Newton-Willbanks Engineering, Inc.

Allen-Bradley Inview Notes

I recently hooked up an Allen-Bradley Inview to a PLC5/60 via remote I/O and need to remember a few things.

Inview: A-B #2706-P42R

Remote I/O Module: A-B #2706-PRIOM

Software: Inview Messaging Software 2.2

The Inview itself has a serial port that connects to the RIO communications module. The default parameters of the serial port are 9600, N, 8, 1. You can use a A-B #2706-PC CABLE1 (9-pin male to RJ-45) to talk to the Inview to set the serial port address. You can do this using the Inview software (Tools > Set Serial Address).

You must talk to the serial side of the remote I/O module at least once to configure the RIO parameters. The remote I/O module is the same module as used in PanelViews. So when you use RSLinx, that's what it shows up as when you do a RSLinx auto-configure and when you do a Who. The serial side parameters were 19.2, N, 1 and I used a 9-pin straight "female-female" cable (that seems to be an oxymoron). You configure the RIO parameters using the Network tab in the Inview software. After using the software to configure the network parameters, you will be given the option to save and/or download the parameters. Be sure to enable pass-thru as that lets you download messages from your computer, through the PLC5, into the display. After you get the Inview communicating with the PLC via RIO, you can do the rest of your work using pass-thru just like with a PanelView.

A couple of caveats:

1) The version of Inview Messaging Software that I was using was pretty dumb when it came to downloading. It reported that downloading was taking place (counting up to 100% done) even with the cable disconnected. Very confusing - I spent a lot of time thinking I had downloaded everything when in fact I hadn't even talked to it. When downloading, the Inview screen goes blank or shows some of the messages going by.

2) When you get the RIO module set up, it will show "no network activity" until you correctly hook up the blue-hose. Also, the PLC5 RIO auto-configure will recognize the Inview RIO module if you have everything set up right.

3) Remember that the Inview and the RIO module are two distinct devices. They are connected to each other serially. I thought it was strange that the Inview was configured as 9600 and the serial side of the RIO module was at 19,200, but they communicated OK.

4) The blue-hose connection to the RIO module was the opposite of what I thought it should be. Maybe PanelViews are that way too, I don't remember. Anyway, the connection detail are in the manual. Looking at the connector plugged into the module, the connections from top to bottom are: CLR, SHLD, BLU.

5) On newer Inviews, when an undefined message is triggered, "UNDEFINED MESSAGE #XX" is displayed on the Inview. On older Inviews, a blank message is triggered.

6) If everything downloads OK, but the messages don't display, check to make sure the Inview serial address matches the address in the "download Comms" configuration. If they're not the same, the messages won't be displayed.