Issue Xenta 511/527 - values/trend logs have exponential numbers, menu tree is black blocks and other problems Product Line TAC INET, TAC Vista Environment I/NET Site Cause More than likely Java has been updated without the end user realizing it. Uninstall Java and then reinstall from the link provided in the 511/527 menu tree. Resolution Click on Help. If a pop-up blocker is installed, hold down the Ctrl key while clicking. Click "Day to Day Operations", "Java Plug-in", and finally "Download Java Plug-in". This will give you a list of java downloads to select from depending on which TAC product you are trying to use. Disable automatic updates in Java so this does not continue to happen. Right click on the Java icon in the lower right hand side of the screen Left click on Open Control Panel Right click on the Update tab Uncheck the box next to Check for Updates Automatically Click Apply and close out of Java.

Issue 101-VF/24 (Fan coil controller) allowing positive terminal load with cool air supply and one valve for heat. Product Line TAC Vista Environment 101-VF/24 101-2VF 101-2VFC Cause If you have a single valve application such as radiant heat control, but you have a central system that brings in fresh/cooled air to the same space, you may want to use the terminal load in the central system to indicate a call for cooling. Resolution If you only configure the controller for one valve and set the water temperature and water temperature setpoint to only allow heating operation, then the terminal load will only be calculated from 0 to -100% (heating only). Nvo_unitStatus will stay in heat mode as well even if the room gets too hot. If you configure it up for two valves then your terminal load will be calculated from 100 to -100%, indicating both heating and cooling load.

Issue Using "Add All" can save time when making bindings in LonMaker. Product Line TAC Vista Environment LonMaker  SNVT Bindings Cause Multiple SNVT bindings in LonMaker can be time consuming to create but you can speed up the process significantly on some of your one-to-many bindings. Resolution For example say you have one Occupancy signal to pass to all or most of your controllers. After selecting your hub connection (the nvo_occupancy) in the Network Variable Connection dialog, and clicking "Add FB/SN's..." you'll see your subsystems. Select a subsystem that you know you want the SNVT to be passed to, right click on that subsystem and select "select all." Once you have added the functional blocks to the Target window and clicked on one of the target inputs, you can select the "Add All" option to select every network variable that matches the currently selected target in all of the other functional blocks. This process will verify that the variables are the correct variable type and direction. Now that you have a one-to-many binding you need to determine which of them need to be removed, e.g. the nviOccupancy on the controller whose nvo was the hub. After a final pass through you can select the "OK" button to complete the binding process.  

Issue How many stages of heating can be used with a Xenta 102-AX? Product Line TAC Vista Environment Xenta 102-AX Cause A Xenta 102-AX can be configured in the plug-in for up to three stages of heat, but there are only two heating outputs. Resolution The 102-AX can be used with up to 3 stages of heat. First stage is one strip Second stage turns off the first strip and energizes the second strip Third stage turns on both strips. This can be utilized very nicely for boxes where, for example, the first stage is 3kW and the second is 6kW. The third stage would provide 9kW. Refer to the 102-AX Software and Hardware Reference Guide Chapter 2 page 21.

Issue A Vista alarm set up to display a value (such as the temperature being monitored to trigger the alarm) is coming through with question marks where the value should be. Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Workstation Alarm queue Cause By default Vista should read the .PV when no other attribute is defined, but sometimes it does not. Resolution Add ".PV" to the end of the text string to display the value.

Issue Download a phone number to a TAC Xenta 901/401/30x using TAC Vista 2000 Environment TAC Vista 2000 TAC Xenta 901, 401, 301, 302 Cause Download a new phone number to the controller to enable communication via the modem COM port. Resolution Open the Status dialogue Right click on the network object  Choose download parameters only. This will download the phone number you have defined in your modem COM port.

Issue Routers / i.Lons configured as repeaters pass everything and consume bandwidth causing throughput / slowness issues in your system. Environment LON physical layer L-IP routers Cause The cause of throughput/slowness issues in a network might be that it is bogged down with needless communication. Resolution Configure router ports as "Repeater" to avoid channel conflicts during the construction phase of a project. After all of the nodes are commissioned, configure all routers as configured routers so that they only pass what is necessary upstream. This is especially important if using i.Lon 1000s, 600s, or Loytec L-IP routers as they will pass that unneeded data onto the ethernet.

Issue Multiple LNS databases under i.Lons or Loytec L-IPs which use the same ethernet network and the same domain ID can cause communication failures. Routers stop communicating in random order until some user intervention is taken. Environment LNS LonMaker, NL220 Cause It seems that packets intended for the Operator Unit/Host PC (or from it to other routers) will be received by the other routers and passed down to their Lon networks. This may cause unexpected or duplicated messages to be generated and put back on the ethernet to be received by who knows which device. Resolution Configure all of the networks under multiple i.Lons or L-IPs as a single LNS database If that is not an option, ensure that each LNS network has a unique domain ID.

Issue In Vista Workstation 4.20 or 4.21, when using full screen mode (F11), if all windows are closed, a gray screen is displayed. Environment Vista Workstation 4.2.0 or 4.2.1 Cause Closing all windows results in an empty display, but it is still taking up the whole screen. Resolution The only way to exit full screen mode is to use the ESC key.

Issue Creating custom Multi-state Text definitions Environment Vista 4.2x Workstation Cause "Value-Multi-state" objects in Vista have a property called Multi-state Text which provides the definitions to enumerated signals. This is similar to the paired text in a "Value-Binary" signal. However you cannot add a new entry in the Vista 4.2x workstation. Resolution To add a new entry to the drop down list: Navigate to C:\Program Files\TAC\TAC Vista\ Find the old workstation program tamain.exe Use the object selection dialog to select the Object Type filter of "Multi-state Definition" Add a new definition by following the naming convention of the existing definitions. Once you have added the definition, edit the object and enter the text values in the “MSTXTS” field separated by comma in the order that match the enumerated signal. Example: OFF, ON SECR, UNLK, LOCK

Issue Modifying protection status of Vista 4.2x database objects Environment Vista Workstation 4.2.X Cause Vista allows you to enable protection of database objects which restricts your ability to change the object or delete it. Protected database objects are displayed with grey text and unprotected objects are displayed in black text. While the majority of protected objects are those created by the system there are times when a user has elected to make an object protected. Resolution The method used to enable protection is: Right click on the object and selecting "Authority" Inside the "Authority" dialog box is a check box labeled "Protected database object" Check this box and select OK. You will see no change in the Vista Workstation. To make the change go into effect, refresh the display by pressing F5 or right clicking and selecting "Refresh"

Issue Serial Communication with Xenta Units (511, 527, 911, 913): Environment Xenta Servers Xenta 511, 527, 701, 711, 721, 731, 913 Cause Incorrect cables can cause improper ground references between the PC and the Xenta unit, which will disable serial communication. Resolution The Xenta units that utilize a web interface all have a certain amount of setup that is done with a direct serial connection via HyperTerminal. This communication however can be problematic at times due to grounding between the Xenta unit and the computer. If both devices do not share a common earth ground reference, then communication will not occur at all. There will be no indication that either side is receiving the transmissions from other device. This is most commonly encountered when using the incorrect cable since the proper cable provides a conductor for ground and thus a common ground reference. An OP panel cable is not the proper cable to use in such a situation. Instead you should be using the cables found in the TAC Xenta programming Serial Kit. If you are using a cable made by someone other then TAC the most likely cause is your cable having the improper or insufficient connections. When stuck in a situation where the proper cable is not available and working with a laptop computer we recommend that you plug the computer’s power supply in preferably to the same power supply as the controller to try to establish the common earth ground. Any other attempts to stabilize the differing grounds will be at your own risk.

Issue LonMaker 3.1 re-synch CPs causes the template configuration parameter settings & some Xenta 100s to be corrupted. Controllers subsequently modified by LonMaker can also be corrupted. Environment LonMaker 3.1 Xenta 100 series controllers, Revision 1.2X Cause LonMaker 3.1 handles this operation differently than 3.0. At one point we recommended that you avoid "Reset device to default values" and "Set device template defaults from device" commands, but "Upload values from device" was ok. We've since learned that any resynch CPs command can cause problems. Resolution Until this is changed in a future revision, don't do ANY resynch CPs command. (This does not refer to resynching the Lonmaker drawing and the database. Those operations work correctly and are necessary to construct your LNS network.)

Issue "Completion event failure" and/or "Waiting for unit to restart" errors are received when attempting to download a controller which has already been commissioned and contains an existing Menta application. Product Line TAC Vista Environment LNS Network Xenta Programmable controllers Xenta 280, 281, 282, 283, 300, 301, 302, 401, 401:B System Plug-in Cause The controller is busy responding to all other requests for communication and is not able to focus solely on the download. Resolution Before downloading, right-click on the controller and select Manage Set the node status to offline Download the controller Set the node status back to online. Alternatively, Before downloading, de-commission the unit. Select “Preserve neuron ID" to allow the plug-in to communicate with the controller and to avoid having to re-enter the ID or service pin. Download the controller Re-commission the device. This will prevent the controller from performing other communication while trying to receive the download and thus being unable to keep up.

Issue Problems finding all defined Holiday charts using the TAC Vista 4.20 editor Environment TAC Vista 4.2 Time Schedules Holiday Charts Cause Find all holiday charts to review scheduled holidays for the year. Resolution There is a feature in the time schedule editor that shows all schedules in a table format instead of a the calendar format. Press CTRL + SHIFT + D keys while the editor is open you will be able to edit all time schedules in one table.

Issue Intermittent "Completion Event Failure" Xenta controllers go offline and come back online randomly Environment Vista Workstation LNS Database LonMaker / NL220 Cause Completion event failure can occur for many reasons: not using Lon cable terminators, too much network traffic, "acknowledged" type SNVT bindings to a node, etc. Resolution "One to many" bindings set as acknowledged can cause data storms, download failures, completion event failures, X'ed values in graphics, and communication problems because controllers are busy re-sending information. The reason the controllers might be resending is because they did not get a response from one of the recipients or did not get a response in time. It then resends the packet to all of the recipients, not just the unresponsive node, and waits for acknowledgments from all of them. If one of them is offline, there will be a lot of unnecessary network traffic being generated. When "one to many" bindings are required it is almost always preferable to select unacknowledged or repeated as the binding type. Note that the default binding type for programmable controllers is acknowledged. If you still have problems with completion event failures after making sure that the network is correct, you can change the number of retries in the Network object. In TAC Vista Workstation, right click on the Lonworks Network object, go to Properties, select the Timer tab, under Networks timer change the retry from 2 (default) to 4. If using LonMaker, right click on the LNS Network Interface, go to Properties, select the time tab, set the Non Group Receive Timer to the recommended 6144ms. If NL220 is being used, double click the LNS Network Interface, go to the Network tab, change the Non Group Timer to the recommended selection 11 - 6.144s.

Issue There have been some reports of problems encountered when LonMaker is installed in locations other then the default directory. These problems can include failure of LonMaker .dll files to register as well as plug-in registration failure. Environment Echelon LonMaker Cause LonMaker is not installed in default directory. Typically this refers to the C:\ drive, but it doesn't necessarily have to. Resolution Restrict the LonMaker installation to the default directory and the default LonWorks folder. Example: C:\LonWorks

Issue Does Configuration Server for an i.Lon 1000 have to be running all of the time? Environment i.LON 1000 Cause The Config Server provides the path for communication to the iLon when used as an RNI. Resolution If using the i.Lon 1000 as an RNI to communicate with the LonWorks network, then the Config Server must be open.   If the i.Lon 1000 is being used as a router (not RNI), it is not necessary to have Config Server running unless you are in the configuration process for the router.

Issue Is it possible to have a Dial Network and LNS Network in the same Vista Network? Environment Vista Network Dial Network LNS Network Cause  A dial up network communicates via the PC comport directly (no LTA driver), therefore there is no conflict with LTA card drivers (like the conflict that occurs between Classic and LNS networks). Resolution There is no problem having both types of communication in a single Vista network.

Issue When will the connection in a Dial network disconnect? Environment Xenta 901 Cause The 901 connection will continue as long as live values are being viewed. Resolution If the Status window is open (for example), the connection will continue until that window (and any other window viewing live data) is closed.