Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue There are many situations that a remote computer wants to monitor and control local Vista values. C/S construction (Client/Server) and B/S construction (Browser/Server) are the two solutions for these situations. Environment Multi-PC environment Vista Cause In many cases this application is needed. Resolution The C/S solution for Vista is Remote Workstation and Vista Server. On the client computer, only the Vista Remote Workstation software needs to be installed. Then it can connect to the Vista Server on the server computer. The Remote Workstation software can be downloaded from here. The B/S solution for Vista is Webstation and Vista Server. On the server computer, Vista Webstation software needs to be installed. Then on the client there is no need to install any software. Just open the IE browser, and type the IP address of the server computer, all the content in the Workstation of server computer can be shown in the client computer. The Webstation software can be downloaded from here.

Issue This article clarifies what a Sigma UNC controller does when logging is going on and comms to the server has been lost. Environment Sigma - All versions Cause When a sigma controller is logging, during normal operation the data is uploaded to the logging database at various intervals. These uploads are generally controlled by the UNC controller. If comms to the server is lost then the data is stored in RAM until comms to the server is re-established. The resolution details how this happens and what the limitations are. Resolution In the controller, after all files have been downloaded, the Alarm buffer is created. The Alarm buffer holds the queue of alarms and logs being sent to the server and can hold up to 500 entries. Then memory is allocated to the Logging buffer which stores partially complete logging data. It is allocated memory as follows:   First series controllers (532, 496/596, IC1): 75% of the remaining memory ARM 7 series controllers (632, 696/796, IC3): 512kB   The Logging buffer contains 138-byte Tracks with one Track for each logged object. Log records are added to the Track as they occur and the Track is transferred to the Alarm buffer when full. The maximum number of log records that a Track contains depends on the type of object and the type of log as follows:   Operation Object Type Records per track Timed Analogue 25 Timed Digital 100 Event Analogue 14 Event Digital 32 Alarm/report (as a log) Any 28   Partially full Tracks can be moved to the Alarm buffer (and thus automatically to the server) by selecting Diagnostics > Options > Retrieve Logs. Where an Autodial connection is used, a telephone call is initiated when any alarm (non opportunistic) or log is placed in the Alarm buffer.

Issue Are the Niagara G3 ENC-520-2 or the ENC-410-1 certified under UL-864? Environment Niagara G3 Cause Product is being considered as a replacement for the Network 8000 GCM-86000 (which is UL-864 rated). Resolution Both the ENC-520-2 and ENC-410-1 are NOT fire-rated (or UL-864 approved).

Issue When using SigmaX as the method to unlock sigma sometimes the PC ID of the machine running the server can change and prevent any clients from connecting Environment Sigma - All Versions Cause When using SigmaX to unlock Sigma due to the number of network ports now available on modern PC's sometimes when connecting to sigma the Pc ID of the machine can change. This is usually caused by a different network port being used for the main network connection. Resolution After installing SigmaX make sure that the PC is being connected via the local area connection (Wired). This will be used when generating the PC ID. To ensure this connection is used this connection can be made to be the first to be accessed. To do this open Control Panel>Network Connections>Advanced>Advanced Settings. Using the up/down arrows on the right hand side, select the Local Area Connection and move it to the top of the list. It will then be the 1st priority when connecting to a network. You should then be able to use a wireless connection without the PC ID changing.

Issue Unable to expand "Files" from the Category Service - Category Browser Environment G3 niagara Cause When there are many large backup files in the Files folder Java can run out of memory when attempting to open it. Resolution Move all backup files to a different directory and the Category Browser will open the Files folder.

Issue Trying to access and display I/A Series R2 graphic pages from an Enterprise Server using my Blackberry that has Java ME installed on it but after logging in, nothing is displayed. Environment I/A Series R2 Enterprise Server or UNC graphics pages Cause The I/A Series R2 graphics are not compatible with the JavaME (Java Micro Edition or Java Mobile Edition) that comes pre-installed on the mobile device (smartphone). Resolution The full Java Runtime Environment (JRE) Version 6 is not available on any smartphones or tablet devices at this time.  The I/A Series R2 graphics requires the use of the full JRE Version 6 and is not compatible with JavaME.

Issue RoamIO hardware shows activity on the TXD and RXD LEDs on the RS-485 lines but after login in with user name 'acc' and password 'acc' no devices are shown on the tree. Environment RoamIO Infinet Service Tool Cause The password of the controllers ACC user has been changed from the default. The Infinet Service Tool does not generate an error to indicate it has failed to login to the controller. This is a defect in the tool itself and has been reported as such. Resolution Use one of the suggestions below to resolve the login issue. - Use the correct ACC password - Use a different controller user for which you know the user name and password - From CyberStation reset the user's password.

Issue Customer is using UI1 of a MNB-300 and is missing an occasional pulse (approximately 1 %) when counting pulses from a water meter. Environment MNB-1000 (DI Inputs only) MNB-300 MNB-70 MNB-V1 MNB-V2 Cause High contact resistance / low open resistance or too short a pulse width. Resolution To detect a closed contact, the contact resistance must be less than 300 ohms.  If the contact resistance is greater than 300 ohms, the contact closure may not be detected. To detect an open contact, the contact resistance must be greater than 2500 ohms.  If the open contact resistance (open circuit resistance) is less than 2500 ohms, the controller may not detect that the contact is open. MNB-1000 DI1 - DI4  require a minimum contact closure duration of 50ms and a minimum contact open duration of 50ms. MNB-300 UI1 require a minimum contact closure duration of 50ms and a minimum contact open duration of 50ms. MNB-300 UI2 - UI6 require a minimum contact closure duration of 500ms and a minimum contact open duration of 500ms. MNB-70 UI1 - UI3 require a minimum contact closure duration of 500ms and a minimum contact open duration of 500ms. MNB-V1/V2 UI1 - UI3 require a minimum contact closure duration of 500ms and a minimum contact open duration of 500ms.

Issue What kind of system behaviour will occur when token round times exceed 90 seconds. Environment Infinet i2 b3 MSTP Cause High demand placed on Infinet controllers by PE programs. Resolution Reduce the demand that placed on the controller by Plain English programs each scan. Stagger programs so that complex calculations are staggered and do not occur with every scan. Beware of using processor intensive functions such as GetName and GetObject in Infinet controllers.

Issue A site has the IO bus set up in a vertical riser topology. The NetController is at the ground level telecom room and groups of modules in each telecom room directly above it for a total of 10 floors. When the bus is connected on the top floor the entire IO bus goes offline. Environment Continuum NetController IO Bus Cause The Continuum IO bus should NOT be wired through (in one side at out the other) each of the groups of IO modules on each floor. Resolution Wire the IO bus as a daisy-chain from the Netcontroller IO bus connector in and out of the righthand side connector of each group of IO modules on each floor. Remember to add the 120 ohm end-of-line resistors as shown in the Continuum IO System Reference manual.   

Issue No offline alarms No system messages Xenta offline Link alarms to event object Environment Vista Xenta Cause You cant directly trigger an alarm object located on another server by "Link alarms to Event object" This alarm object needs to be locally. Resolution You will have to configure a system alarm to trigger an alarm object located locally

Issue Is it possible/suitable to mount the MF20 or MF40 actuator in 90 degrees angle out from the valve VF208W? Environment MF20 MF40 VF208W Cause In some applications/environments it is hard to fit in the actuator on top of the valve due to space limits. Resolution There should be no problem mounting the actuator / linkage in a 90 degree angle out from the valve.

Issue Both valve and actuator in question are obsolete. In this case the valve is still OK, while the actuator is in need of replacement. Environment M44 STM-G M9B/24 8601010000 mounting kit 8600990000 Cause Replacement of obsolete actuator Resolution M9B/24 (8601010000) together with mounting kit 8600990000 will replace the M44PBB when used on STM-G. The only feature missing would be the potentiometer.

Issue TAC Vista server crash when browsing between different TGML graphics. Environment TAC Vista 5.1.4 Cause This is a known bug which is fixed in hotfix 17 for Vista 5.1.4 and in later versions  Resolution Install hotfix 17 for Vista 5.1.4 or upgrade to a later version

Issue Many electrical power meters provide a high resolution Modbus or M-Bus output for cumulative parameters such as kWh, kVAh and kVARh.  This output can be displayed in Vista or on an Xenta Server web page, but the resolution can be degraded by inappropriate conversions in XBuilder and choice of display format.  This article shows how to maintain the full resolution of a meter reading from acquisition through to display on a Vista graphic or Xenta Server web page. Environment Xenta 511, 527, 555, 701, 711, 721 (5.1.5 up) Xenta 731, 913 (all versions) XBuilder PM710 Cause Applying scaling or connections in XBuilder, or processing in Menta, reduces the precision of a high resolution Modbus value to that of a Real or Float. Resolution The following comments refer to Modbus registers in the Schneider Electric PM710 energy meter, although many other meters deal with extended precision values in a similar manner.  Acquiring Data from the meter: 1. If you want to maintain the full precision of the meter 'Real Energy, Total' reading, use register 4000 which is a 32 bit signed integer, representing scaled kWh. The scale factor is stored in register 4108 as a 16 bit integer and the two registers should be used in conjunction for display purposes. The maximum full precision value that can be displayed this way is: 2147483647 - 10 decimal digits - before the scale factor is applied. 2. An alternative to register 4000 is provided in register 1000, which is of type 'Float'.  This equates to the REAL type in XBuilder, so it already has only 21 bit precision. However, there is no need to scale it as the exponent is built in to the Float type. Processing input in XBuilder: 3. For register 4000 in the device template, apply a gain of 1 and keep the converted value as INTEGER.  This will maintain the full 32 bit precision of the Modbus register.  If you apply any gain less than 1 or convert the value to a REAL, you will only end up with a 21 bit precision result.  This equates to a loss of 2 decimal digits approximately. 4. Avoid using Connection objects.  For example, a variable of type 'SNVT_elec_kwh_l' has theoretically the same precision as register 4000 in the PM710, so it would seem to be a direct conversion.  However, because you have to use a Connection object to link the two in XBuilder, the value is converted to a REAL internally and you end up with a 21 bit precision result. 5. Xenta Servers can provide full precision Modbus values for display in Vista. Create new Signal objects in the System pane in XBuilder and drag and drop the Modbus values from the Network pane onto the Signal objects.  The Signal objects will have the same precision as the original Modbus registers and are visible in Vista. Displaying values in Xenta Server and Vista: 6. Value pages in the Xenta Server and TGML graphics pages in Xenta Server and Vista can display a 10 digit integer. In the case of item 1 above, all 10 digits will be accurate. In the case of item 2 above, only the most significant 8 digits will be accurate. 7. A value page in the Xenta Server will display a real as 8 digits plus exponent. However, only the 7 most significant digits will be accurate. 8. The object view in Vista will display a real up to 8 significant digits, with only the most 7 significant digits being accurate.  Vista will attempt to show this as fixed point 6.2 and no exponent.  If the actual value is too big or small for this format it reverts to 3 significant digits plus 3 digit exponent.  

Issue When starting an I/A Series G3 station on an ENC, the error message "Fox tunneling not licensed" is displayed in the Application Director console output log. Environment I/A Series G3 ENC Cause FOX Tunneling license option not present in station license. Resolution Fox Tunneling is not intended for use through an ENC and therefore cannot be licensed on the ENC. Fox tunneling is configured as part of the Niagara Fox Service on the properties page of the "NiagaraNetwork" driver. 

Issue Cards added to a system are not working and this messages shows up in AMT. Environment All versions of I/Net. Cause There could be a change in the configuration that does not match up with the link causing the message to be generated once the information was sent down to the DPU. Resolution To resolve this issue, follow these steps: 1. Verify that the configuration used is correct as far as a direct connect or TCP/IP. 2. Make necessary changes if not to match configuration. 3. Connect to the system, select Access Doors and verify that it does not have "Link Lost" displayed. 4. Control a door and verify that the correct message is displayed in the Messages Window.

Issue Receive Error: "Unexpected file format" when attempting to open Graphic Page Environment I/NET Seven 2.41 graphic pages Cause When creating, modifying and saving graphics in revision 2.41 and then attempting to open these graphic pages in previous versions of I/NET this error "unexpected file format" is presented. Resolution This issue has been rectified in 2.41A and above. I/NET Software are available for licensed Partners to download on The Exchange Download Center.

Issue .CFG error Cant download Xbuilder project Trendlog.CFG Alarm.CFG Environment Xbuilder Vista Xenta Cause First time a xbuilder project are downloaded / or changes has been made to Alarm and/or Trendlogs the Xenta may need some minutes to start this processes. If the project are downloaded again while this processes are starting up you may get some errors like Alarm.CFG error and/or Trendlog.CFG error Resolution Please wait a few minutes (Depending how many alarm object and/or Trendlog object you have this might take up to 30 min) before you download the project again. Note: Future revisions will give the user a message about why this occurred instead of a plain error.

Issue How to upload the application from a TAC Xenta 280/300/401 device? Environment TAC Xenta 280 TAC Xenta 281 TAC Xenta 282 TAC Xenta 283 TAC Xenta 300 TAC Xenta 301 TAC Xenta 302 TAC Xenta 401 TAC Menta Cause When the application file is generated and compiled, it does no longer contains any information about the layout, or the "yellow boxes". Therefore, it is not possible to extract a Menta file (.MTA) from the device. It is, however, possible to upload the compiled information, and download it to another device. This way, it is possible to replace a faulty device even if you no longer have access the original application. Resolution Always make sure that you have backup of your application files, as it is not possible to upload the graphical information from the device. To upload the complied application information from the device, you have to start TAC Menta, and connect to the actual device via a serial cable. In TAC Menta, select Options, and Simulate to go to simulate mode. Select Online. Select Upload. Select path and filename. The extension will be *.COD (compiled application file) Select Save, and the complied application file will be uploaded. It is not possible to open the *.COD file in edit mode in TAC Menta, you will always have to go to simulate mode before you can open up a stored *.COD file. To change TAC Menta from Tabular mode to normal mode, just press F5. This requires that you have open up an existing application file (*.MTA) or select to make a new application.