. I have another program which connects to a different set of FieldPoint components through a wireless router on the same computer which is working properly. Any new program I install must not conflict with the working program.

[Tom_W_[DE]]

Hi newby-

Can you please clarify how you have verified that the modems are talking to each other and the PC? Have you performed a loopback test with the devices and configured their baud rates using hyperterminal?

Please take a look at the Getting Started with the SRM6000 Radio Modem reference to verify that you have performed the configuration correctly.

Please let us know if you are still having problems.

Thanks,

[newby]

Thanks for your input TomW. Yes I have performed a loopback test. The site you referenced gives different information regarding the LED's on the SRM6000. I have a Master and a Slave. Each has 4 LED's marked OICP. When they are powered, The red LED under P lights. When the PC is connected to the Master, The red LED and the amber LED under C on the Master light up. When I perform the loopback, the amber LED under C on the Slave also light up. I have looked a other information on the NI website and have found additional confusing information. For example, they suggest opening FieldPoint explorer. I do not have this program but I assume MAX is similar. However, the screens are different and I cannot correlate the directions.

[Aaron_G]

What you want to do is not directly possible. The FP-20XX series of controllers use ethernet as the primary communication method. The Find Devices for the FP-20XX series operates only via ethernet and not serial. Thus, you will never successfully Find Devices via a serial port with the FP-20XX series.

The FP-20XX series serial ports are designed for the embedded LabVIEW RT program to control. You could write and embed a LabVIEW program that will monitor the serial port and respond to the FieldPoint Optomux commands (see the FP-1000/1001 Programmers Reference Manual) as if the module was an FP-1000/1001, but unless you do this, the FP-20XX will never respond to a Find Devices command via the SRM-6000.

Regards,
Aaron

[Tom_W_[DE]]

Hi Aaron-

Thanks for your input- I was more concerned with ensuring that the SRM6000 modules were working correctly as they can be problematic. I hadn't considered the issue you suggested, but your response is totally correct.

Thanks again-

[newby]

Thanks Aaron G. I think you have clearly explained why I have been unable to do what I was trying to do. However, you indicate it may be possible to communicate with the 2015 through a radio modem which is what I want to do. You suggest a program embedded in the 2015. Are you saying that I could write a program in LabviewRT, transfer it by way of ethernet to the 2015, then be able to communicate with the 2015 through its serial port? If I understand you correctly, my only problem is my limited experience in writing Labview programs. I have the 1000/1001 User Manual and 1000/1001 Programmer Reference Manual and glancing through it, I don't see anything that looks like it will work for me. Of course, it would have to be in bold print "NEWBY! THIS IS IT" before I would recognize it. If I am correct in my assumption that it would be possible to write a program, I will continue to pursue this approach.

[Aaron_G]

Yes, if you want to communicate with the FP-20XX via a SRM-6000, you will need to write a LabVIEW RT program and embed it in the FP-20XX. I reference the FP-1000/1001 Programmers Reference Manual because that documents the command set that is used by the NI-FieldPoint Software to communicate with the serial based FP-1000/1001 controllers. So, if you wanted to take advantage of the native FieldPoint driver features, you would need to write a program that made the FP-20XX communicate and behave like a FP-1000. However, you do not need to get that complicated. If you are writing both sides of the LabVIEW application (computer and FieldPoint), you could implement any serial protocol between the computer and the FieldPoint system that you wished.

Regards,
Aaron

[newby]

Thanks again Aaron G. I am glad your explanations are so clear. Even I can understand them. They are almost as good as "NEWBY! THIS IS IT". Again, I am not very good at writing Labview programs, but with the assistance of your input, I know where to begin. Also, because of the positive response from this website, I know where to go for additional help.

[Aaron_G]

We were all Newbies at one time or another. I was a FieldPoint newbie in early 1999. The advantage is that there was a lot less to FieldPoint at the time (it had only been out for slightly over a year) so it took shorter to master and I was able to grow my FieldPoint expertise as FieldPoint itself grew.

To learn more about writing LabVIEW Programs, I suggest that you consider the National Instruments LabVIEW Basics, LabVIEW Intermediate, and LabVIEW RT courses. Additionally, there are a number of books available such as LabVIEW For Everyone, and A Software Engineering Approach to LabVIEW, to name a few.

Regards,
Aaron