Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue After creating a new Project and a new E: Equipment Database in TreeTech, the following error message appears when adding a new Network: Product Line TAC IA Series Environment Windows 7 TreeTech Cause TreeTech requires administrative rights to the Windows user account Resolution Right-click on the TreeTech shortcut Select 'Run as Administrator'

Issue Integrating several MNB-300 controllers to a UNC-510.  Bias resistors are available on the UNC-520 but not the UNC-510.  How can bias resistors be added to this MSTP trunk? Environment Niagara R2 UNC-510 Cause The UNC-510 was not designed to include built-in bias resistors for a BACnet MSTP trunk. Resolution The MNB-300 has built-in bias resistors that are disabled by default.  Remove the cover and enable them with the jumpers provided.  Keep in mind that no more than two sets of bias resistors are to be enabled for any MSTP trunk.  For more information, see the MicroNet BACnet Wiring, Networking, and Best Practices Guide (F-27360).  

Issue Getting distribution file installation (no core software) error when attempting to commission the JACE-6E.  The error states "No core software was found that can be installed to the remote host." Environment I/A Series G3, JACE-6E, TRD-J-600E Cause Attempting to install an I/A Series G3 version that is not compatible with the JACE-6E platform (e.g. versions below 3.6.47). Workbench not set up to be an installation tool (required distribution files are not available within the Workbench environment). Resolution Attempting to install an I/A Series G3 version that is not compatible with the JACE-6E platform (e.g. versions below 3.6.47). The TRD-J-600E is compatible with I/A Series G3 version 3.6.47.1 or later. The I/A Series ENS with Workbench files are available for download from The Exchange Download Center. Workbench not set up to be an installation tool (required distribution files are not available within the Workbench environment). Re-install the I/A Series G3 software and enable the checkbox that configures Workbench to be an installation tool. The checkbox indicates "This instance of TAC I/A Series Enterprise Network Server will be used as an installation tool." The distribution files related to each of the platforms will be installed on the computer.

Issue In I/A Series G3, is there an object that provides a BooleanStatus output reflecting the overridden status of a Boolean Writable or Numeric Writable? Environment I/A Series G3 Cause Need to detect and / or act upon the status conditions of a Boolean Writable or Numeric Writable object. Resolution A StatusDemux object can be linked to the Boolean Writable or Numeric Writable object to provide a Boolean output for each of the status flags (Alarm, Down, Fault, Null Status, Disabled, Overridden, Unacked Alarm, and Stale). Within the Wire Sheet that contains the Boolean Writable or Numeric Writable object: Insert a StatusDemux object (from the kitControl pallet, Util folder). Link the "Out" from the Boolean Writable or Numeric Writable object to the StatusDemux "In Boolean" or "In Numeric" input.

Issue Disable alarm using the status of another object / point Environment I/A Series G3 Workbench Cause Alarms are not required to be generated when equipment is not running. As an example, alarms should not be generated when the equipment is not running after hours.  Resolution Object alarm extensions have an 'Alarm Inhibit' property which a Boolean object can be linked to. A true value at the 'Alarm Inhibit' prevents alarm generation due to any transition or state change.  The Alarm Inhibit property is within the alarm extension. As such, it is not visible on the parent object and therefore, unlinkable. We can expose properties of an extension by using the 'Composite' function. After adding an extension to a Control object. Right click on the object and select 'Composite'. The Composite Editor window will appear.   In the Composite Editor, expand the object and the extension.   Find 'Alarm Inhibit' and double click on it. Alarm Inhibit will be added to the right of the Composite Editor window. You can rename it if required. Click OK.   The Alarm Inhibit property will now be available on the parent object and linkable from a Boolean object. 

Issue On an InVue client computer, alarms are not being received. When opening Windows 2000 DDE shares and selecting Shares/DDE Shares, an error pop-up window appears: Environment Wonderware for Intelligent Buildings (WIBS) 1.1 Windows 2000 Cause NetDDE service is not running. Resolution Access the Services in Windows 2000 and start the NetDDE Service.  Modify its properties so that it runs automatically on bootup of Windows.

Issue Getting I/A Series G3 javax.baja.xml.XException error when attempting to configure proxy extension conversion as Generic Tabular. Environment I/A Series G3, ENC, JACE Cause The conversion selection Generic Tabular provides a way for a VoltageInputPoint or ResistiveInputPoint to support a non-linear responding signal on a universal input (using point Facets other than temperature).  Generic Tabular uses a "lookup table" method similar to the "Thermistor Tabular" conversion, but without predefined output units.  Selection provides a popup Tabular Conversion Dialog in which you can enter a custom source-to-result" non-linear curve, including the ability to import and export response curves.  Use of Generic Tabular requires the kitIo module to be installed. Resolution Use the Platform Software Manager to install the kitIo module into the target ENC or JACE.

Issue What type of Viconics sensor is a SE7600H5045E?  It maps to another model number of VT7600H1018E (which is on the label affixed to the packaging). Environment Viconics controllers Cause Documentation not readily available Resolution Below is a 'Product Matrix Selector' for the SE7600 Series Staging and Heat Pump Controllers.  It was obtained from the installation guide.

Issue In Niagara G3, the ProView wizard does not recognize folders that exist in the station under the Lon Network. Environment Niagara G3 Cause The wizard cannot identify 'regular' folders. The wizard also does not identify a folder with a space character in the folder's name. Resolution Use Device folders as created from the Lon Device Manager.   Use an underscore character instead of a space character for the folder name.

Issue A new Niagara R2 UNC is installed with a license. The license installs correctly. After a reboot, the station fails to start. The standard output window displayed a fatal error as illustrated below: Product Line TAC IA Series Environment Niagara R2 Cause Certain foreign characters are not recognized by Tridium's License Generator.  In this case, a French character (with a symbol above the letter) was used in the customerSite name.  When the license was generated, the French character converted to a question mark (?): customerSite=Rotondle des S?urs The ? symbol is not recognized by Niagara.  So, when an UNC is rebooted, it will read the license file and stop when it comes to the customerSite name. Resolution Contact the factory to have the license modified. After correction by the factory, the customerSite line in the license example above reads: customerSite=Rotondle des Seurs

Issue Just installed  WorkPlace Tech (WPT) 5.8.2 on a Windows 7, 32-bit laptop,  but cannot start it. Received an error,  "The program cannot start because WPTUtility.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem."   Environment WorkPlace Tech Tool, Revision 5.8.2 Cause The software installer was not able to install the  WPTUtility.dll. Resolution 1. Uninstall WPT 5.8.2 2. Make sure user is logged in as administrator 3. Turn off UAC (User Account Control)  until WPT is installed, then turn it back on when finished.       a. Go to the Windows Control Panel and select User Accounts       b. Select Change User Account Control Settings                c. Slide the selector to "Never Notify".  You may want to change this back to your original setting after installing WPT. 4. Install WPT 5.82 as admin, there's a r-click option for it   5. If  steps 1-4 don't work, you might need to disable anti-virus on the laptop, then repeat  steps 1-4.  

Issue In a G3 station, BACnet Device Manager, not able to Discover any MSTP devices. Environment ENC with a BACnet MS\TP trunk under it, all revisions Cause There are multiple settings that must be made before BACnet communications will be enabled on the MS/TP trunk. Resolution 1. The Object Id of the BACnet Local device must be set to a value other than -1. 2. The BACnet Network must have the Enable flag set = true 3. The MSTP port itself must be enabled. Right-click on the MstpPort in the tree, select Actions / Enable. 4. Verify that the MSTP port Enabled flag is "true", and the port is enabled. 5. Verify that the Port Name (COM3 in this example) is an active RS-485 port on the ENC. 6. Verify that the Baud Rate (19,200 in this example) matches the baud rate of the MSTP controllers. In the case of MNB- series controllers, the network baud rate is established by the WorkPlace Tech Commissioning Tool. 7. Remember that the MSTP Network number must be unique on the BACnet internetwork.  In this case, the MSTP network number  = 7966, which is not a likely default value, so minimizes the possibility of being duplicated by another vendor.

Issue On a Niagara R2 UNC, a DNS server will be used. What is the 'node' name or 'computer' name for the UNC on the Microsoft network? Environment Niagara R2 Cause End customer requirements Resolution The Computer Name on the Network Settings tab in Admin Tool will appear as the node name on the Microsoft Network.  See image below. The Computer Name is modifiable.

Issue A specification for a power meter states that it provides KYZ pulse outputs. What is a KYZ pulse output? Product Line All Product Lines Environment Utility Meter with KYZ pulse outputs Cause Some meter specification sheets may state that the device outputs KYZ pulses. Resolution KYZ is a designation given to a relay used to create pulses for electrical metering applications. It is commonly a Form C relay (SPDT). The term KYZ refers to the contact designations: K for common, Y for Normally Open, and Z for Normally Closed.

Issue A Niagara G3 Microsmart driver is being used to integrate an existing system of Microsmart controllers. Mode control points are used to command heating stages at different setpoint values.  How can the stage setpoints be modified (identified as the PVALU element) from the Niagara G3 station?  They are learned into the Niagara G3 station as Numeric Points and do not have the option to be writable. Environment Niagara G3 Microsmart driver Microsmart controllers Cause Modification of stage setpoints to be provided to the customer on the system graphic. Resolution 1.  Add the PVALU element for the specific Mode Control point to the database:     2. Add text to the Command String and modify the Index value to match the specific PVALU element to be changed (ie: Index = 6 maps to PVALU,6 in the Mode Control point):   Now, a right-click on the numeric point provides an action item and the ability to change the PVALU element for the Mode Control point down in the Microsmart Driver.

Issue During initial setup, the incorrect ethernet IP address or subnet mask was entered. Now when rebooting the ENC/JACE, I cannot reconnect to it using the I/A Series G3 Workbench. How can the incorrect information be corrected? Environment ENC-520-x, ENC-410-x, JACE-600, JACE-600E, JACE-7 Cause Network connectivity cannot be established if the IP address or subnet mask was entered incorrectly. Likewise, if an invalid subnet mask is entered, the ENC/JACE may not boot completely (or at all). Resolution The following information is provided in more detail in the section "About JACE serial shell mode" subsection of the "JACE Niagara AX Install and Startup Guide", provided with the G3 software. This document is provided with and installed with the I/A Series (Niagara) G3 software. This document can be displayed by selecting "Doc - JACE Startup" from the documentation index. Required hardware: Serial Cable Terminal Emulator software on computer (such as "Hyperterminal" or "Putty") Procedure: Configure the Terminal Emulator.  ENC-410 and ENC-520 at 57600 baud, 8 bits, one stop bit, no parity, hardware flow control.  JACE-6xx and JACE-7xx at 115200 baud, 8 bits, one stop bit, no parity, no flow control.  Jumper the upper two pins of the Console "MODE" connector,  located in the upper right corner of the ENC410 and 520 circuit board (See photo at right).  JACE-6xx and JACE-7xx remove cover and configure serial mode select jumper as labeled. For ENC-410 and ENC-520, connect the terminal emulator via a UNCC-405 serial cable to port COM1 on the ENC and power-cycle the ENC.  For JACE-6xx and JACE-7xx, connect the terminal emulator via a standard DB-9 null modem cable to port COM1 on the JACE and power-cycle the JACE. Wait for the ENC/JACE to complete its bootup process (do not break out of the boot process). At the login prompt, enter the platform user name and at the password prompt, enter the platform password.  The JACE System Shell menu will then be displayed. Select option 2 to display and, if needed, update the ENC/JACE's network settings. The network parameters will be displayed, one at a time.  To change a value type in the corrected value and press the key.  To keep an existing value, just press the key. When all parameters have been displayed, a confirmation screen will be displayed.  Press to save the changes.  When the information has been saved to the ENC/JACE a prompt will be displayed. press the key to continue. Press 7 to reboot the ENC then press to confirm the reboot request.. Disconnect the serial cable and remove the jumper installed in step 2.

Issue Is it possible to recover the block programming database from a failed GCM-84000 series controller? Environment Network 8000 GCM-84000 series controller (1) failed CPU board, GCMA-112 (1) replacement CPU board, GCMA-112 Cause A GCM-84000 series CPU board has failed, and a backup of the GCM block database cannot be found to install in a replacement controller. Resolution It MIGHT be possible to extract the block database from a failed GCM-84000 series controller, as long as the PROM chips on the CPU board (GCMA-112) were not damaged by the "event" that damaged the rest of the CPU board. Assuming the PROM chips are not damaged, the procedure is as follows: Note: When changing the PROM chips, be sure to wear a well-grounded ground strap to help prevent static electricity from damaging the sensitive chips. 1. Remove the chips labeled PROM-22-300 and PROM-22-400 from the "old" CPU board.     2. Install them on the spare CPU board. Do not interchange the PROM chips, and maintain their original orientation. 3. Replace  the CPU card into a working GCM. If the original PROM chips were undamaged, the GCM will reboot successfully, and the block database from the original GCM will now be transferred to the replacement GCM.  4. Backup the GCM database immediately.

Issue java.io.EOFException    at javax.baja.xml.XParser.read(XParser.java:753)    at javax.baja.xml.XParser.parseString(XParser.java:555)    at javax.baja.xml.XParser.parseAttr(XParser.java:492)    at javax.baja.xml.XParser.parseElemStart(XParser.java:421)    at javax.baja.xml.XParser.next(XParser.java:262)    at javax.baja.xml.XParser.parseCurrent(XParser.java:146)    at javax.baja.xml.XParser.parse(XParser.java:119)    at javax.baja.xml.XParser.parse(XParser.java:102)    at javax.baja.ui.px.PxDecoder.decodeDocument(PxDecoder.java:77)    at javax.baja.ui.px.PxDecoder.decodeDocument(PxDecoder.java:64)    at javax.baja.workbench.px.BWbPxView.loadPx(BWbPxView.java:176)    at javax.baja.workbench.px.BWbPxView.doLoadValue(BWbPxView.java:90)    at javax.baja.workbench.BWbEditor.loadValue(BWbEditor.java:233)    at com.tridium.workbench.shell.NHyperlinkInfo.loadView(NHyperlinkInfo.java:563)    at com.tridium.workbench.shell.NHyperlinkInfo.hyperlink(NHyperlinkInfo.java:100)    at com.tridium.workbench.shell.BNiagaraWbShell.doHyperlink(BNiagaraWbShell.java:350)    at com.tridium.workbench.shell.BNiagaraWbShell.hyperlink(BNiagaraWbShell.java:316)    at com.tridium.workbench.shell.WbCommands$BackCommand.doInvoke(WbCommands.java:718)    at javax.baja.ui.Command.doInvoke(Command.java:303)   Environment G3 (Niagara) station with px files, any revision level. Cause The px file did not copy correctly. Resolution There are three possible approaches to recover from this situation, as follows: Try copying the file again.   Open the px file with a text editor. It might be possible to determine what was either not copied at all, or what might have been corrupted during the copying process. The example shown below is part of the BoilerRoom.px file from niagara-3.6.47 \ stations \ demo \ px \ plant. Lines 489 through 495 contain 'closing tags' for the Canvas Pane, Scroll Pane, Border Pane, content, and px statements that were opened at an earlier point in the px file. If one or more of these 'closing tags' were not copied, or were somehow corrupted during the copying process, the error would result .  If necessary, restore the px file from a backup.

Issue After configuring a Niagara R2 station with BACnet MSTP communications, the UNC displays an error in the standard output window: "Cannot load BACnet MSTP Driver". Error details below: *************************************************************** ERROR: Cannot load BACnet MSTP Driver tridium.nre.DriverException: Not found [mstp]    at tridium.nre.Platform.installDriver (bytecode 98)    at tridium.nre.Platform.getDriver (bytecode 42)    at tridium.nre.Nre.driver (bytecode 4)    at tridiumx.bacnet.services.link.mstp.MstpLinkService.init (bytecode 3)    at tridiumx.bacnet.services.network.NetworkPort.linkInit (bytecode 14)    at tridiumx.bacnet.services.network.NetworkPort.linkStart (bytecode 😎    at tridiumx.bacnet.services.network.MultipleNetworkService.start (bytecode 29)    at tridiumx.bacnet.services.network.RouterNetworkService.start (bytecode 1)    at tridiumx.bacnet.services.BACnetService.startService (bytecode 44)    at tridium.foundation.Sys.startServices (bytecode 49)    at tridium.foundation.Station.startStation (bytecode 63)    at tridium.foundation.Sys.boot (bytecode 27)    at tridium.foundation.Sys.bootLocalSns (bytecode 17)    at tridium.tools.StationMain.bootSns (bytecode 0)    at tridium.tools.StationMain.doIt (bytecode 352)    at tridium.tools.StationMain.main (bytecode 10)    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke (Native Method)    at tridium.nre.Nre.mainImpl (bytecode 271)    at tridium.nre.Nre.main (bytecode 1) *************************************************************** Product Line TAC IA Series Environment Niagara R2 Cause BACnet MSTP driver does not load on a UNC reboot. Resolution Add the line illustrated below to the drivers.properties file and reboot the UNC: driver.mstp=tridium.nre.vxworks.mstp.VxWorksMstpDriver

Issue How to configure an analog input on a DMS MicroSmart controller as a contact input. Environment MSC-MPC (revision 10) and MSC-MPC-001 (revision 11) MicroSmart controllers Cause No contact inputs available on the MSC-MPC Resolution Below are illustrations and explanations on how to configure an analog input as a contact input.