Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Share the value of a DM point with several controllers using indirect points Environment I/NET Resident I/O Cause Sharing global points designated as DMs. Resolution Use an internal DI point with a "P0" calculation tied to the DM point. Set this DI as Global. The indirect points (which exist in the other controllers) should be built as DIs with the same Station Parameters used for the DM point.

Issue Error: "No Reply" when trying to connect to a controller on a remote site after dialing in Environment I/NET Cause Error: "No Reply" when trying to connect to a controller on a remote site after dialing in Resolution This symptom can be caused by the wrong settings in the host’s INET configuration profile. Check to see you are using the correct INET profile. Make sure “Dial Link” is NOT selected. (Fortunately, an Integrated NPR Dial profile does not give you the chance to make this incorrect selection.)

Issue Using an I/STAT, what is expected to happen if: During an unoccupied time period the push button override button is pushed The override duration begins The same button is pressed before the timed duration is completed Environment I/STAT Cause Understanding the designed response will allow you to set customer expectations appropriately. Resolution The point returns to its original state and the override is canceled. The override status light is off.

Issue Some TCONs mention specific Belden wire products for LAN and Sub-LAN installation. Where can more information about Belden wire be found? Environment I/NET LAN and Sub-LAN Cause Wiring standards dictate certain communication wires to be run for proper comms. Resolution Go to the Belden website for more information: http://www.belden.com.

Issue After an upgrade of a PCU, if the controller is restored, will that reset the consumption data? Environment PCU Cause A restoration of the controller will delete existing consumption data. Resolution Yes. Refer to TCON 237, page 7-17.

Issue Does anti-passback (APB) affect both the entry reader and the exit reader? Environment I/NET Cause I/NET denies access due to anti-passback on entry readers only for safety reasons. Resolution I/NET denies access due to anti-passback on entry readers only. A key/card is never denied access on an exit reader. This is for safety purposes; you should always be able to exit a building.

Issue What if the NPR 2000 goes away until I cycle power to get it back? Environment I/NET Site Cause What if the NPR 2000 goes away until I cycle power to get it back? Resolution If it continues to communicate on the Ethernet port or the controller LAN port only, it most likely is a firmware (.bin file) issue. If an NPR stops communicating over the Ethernet as well as the controller LAN and the LEDs on the unit are totally abnormal until you cycle power, it very likely may need a new boot load. This is accomplished by ordering a jtag cable and the boot loader software and downloading the flash rom with a new boot load. The latest boot load revision is 1.02. If this load has been installed at the factory, you will find a sticker on the flash rom chip. We recommend that if you upgrade the boot load yourself, that you label the unit appropriately.

Issue On the 7716, what is the baud rate of the Hand Held Console (HHC) P1? Environment I/NET site Cause On the 7716, what is the baud rate of the Hand Held Console (HHC) P1? Resolution The baud rate is 1200 on P1.

Issue How many relay outputs are provided on the mother board of the 7716? Environment I/NET site Cause How many relay outputs are provided on the mother board of the 7716? Resolution There are eight outputs. Each of the eight relays have a set of Normally Closed (N.C.) and Normally Open (N.O.) Dry contacts.

Issue How many trendlogs can the Xenta 511 handle? How many log values can be stored? Environment Xenta 511 Cause Knowing limitations on the maximum number of trends and trend data helps engineer the system properly. Resolution 150 trendlogs are supported. Total 100,000 values are possible to store.

Issue What is the Standard Cubic Inches per Minute for a PWMP1? Environment PWMP1 Cause Configuration Question Resolution 216 SCIM @25 psi.

Issue What is the maximum number of Docutrend cells a workstation can have? Environment I/NET Cause Configuration Resolution 1023 Cells.

Issue In a “US Robotics Compatible” modem what command displays the settings in the modem’s NOVRAM? Environment  “US Robotics Compatible” modem Cause Configuration Resolution ATI5

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 One of the properties for the LON object in the 511 is 'Use subnet node addressing' what does this do? Environment Xenta 511 LTA LON Network Cause If you import a LNS network into XBuilder and are going to use polled values from a LonWorks devices, you can choose if the Xenta 511 is going to use subnet/node or neuron ID to address the current LonWorks devices. Resolution The advantage to using subnet/node addressing is that importing the LNS network into XBuilder again if node is replaced in the LNS network is not necessary, provided that the node keeps the same subnet/node and the same application.  

Issue Upgraded to 4.4.0 but don't see the SCPTs on a LonWorks Unit yet? Environment Vista 4.4.0 Lonworks units Cause When you upgrade your Vista database, it doesn't automatically create new database objects.  Resolution From Vista Workstation, navigate to a LonWorks unit Right click and select Properties. Click on the "Xif file" tab Click on the browse button (the one next to the "source file" field with 2 dots on it). Browse to the xif file for that unit, e.g. C:\lonworks\import\tac\x100\102AX101.XIF for an Xenta 102-AX Click "Open" then "OK" When you refresh that unit in the tree, you'll see the available objects/function blocks for that unit and they will contain most of the SNVTs, SCPTs and UCPTs in them. Some of them will not show up, e.g. ucpt_vavselection in the 102-AX.

Issue Adding a special holiday time schedule entry causes the normal schedule to stop working. Environment Vista Workstation Cause The controller will only use the alternative schedule on the day for which it was added. Normal scheduling hours should be accounted for in the alternative schedule. Resolution In the Vista time schedule editor there are three types of events and they have different colors: Black - Off all day Grey - Alternative schedules White - Normal schedules Each day can only operate on one set of schedules at a time. This means that if you have a normal 7am - 6pm occupied schedule and want to extend it on a particular day by adding a 5:30am - 7am on event, then the occupied state will only happen between 5:30am -7am and will be off the rest of the day. The alternative schedule cannot work with the normal schedule, instead it can only replace it. To have a alternative schedule you will have to specify the entire day's schedule rather then just a part of it.

Issue What is the network bandwidth caused by a 511/911 LTA? Environment Xenta 511, 911 911 Communication Port Cause While the maximum is rarely consumed this number should assist in conversations with IT departments for worst case scenarios and troubleshooting the Ethernet network. Resolution The Ethernet bandwidth consumed by a single Xenta 511/911 LTA can range from 0 - 80 kb/s depending on network load. 80kb/s is the fastest that the Neuron transceiver can communicate on the LON network.  

Issue Time stamps of I/NET transactions are off in the Vista event and transaction windows. Environment Xenta 527 I/NET Events TAC Vista Workstation Cause Even though the SCU time stamps the transaction, the 527 will shift it according to it's time zone and date settings. Resolution Make sure the time is set correctly in the Xenta 527. 

Issue When trying to connect to a station running on a UNC an intermittent error appears: "Cannot Open station. Service Unavailable (503)". Environment Niagara UNC Cause This error indicates that the embedded UNC's web server is currently unable to handle the request due to a temporary overloading or maintenance of the server. In this case, it means that the web server is refusing the connection due to a thread overloading condition. More specifically, the UNC is out of web service threads. Resolution Starting in Niagara build 431, a line item was added to the system.properties file that sets the maximum thread pool size for the web services. Using the admin tool open the UNC's system.properties file. From the drop-down menu, select Admin Tool > Host > Edit File > System Properties.  Locate the line that defines the webServer.threadPoolSize. Increase the webServer.threadPoolSize from the default value of 15 to 30. Save the changes to the file and re-boot the UNC to initialize the new thread pool size.