PC to PLC5/20 serial communications

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JohnBob

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Kettle Falls, WA, USA
Hi, feller's, I'm new here (to posting that is) so please be gentle with me.
So my problem is, someone stole our reports/tally computer. DH+ cards are obsolete. My question is, can I use a RS-232 D-9 serial cable to connect to the new PC, clip the other end, connect pins 2, 3 and 5 to channel A (the DH+ port) on the PLC end and insulate/isolate the rest? Or do we really need to pony up the 3 1/2 grand for a USB-to_Data Highway + adapter cable? As, like I said, it's a reports/tally computer, so data speeds are not critical.
 
I think a PLC5/20 has a 25 pin serial port labeled channel 0. you can communicate to it via that port with a standard serial RS232 port. even a USB to serial adapter usually works.

you will have to reconfigure rslinx a little, but you would have to do that to change to any other comm adapter as well.

you cannot just connect your rs232 port to the dh+ port though. different electrical characteristics among other things.

one other possibility is a 1770-kf2 adapter. it converts your PC's rs232 port to dh+. they are often available on ebay for < $200.
 
This is admittedly an expensive option ($1000+) but you could go with a1761-net-eni which will give you Internet access to your plc. I just thought I would through that out there so you were aware of them. A small caveat, they only work with the second generation plc5 which includes yours.
 
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