RTU32 & STRATON

I have forgotten the IP address of my RTU32. How do I get reconnected?

There are in general 2 ways:

Reset to default configuration settings
Place the Flash disc in a Flash disc reader – and delete the folder “Documents and Settings”. After that the RTU32 will start with the default virgin configuration. Please note that it your STRATON PLC runtime application will NOT be deleted.

Search for the RTU32 in your network
Use the RTU32 tool for scanning RTU32 devices in your network. If you for some reason not have the RTU32 tool for scanning, you can use a mac scanner software like ColaSoft Mac scanner. The RTU32 will be reported as Evalue Tech as the manufacture.

I have by accident created an endless loop in my PLC program and cannot get in contact with the RTU32 with my STRATON WorkBench. What do I do?

You can remove the PLC runtime file from the Flash disc. Place the Flash disc in a Flash disc reader – and delete the*.COD file in the root.

Now you have removed the PLC runtime. You can now get access to the RTU32 again and download a new STRATON application.

I experience problems setting physical outputs. When I force the variable linked to the output to TRUE it is immediately set back to FALSE. What is the problem?

You have most likely two variables assigned to the same output. I/Os can be controlled with either Board I/O or as a profile on a variable.

The most common error is to create Board I/O using the Board I/O Configurator. It will automatically assign variables to all physical I/Os. And then afterwards add a profile to a variable for an output. Now you have two variables assigned to one output and you will see the problem as you describe.

RECOMMENDATION: From the beginning you must decide to use only one of the two ways of addressing physical I/Os. If you use IEC60870, Brodersen will recommend using only profile I/Os.

RTU32/IEC60870 Configurator

Can I use the IEC60870 drivers in STRATON Fieldbus Configurator?

No, RTU32 IEC60870 is based on Function Block Driver and must be configured with the IEC60870 Configurator for RTU32. It is a separate tool you have to purchase separately. Please note that it is recommended to have the Unlimited IO license STRATON as the configuration tool will create many variables for each IEC60870 Driver and for each ASDU defined.

Why do I get strange time stamps on my Single Point Information sent from a 101 Slave or 104 Server?

You have to configure the Realtime clock in your RTU32 correctly.
In general you have settings for the Operating System clock where you can setup your time zone and use of daylight saving. That is configured in the Webpage Time Settings.The time used in IEC60870 is releated to the time functions in STRATON – and default it will use the local OS time.
As an alternative to local time you can use UTC time in STRATON (equals used in IEC60870) – in that case you have to enable ‘Use UTC time’ in the STRATON Mains settings. Be careful to use the same time philosophy in your complete system (SCADA and RTUs).

I am sending Single Command to the RTU32 working as a IEC60870-5-104 Server, but the outputs are never pulsed/activated?

If your time stamp of the Command send from your SCADA IEC60870 Client differentiate more defined in your configuration of the RTU32 – the command will NOT be executed. To prevent old Command request delayed in the communication network to be executed, the RTU32 Driver will compare the time in the message and reject it if it is too old. You can set the appropriate time out limit in the Excel Work Sheet 104 Server.

I am not able to establish a link connection to the RTU32 over IEC60870-5-104?

Check if you have configured all the settings in the Excel sheet correctly. And please check whether you have defined the IP addresses of the IEC60870-5-104 Client that are allowed to connect to the RTU32.

RTU8/RTUCOM

Why do I have problems with communication over GSM when it works okay with PSTN modem connection?

If you are using GSM communication it is recommended to update your IOTOOL32 to the latest version. We are continuously updating the dial-up driver in order to be tolerant to all the differences we meet at the GSM providers worldwide.

And it is HIGHLY recommended to increase the Modbus Timeout value to minimum 6000ms (default value is 1500). The procedure is as follows; In the Option menu enable the “Show Modbus parameter tab ...” When rescanning you must set the Modbus timeout in the Modbus Parameter folder. Now you will be more tolerant to long delays which is common in GSM networks today.

Auto Log Upload and Com Counts/Why is my RTU not hanging up after log upload?

If you are using the Auto Mode in the Log upload utility, beware of setting the Com Count, in the PC, high, say above 20. Usually you leave the RTU8 Com Count at the default of 256 to ensure it does not disconnect during an upload of logged data and leave the PC, via its Com Count, to make the hang-up. The PC hangs up when its Com Count reaches a defined value, but the Log upload utility resets the PC Com Count to zero when uploading logged data. If the RTU8 logs new data whilst connected to the PC and before the PC Com Count expires, the Log upload utility will upload the new logged data and reset the PC Com Count. This could continue in a loop, causing the line to be held. So whenever you use the Auto Mode in the Log upload utility, set the Com Count as low as is practicable and test to ensure that a hang-up is instigated.

Need urgently an approximate indication of the quantity of bytes taken up in the data logger by an analogue value plus time and date. A rough indication could be enough.

A logged analogue value including full time stamp is 12 Bytes (2 Byte for AI, 7 Byte for full time stamp, 1 Byte for log ID and 2 Bytes for start and end of text). But if you are calculating the number of logs in the memory you have to take care of this:
If you have one log per hour you must calculate with 12 bytes for 1 AI with time stamp. But if you are logging many times per hour only one or two logs per hour will be 12 Bytes. The rest will be 7-9 bytes as the time stamp will only be full every one hour or 100 logs whatever occurs first.

Finally rough estimate or indication will be:
Log every one hour: 12 Bytes per log
Log every minute: In average 8 Bytes pr log.

IOTOOL32 Pro

Why does the Excel sheet not work with my uploaded log file? It seems that some data are put in the wrong columns?

You probably need to change your date format. The Excel sheet is prepared for using date format DD-MM-YY. If you, for instance, are running Win2000 the default date format is DD-MM-YYYY, with a 4-digit year. You change that in the Control panel/Regional Options in the Date folder. Set the format to dd-MM-yy. See the screen dump below:


New uploading of logs will give you the correct date format to work with the Excel sheet.

How long will it take to upload the log from bitbus modules with log facilities?

The measurements have been made by uploading from a module with log filling indicator = 255 which means that the log was full. The table below contains the measurements made (minutes:seconds):


Only IOTOOL32 bitbus driver and the Log Upload program were running and the CPU load was as stated. Higher CPU load may result in longer upload time. The measurements are not valid for Windows 95/98/ME versions. The values in brackets are not yet measured but expected values.

When I try to compile my B-CON application program the compiler comes up with an error message: “too much labels”. B-CON version: 2.04

The error message “to much labels” means that the application program contains too many labels. The limitations of labels in B-CONW ver. 2.04 are fixed at a maximum of 100 labels. The only solution is to reduce the count of labels in the application program.

DNP3

How do I control quality bits in the DNP3 slave protocol?

Download the DNP3 slave protocol file here. Download a DNP3 Project in zip here.