Is it possible connect ION Meter to IONSetup via EGX100 Gateway

[sesa186702]

Dear all,

Our customer have several ION Meters with just support Serial communication only (RS485) with support Modbus RTU protocol and connected via EGX100

They need remote setup them via communication to reduce the commissioning time and man-power.

As I know, IONSetup just only support ION

[JamesAZZO]

Only ION 6200s can be done this way (you choose Modbus Device and then in the tab select the 6200 Template) - however all other ION meters must be done using ION protocol over EtherGate. As a workaround you can bring a Lantronix unit. See for details.

[Robert_Lee]

James is correct that in order to properly configure most of the advanced ION products using ION Setup, ION protocol has to be used (the ION 6200 can be configured to operate on an ION RS-485 bus or on a Modbus one and ION Setup will allow configuration on either mainly due to the simple configuration of the 6200 devices versus the more advanced nature of the more advanced meter products).

The issue is the EGX 100 is specifically designed to only operate as a Modbus gateway (converting Modbus TCP requests into Modbus RTU and back again) and will not operate ION protocol.  You could either use a Lantronix unit or one of our more advanced ION meters which come equipped with Ethergate which allows you to daisy chain other ION devices of one of its on-board RS-485 ports.

ION Setup will also configure =S= devices which use Modbus based protocol (ex. CM4250, PM870, etc.) as their primary protocol but most of the ION products require ION protocol when using ION Setup to configure them.

[Yu_Diao]

May be it is a little bit off the topic, but it just came to me by reading all the posts above.

Right now, Schneider is offering a remote display module for ION76xx meters, and I had ran into a few of them on job sites. Essentially, the remote display is a small Magelis touch screen which communicate with the ION76xx meters through COM1. My observation here are:

1. As far as I know, Magelis touch screen cannot speak ION protocol.

2. The COM1 on the ION76xx needs to be set as "Modbus RTU" in oder to make it work with the remote display.

These indicate to me that the remote display is using Modbus protocol to communicate with ION76xx, and more interesting things is I can do everything on the remote display just like what I can do through meter's local display, such as setting up the meter (CT, PT, comms...), viewing the meter readings/phasor diagram/events. I am not sure if it can set up the data logs or not, but you cannot do that through the meter display either.

Based on this, my suspicion is that the ION76xx meter probably has an unpublished Modbus setup interface, which is what the remote display module uses. Depending on what you want to achieve, it could be done (e.g setup basical meter parameter, com ports, IP...)

Robert, do you have any insights about this?

[Robert_Lee]

Yes, the latest 76xx firmware has an unpublished Modbus interface which allows the Magelis screen to issue button commands (and the firmware to provide feedback with actual ASCII for the display to process).  The interface was specifically designed for the ION 76xx device and will only allow the same configuration ability that would be available for the standard integrated display.

Since ION Setup does support Modbus read/writes, it is possible to design Modbus-based setup screens for BASIC parameters to program ION meters (ex. PT/CT settings).  However, advanced configuration like data log channels or input linkages, multiple writes or any of the advanced wizards that are available are way beyond what can be done using the available existing Modbus map or protocol so any setup work in this area will have very limited usefulness.

[JamesAZZO]

Rob,

Can you use Lantronix MSS units to connect to ION meters (7700s, 7300s, 3300 ACMs) using ION Setup? If so, how does Port 3001 forward to 7700 for the ION stuff?

Do the 3300 ACMs use 7700 port?

Thanks.

James

[Robert_Lee]

The Lantronix MSS is a TCP to serial converter so there is no port 7700 to worry about (the TCP connection is to Lantronix device typically port 3001) and from there its serial (either RS-232 or RS-485) to the downstream devices (either Modbus based ones or ION ones).  This requires that the software put serial packets into the TCP data portion of the TCP packet (so no Modbus TCP but encapsulated Modbus RTU).  You would not mix and match protocols (so either use Modbus or ION/PML protocol on any given serial connection).

[JamesAZZO]

Thanks.

Can you use these in ION Setup (Port 3001 for example?) Or any other port from the Lantronix? If so, how, as those are not options in the drop down menu for "Gateway" on an Ethernet site.

[Robert_Lee]

You'll notice that the IP Port is a drop edit (so you can type in any port # you like) and not a drop list.  We probably didn't add 3001 as a default drop edit selection since not very many customers use Lantronix and it isn't one we have on our products or is a industry common one (like Modbus TCP 502).  I believe ION Setup will treat any port outside the 50X range as a non-Modbus TCP port and will send all packets encapsulated.

[Scott_MCN]

Hi Robert,

Unfortunately at the time of my reading this the MSS has been discontinued.

Are you aware of a newer Lantronix product that performs the same function?

Thanks!

[Robert_Lee]

There are many serial to TCP converters that would work but typically those require to have converters at both ends (one for the PC and another at the remote).  I personally don't know of any other remote TCP converters which takes just TCP encapsulated data and transmits it to slave device's (and would have to be able to do the same for any response sent back).  Some of our ION products have built in Ethergate capability where it will also operate like a Lantronix box so that would be an option if available if you wanted to communicate either ION or Modbus RTU.

[Anonymous user]

Hi @sesa186702,

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[Charles_Murison · Accepted solution]

For anyone following up on this topic. ION8000, ION9000, ION7400 meters support ION over modbus with specific versions of firmware and software. Refer to https://www.se.com/ca/en/faqs/FA331587/ for more information.

Charles