C-more Micro HMI Debug Comm Issues with PLC from AutomationDirect

If you can’t communicate with the PLC, check each of the following: 1. Make sure you are using the correct com port. All of the ports on the C-More Micro are labeled so look real close and see. Usually the 6 pin connector is always port 1. Or on the larger panels the USB port is port 1. But again, check the labels on the panel. 2. Make sure the correct com port is selected in the project. Under Panel Manager, which you can find under the Navigations Windows Function Tab - Panel Manager … you can see all the devices and which com ports they are connected to on the panel Note that this is the CMORE MICRO com port – NOT the device’s com port or the PC’s com port. Click on the device and you can see all of the com port parameters associated with that com port. Again, these are the com port parameters for THIS com port on the C-More Micro. They are not the com port parameters of the PLC or the Device you are connected to. 3. Verify that the C-More Micro com port settings match the comport setting of the PLC project. Let’s bring up the com port settings for our panel. That’s under the navigations windows Function Tab – panel manager. We click on the device connected to com port 1, which is the one we are interested in right now … and we see all the com port parameters. Keep in mind these are the com port parameters of the panel’s serial port – not the PLC. So let’s put the panel up here and bring up the com port settings from the PLC project. This is from the Click PLC software. Here’s our panel, here’s our PLC. Comparing side-by-side … we see that they are both operating on the same address … same baud rate, same parity, same stop but, and 8 communication bits which are assumed over here on the panel. So my Panel Serial Port Setting Match my PLC serial port settings. So we should be good to go. 4. Verify that the comport on the C-More Micro is good. Bring up the setup screen on the C-More Micro – I have a simulated version here – go to the test menu – and there is a serial port loopback test. You will need a loop back cable/adapter which you can make yourself using the instructions in the hardware manual. If you go to the C-More Micro Page, I’m using this panel so I’ll click on his manual, I’m going to go down to chapter 5 in this manual which is the setup screen … and in that section of the manual there is actually a sub-paragraph on test menu for serial port loopback test – test menu – serial port loop back test. So here is a picture of the cable that gets plugged in … and what you have to do – that is just short pins 3 and 4 to make a loopback tester. If you want to test serial port 2, you need to loop back on these pins here. Once you have built that connector and attached it to the serial port, you can run a test – it says bytes sent, receive Counts, Error Counts. This is testing serial port 1. To test serial port 2 – you click on serial port 2. 5. Finally, the last hint on how to debug com issues, number 5, is to make sure the PLC is grounded and its using the same ground as the C-More Micro Panel. That’s all there is to debugging com issues on your C-More Micro – be sure to check out the other videos in this series. And as always, please send us any topics you would like to see covered – or - any other comments for that matter – we appreciate the feedback