Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue When disconnecting the IP cable to a 911 which  act as a RSPD the RPUs goes offline, when connecting it again the RPUs stay offline.   Environment Vista 5.1.6 Xenta 911 as RSPD, PLB and RPU 6751 Cause The PLB object in the Vista database have somehow become corrupt. Resolution When creating new PLB objects and move the RPUs to that new object it works like it should.

Issue In an old TAC Menta file, STATE members of SNVT_Switch inputs and outputs are assigned to DI/DO blocks. When editing existing SNVT_Switch I/O blocks, or adding a new one, it is not possible to select the STATE member from the drop-down list because the list is empty. Environment TAC Menta version 4.20 or higher Cause An application made in a version of Menta earlier than 4.20 would have had the STATE member of a SNVT-Switch declared as a digital input/output. From TAC Menta version 4.20, both the STATE and VALUE members of the SNVT_Switch are declared as analog input/output. Resolution Applications made with earlier versions of TAC Menta can still be downloaded with the latest TAC Menta version and will work correctly, provided you do not open the DI/DO block containing the SNVT_Switch member STATE and then exit the block dialog with the OK button. If this occurs: Delete this DI/DO block Recreate the SNVT_Switch STATE using a AI/AO block instead See TPI C-89-1-F5 for full details of this issue

Issue When compiling a WorkPlace Tech application created and successfully compiled with an earlier version of WPT and Visio, an error message may be displayed indicating an issue with an object in the application.  One of the observed errors is noted below: "Unhandled write error (app name) (object name)" Environment WPT 5.6.x WPT 5.7.x WPT 5.8.x Cause Internal consistency error in the internal application database. This issue will sometimes occur when the application was created in one version of Visio then updated to a newer version.  The actual causes are not fully understood.  Because the history of the actual application file is frequently unknown, having been created and modified by various engineers, these issues usually cannot be duplicated. Prior to WorkPlace Tech Tool version 5.x.x the application database was stored in the WPT project database.  In WPT version 5.x.x, the application database is stored internal to the WPT application drawing Visio file. Resolution Open the application file in the WorkPlace Tech Tool and allow it to be saved in the newer Visio file format, if prompted. From the "Application" menu of WPT, select "Rebuild Application" Click the [Yes] button to allow the application to be rebuilt.  A popup window will display the process of the application rebuild. If errors are detected, appropriate steps must be taken to correct them. If you are rebuilding an MNL-800 application and have not previously manually indexed all the Echelon network variables (SNVTs), the SNVT index numbers may change.  This change of SNVT index numbers can cause issues with existing network bindings to or from the controller.  If some or all SNVTs were not indexed, and they changed as a result of the rebuild, you will need to follow the list of sub-steps listed here. Using the WPT Hardware wizard, change the "Controller Program ID" then compile and download the application to the controller If the network is managed using LonMaker, perform a "Replace" on the controller object, reading the XIF file from the device. If the network is managed by an I/A Series R2 UNC and WorkPlace Pro, you will need to delete the existing device shadow object and re-learn the controller then recommission the device and recommission the Local Lon Device.. Update any binding links that were changed or moved due to the replacement of the controller shadow object. Compile and download the application. Rebind all links to the updated controller

Issue Unable to get I/NET to install on Military Bases. Environment Windows 7 and Windows Vista OS with I/NET Seven versions 2.40 and above. Cause The version of software that is being used by the military does not allow the password scheme to create the necessary permissions for correct functionality. Resolution Remove I/NET from the PC. Reconfigure the PC with the original version of Windows and or Vista Load I/NET on this version. Upgrade PC to Windows 7 Gold or Windows Vista Gold Once completed then restart I/NET again.

Issue I reloaded a netcontroller in the Eastern Time Zone from a PC whose time was set to Pacific time.  Now all the controllers under this Continuum Network have their time set to Pacific time, not local time. Environment BCX NC CX ACX Cause Reloaded a controller from a workstation that was configured for a different time zone. Resolution When a controller is reloaded from a Cyberstation, the Cyberstation sets the controller time to the local time that configured in the Cyberstation PC. Once the date and time has been set, the controller broadcasts it's date and time to all of the Infinity network controllers on the same Continuum network.  These controllers in turn set their own time to the time that they received via the broadcast.

Issue In Niagara G3, a BACnet proxy point was initially added to the database as Read only; how can it be change to a BACnet Writable proxy point? Environment Niagara G3 all versions Cause BACnet proxy point type (read only. writable, etc.) is selected when the proxy point is first added to the database. The BACnet Proxy Point was initially discovered and added to the database as Read Only Proxy Point. Resolution Unfortunately, once the BACnet Proxy Point is added to the database its Type value can not be changed. The Proxy Point will have to be deleted, rediscovered and re-added to the database. This time when adding the Proxy Point to the database, make sure to select writable for Type.

Issue After installing Vista successfully, Vista Server starts, but an error message occurs when starting Vista Workstation: Application Error: The application failed to initialize properly (0xc000007b). Click on OK to terminate the application. Environment Vista Workstation Windows XP Professional (tested with) Cause Some other software or driver installed on the computer caused Microsoft .NET Framework error. Resolution Download an IExpress setup file named dotnetfx from Microsoft website and install the file. Restart the computer and reinstall TAC Vista Server and Workstation, the issue should be solved.

Issue Event Viewer in some workstation are displaying duplicate events. Swiping a valid card at a door results in the Valid Access event showing up twice in some Event Viewers. Environment CyberStation Cause Duplicate subscription entries in the Access Event subscription table of the primary/secondary access server. Resolution Close all Access Event Viewer. Reboot Primary/Secondary access server

Issue Performing an automatic learn or manually commissioning i2/b3 device results in the error "Unknown model number" ACCTrace shows a model number zero Product Line Andover Continuum Environment CyberStation CX/bCX I2/B3 Cause This error can be caused by communication issues. Resolution Verify field bus is properly terminated if required. Follow standard Infinet/MSTP troubleshooting techniques to solve any communication problems inducing the unknown model error.

Issue What options exists for redundancy and hot swap support for TAC Vista Server front end. Environment Vista 5.x.x Cause There is no direct support for redundancy in a Vista system. The software is designed to only allow a single Vista Server to receive alarms and trends from a field bus. If multiple Vista Servers are trying to access the same system the reliability of the data will be compromised. To use any true redundancy of fail safe conditions 3rd party solutions must be designed. Resolution Without 3rd party tools Ensure that the SQL database is on a full version of SQL server on another computer. Use standard SQL tools to provide reliability and data integrity of the SQL database. Make regular backups and provide a process to restore these backups on a duplicate computer when a problem is encountered. Only one of the two Vista Servers should be running at one time. With 3rd party tools Use software/hardware packages that provide duplicate equipment for fail safe and high availability environments. One such option is Marathon HA & FTsolution (http://www.marathontechnologies.com/index.html)

Issue Drop down fields are no longer showing the drop down menu or any fields to select in Personnel Manager Environment Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Cause There is a limitation set for the number of entries and if this is exceeded they will no longer show. Resolution By default the number of drop down entries is set to a maximum number of entries of 1000. This is usually an ample number of these types of fields, but if more are needed then do the following: Find the file PersonnelManagerCtrl.dll.config in C:\program files\Continuum\Common Edit this file in a text editor and find the entry called GridComboMaxEntries="1000" Restart Cyberstation for this setting to take affect, repeat for each Cyberstation. Caution: This is not an unlimited number and can affect system performance, increase this in small increments i.e. 10-25.

Issue ENC is licensed for DMS but gets error "Unlicensed: javax.baja.license.FeatureNotLicensedException: tac_llc:tacdms" when attempting to access the DMS Network property sheet. Environment I/A Series G3, ENC-520 with TAC-LLC license installed Cause When displaying the I/A Series G3 Platform details via the Platform Administration screen in the Workbench, the display shows the following for licensing: Licenses   Tridium.license (Tridium 3.5 - never expires)   TAC_LLC.license (TAC_LLC 3.5 - never expires) Certificates   Tridium.certificate (Tridium - never expires) This information shows that the Tridium and TAC_LLC licenses have been installed but only the Tridium certificate. The TAC_LLC license will not be recognized unless the TAC_LLC.certificate is also installed (as shown in the following platform details display. Licenses   TAC_LLC.license (TAC_LLC 3.6 - never expires)  TAC.license (Tridium 3.6 - never expires) Certificates   Tridium.certificate (Tridium - never expires)  TAC_LLC.certificate (TAC_LLC - never expires) Resolution There are two ways to resolve this issue depending on network connectivity of the G3 Workbench computer. If public ethernet connectivity is available, the licenses and certificates can be downloaded from the I/A Series G3 (Tridium) license server, using the Workbench "License Manager". Open Workbench and connect to the subject ENC. Open the Platform then select License Manager. In the License Manager, select [Import] then check "Import licenses from license server".  This process will download any available licenses for the selected device, along with any available certificates.  After the download is complete, the licenses and certificates downloaded will automatically be installed. If public ethernet connectivity is not available or the certificate is not found, download the TAC_LLC certificate from The Exchange Download Center. Use Workbench to import the downloaded file.

Issue PE program in i28xx controller controls the VAV with TriState Triac output, and the Triac output gets damaged randomly. Environment i2 controller ( i28xx , i28xx-V ) with Triac output. Cause The output channel can get damaged / burned when Triac output value is changed to +ON from -ON ( or to -ON from +ON ) without setting the output value to OFF before the change. Resolution Check the VAV control PE program and make sure the program sets the Tri-state Triac output value to OFF before changing it to the opposite value.

Issue Customer has an application to control a heat pump and would like to use the b3867. The concern is that the triac outputs switch the 24v common, not the 24v hot. Most heat pumps will expect the 24v hot to be switched not the 24v common that is grounded. An interposing relay could be used on these outputs but it is more cost effective (both labor and materials) if the relay could be eliminated.   Environment b3867 Cause Customer has an application to control a heat pump and would like to use the b3867. The concern is that the triac outputs switch the 24v common, not the 24v hot. Most heat pumps will expect the 24v hot to be switched not the 24v common that is grounded. An interposing relay could be used on these outputs but it is more cost effective (both labor and materials) if the relay could be eliminated. Resolution In this case a relay will be required.   The i2 controller technical reference does not specifically mention that you cannot switch X1 (hot) but the output terminal block on the controller itself has the following label: "Note: Triac outputs must switch the grounded leg only. See manual." If the load was wired on the X2, the hot leg (X1) would be shorted to ground and the load would not see 24V.

Issue Need to change the same attributes of a large number of the same object class all at once. Environment Continuum Cause Some object attributes are not able to be modified from a Listview. What is a method to change these attributes? Resolution In the example below we will be modifying the InfinityInput objects LogType, Size, and LogIntervalSecs attributes to change the logging parameters using the "Import from Dump File" method. Before importing anything backup the database, do this now. Go into Offline Mode. Use a ListView to get all the inputs you want to modify. This could be All_Inputs but I'd suggest creating a new one that has the same fields and maybe a filter to weed out the inputs you do not want to change. (you can also use the default listview and just select the inputs you want to modify) In the Listview; select "Edit -> Select All" and the "Object -> Send To -> Text File...". Give the file a name and press Save. Edit your Dump file with Notepad++ or similar text editor and change the fields that you want to change. Search and Replace may save time. Save the file. In ContinuumExplorer; go to the Root, Right-click and select "Import Into..." and select the file you just modified. This will import the Dump file and overwrite the objects with your changes. Checking the Distribution Properties window you will find that there may be errors about duplicate channel numbers - disregard this for now. Go back into Online mode. Confirm the changes have been applied by rerunning the ListView. Select your inputs that were changed and Right-click "Send to -> Controller" to send these changes down to the controller.

Issue When reloading a controller the Distribution Properties displays: timestamp "The operation 'Reloading objects to Controllers' is starting. then just 5-10 seconds later timestamp "The operation 'Reloading objects to Controllers' is finished. The reload is not successful. Environment CyberStation All controllers Cause The "Send to Controller" Options are not set correctly. Resolution In ContinuumExplorer select  Options >> Send to Controller Options... In the Send to Controller Options dialog box change the Source Object Options from "Do not reload attached objects" to either of the other two choices, depending on whether or not you want to reload just the network controller (Reload attached objects, but not attached controllers) or you want to reload the network controller and all of its field controllers (Reload attached objects and controllers). Note: The last choice may take a long, long time depending on the size of the system. That option is rarely used as it resets all field controllers at once, and then reloads them one at a time.  The first option (Do not reload attached objects) only reloads the controller's dictionary - not the full objects/attributes. 

Issue Trying to repair/restore a damaged Microsmart controller trunk.  The last controller on the trunk was removed and thrown out before the EOL module could be removed and placed in another controller.  Installing external resistors to mimic the EOL module is the only option.  What are the resistance values with the EOL module? Environment DMS (all models) Microsmart (all models) Cause Site construction/renovation removed the last controller and the EOL module was not removed before it was thrown out. Resolution Replacing the EOL module with external resistors is not a recommended alternative.  However, in an effort to stabilize controller communications until a proper EOL is installed, here are the resistance values within the module: It is an 8 pin module: Across pins 1-8, 3.3 kohm resistor Across pins 2-7, blank Across pins 3-6, 150 ohm resistor Across pins 4-5, 3.3 kohm resistor All resistors are 1/4 watt, 5%

Issue A condition can exist where the BACnet Ethernet adapter is lost upon a power cycle and restart of the computer (normal reboot, loss of commercial power, etc...) and restart of the ENC-SW (Soft JACE) station.  The BACnet Ethernet adapter option indicates "none." Typically a secondary reboot of the PC will correct the issue however, the Ethernet network port may remain disabled requiring a manual enable. Environment I/A Series G3, ENC-SW Cause An I/A Series G3 ENC-SW station utilizing BACnet Ethernet or BACnet IP starts before there is an available Ethernet adapter from the Windows operating system. Resolution The station mechanism related to the Ethernet adapter in I/A Series G3 version 3.6 and higher has been modified to maintain the list of adapters as disabled or disconnected where the adapter choice now remains consistent through a power cycle or reboot condition. Upgrade to I/A Series G3 version 3.6 or higher.

Issue When installing the site .plf license, Privilege Administrator states it is missing Developer Extension and terminates the installation. Environment Privilege Administrator / Licenser Developer Extension PLDevExt.pde Cause An error occurred during the installation of Privilege License Software where the Developer Extension was not executed. Resolution Manually execute the Developer Extension. Navigate using Windows Explorer to ..\System32\PLDevExt.pde Double click the PLDevExt.pde Restart Privilege Administrator Install site license by double clicking your .plf file Verify the licensed  TAC software starts successfully

Issue What is the maximum cable length between a card reader and an ACX controller?   Environment Continuum ACX controllers (all versions) Cause -none- Resolution The ACX controllers support Wiegand, ABA, or CardKey readers, and the maximum cable lengths are 500 ft. (152.4 m) using 18 AWG cable or 200 ft. (60.96 m) using 22 AWG cable.