Problems with Lookout and FieldPoint

[viorel333]

I have a system wich originally (year 2000 ) was made of a network of 7 FP 1001 and 2 FP 1600 all with counters FP 500 CTR . I used Lookout 4.5.09 to read the counters input - about 100 points - and I had no troubles . Fieldpoint firmware is 2.80 for 1001 and 3.0 for 1600. Recently I added another 8 FP 1001 and 1 FP 1600 with another counters for 100 points . Firmware for new modules 3.0 for 1001 and 3.0 for 1600 . I experienced the next problems :
- the new added module 1600 appears if I use Fieldpoint object but does not return the values I see in Fieldpoint Explorer in Lookout object members
- if I use OPC client I can see in Lookout the values of members but if the connection is lost with FP 1600 when connection is restored
OPC object can't see the FP and my computer is "killed" by OPC server task runing intensively . If I restart the computer the situation is the same , OPC object doesn't show anything .
- the serial modules does return some values but not all and with very great delay ( 20min to 1 hour ) .
I installed FP Explorer 3.02 to use new versions of Fieldpoint objects but the symptoms are the same . I reversed to Fieldpoint 2.01 . Still no improvements.
Can anybody help me ? Should I upgrade the firmware of all the FP modules in the system ? Why OPC Client object doesn't work with serial modules ? I use the serial modules at 1200 bps because I have long distances.
The 1600 modules are in a 100Mbps local network.
The computer I use is a PIII/500Mhz with Win NT 4.0 .
Thanks in advance .
Viorel Scarlet

[Mike S. @NI]

Viorel,

We always recommend installing the latest FieldPoint Explorer on your PC, which you have, and firmware on each module. For the ethernet modules, it is 416, and for the serial modules it is 030.

We also recommend using the OPCFieldPoint object in Lookout. Whenever you make any changes to your IAK file, you should make sure the OPCFieldPoint object recognizes those changes. You can also use the Server Explorer utility to read data from the FieldPoint OPC server.

Using a lower baud rate will not improve the transmission with RS-485. You should use the fastest setting you can.

Is the FP-1600 showing any other strange
behavior? Do the LEDs do anything differenty when the problem happens? If so, that might give us more insight into what the problem is.

Regards,
Michael Shasteen
Applications Engineering
National Instruments

[viorel333]

Thanks for suggestions .
Aparently , the FP 1600 does not shows any sign of strange behavior , but I'll keep an eye on the problem .
I use a low baud rate because the distances are big and the cable is a phone cable as support for transmission.
Anyway I could not see any of my 15 FP 1001 with OPC Fieldpoint .Is it the low baud rate the cause ?

[Mike S. @NI]

Sorry my reply took so long as I was out of the office. I wanted to make sure you are using the "find devices" button in FieldPoint Explorer to check if the modules are responding. Another point to remember is that you cannot have two programs (Lookout and FP Explorer) accessing the same com port simultaneously.

I would highly recommend trying FieldPoint Explorer, Lookout, and, if necessary, Server Explorer. If the modules cannot be accessed by FieldPoint Explorer, then you may have a hardware problem. If FP Explorer works and Server Explorer doesn't, then the FP OPC server is not working properly. If both of the former work, but Lookout doesn't, then the problems most likely stem from the Lookout OPCCLient object.