EGX 200 / 400

[michael_franz]

TEAM:

I do not have a count for the number of these items that are still in use around the world but there are many at our customers sites.  There are several concerns that I have that people replacing these need to be aware of during an upgrade to newer devices.

1.  EGX 200 / 400 Gateways have two ports

     a.  It may take two devices each with an IP to replace one of these units

     b.  Port #2 has several option that need to be checked

          i.     RS232 / RS485

          ii.    DB9 or terminal connection

          iii.    Master / Slave

These points can be addressed if you have a good IP address to get into the device settings for the gateway.  Make sure that you get the address of serial devices for each port and get an additional IP if both ports are used.  You may need to run browser in compatibility mode to see units settings.

2.  Lost IPs difficult to recover with newer PCs and OSs

     a.  Hyper-Terminal no longer included with Windows

     b.  Newer PCs do not have DB9 serial ports

Hilgraeve offers Hyper-Terminal for a reasonable price.  So far it has worked like the Windows included version.  A good USB to Serial DB9 converter can give you the port.  Will need a DB9 cable with cross over to go between PC and Gateway.

3.  Looks like only the Link 150 will support PowerLogic protocol devices

     a.  It appears to allow setting up PowerLogic as a serial devices

     b.  Has four wire RS485

Plan to test Link 150 to see if it works as promised.  It is high on my agenda to insure that this is a viable replacement for the EGX 100 - 400 line.