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flyin90

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I have purchased a copy of Lonmaker to commission a few Honeywell XL 10 controllers. The learning curve on Lonmaker seems to be huge unless I am not doing something right. The 400 page manual reads like an encyclopedia.

I have used other lon tools like Rover(Trane) and network intergrator(Circon) and they were very straight forward windows based configuration screens. You could set the inputs and outputs up through drop down menus.

Lonmaker seems to not have this and if I am looking at it right, you have to be very proficient with Visio. I thought the Lonmaker browser was what I was looking for but it just shows the detail of all the nvo's and nvi's.

What am I missing? Are there plugins that I need to download? Help please, I have an immediate need to configure 9 of these controllers.

Thanks for any input.
 
#2 ·
Don't panic! LonMaker uses the same plugins as most all of the other tools, including HW CARE and LonSpec. You need to register plugins before you can use them.

Visio appears intimidating, but most of the Lon specific items are in one menu. Visio can be used as a great CAD tool and it comes bundled with LonMaker.

Backups made w/LonMaker are pretty much useable with all the tools you mentioned. I use Circon NI, Distech LonWatcher 3, and LonMaker with relatively few problems. Usually it's a plugin issue.

Also make sure your LNS is up to date and turbo'd.
 
#6 ·
LonMaker can be a bit tough to use without some instruction, but once you get a bit of instruction it becomes quite straight forward, IMO.

Keep in mind since it is Visio based, stencils are used a lot, so it is drag and drop and then you configure what you want.

Let us know how it goes. Many guys here will help you out.
 
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Discussion starter · #7 ·
I am very frustrated with this because I feel that what I am trying to do should be simple but I can not get any support to help. I have already invested hours of my time and $1300 on the software on a $300 job and still have not been successful. I am trying to change the output config on a couple of Honeywell Excel 10 controllers on WSHP's. All I need to do is change the config so that the reversing valve output energizes in heat rather than cooling. Sounds simple but 70-80 hours later(mainly trying to understand this software) I still have not won.

1. I have tried to discover several LON links with no success.

Do all controllers on the link have to be up? Can I take a controller off the link and connect directly to it? If so, how and can I upload the config of this controller to view in Lonmaker without blowing the config of the controller?

2. I have opened an existing database and the program in Visio looks like a bunch of devices with function blocks randomly scattered all over the place. It looks like a mess but the system works.

Is this normal? Are there any other ways to look at the programs?

3. I downloaded a plugin for a Honeywell Excel10 controller. It seems to work independent of Lonmaker. It finds the device and allows me to set the controller config(configured, unconfigured,etc) but seems to do little else. I was expecting to be able to do a link discovery and then be able to edit the I/O config through menus and tabs similar to the Trane or Circon Lon tools.

Is there a way to actually change the input and output config of the controller with some plugin or is it all done through the Visio pages? Is there another program I am missing?

4. If I am not missing something and it is this hard to deal with, why do you guys use it over other Lon tools?

These questions may be stupid but if you have any input I would appreciate it.
 
#8 ·
I will start with the very basics:

Do you have a lon adapter on your PC?
If so has it been installed with the correct drivers?
Has it been set to the correct operating mode?

There is a free program called nodeutil which I have used many times to check for basic comms.

Regards
Dazza
 
#9 ·
flyin90 said:
Do all controllers on the link have to be up? Can I take a controller off the link and connect directly to it? If so, how and can I upload the config of this controller to view in Lonmaker without blowing the config of the controller?
Click to expand...
From reading this, I get the feeling you do not have the database for the network you are trying to re-configure. If that is the case a totally different approach is needed then if you have the upto date database available.

Kevin
 
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Discussion starter · #10 ·
azzad said:
I will start with the very basics:

Do you have a lon adapter on your PC?
If so has it been installed with the correct drivers?
Has it been set to the correct operating mode?

There is a free program called nodeutil which I have used many times to check for basic comms.

Regards
Dazza
Click to expand...
Yes, all of the above is correct. I can see the controller on the link, I just cannot upload or do not understand how to upload the existing database.


klrogers said:
From reading this, I get the feeling you do not have the database for the network you are trying to re-configure. If that is the case a totally different approach is needed then if you have the upto date database available.

Kevin
Click to expand...
You are correct. I do not have the database. What approach is needed without a database.

Thanks
 
#11 ·
You said in a previous post you had tried to discover some lins with no success.

What stage are you actually up to, what have you got on your lonmaker page, you say you can see the controller, how did you get to where you are now?

If you can see the controller is it online?
Can you browse the controller and actually see live informatin from it?

Dazza
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
Let me ask this question since I am obviously doing something wrong or the software is not running correctly.

If you went to a site that you did not have the database for and the customer told you that one output needs to be changed so that it works in reverse of what it works now, what steps would you do to retrieve the database and how would you go about changing the config?

This is on a Honeywell webs system if that matters. The controller is a Honeywell Excel 10.

If this is a long process I can exchange email or phone #'s if it would help to explain things. I only know one person local that has Lonmaker experience and they are competition so I thought it would be bad form to ask for help even though we do chat from time to time.

Thanks
 
#13 ·
OK; I will start by saying I know nothing about Honeywell equip but I will assume that you can use a plugin to access their controller and make the modifications you need.

Make sure you have the correct plugin for the device you are trying to modify; without it you are pretty much stuffed.

I would go to site, hook up my laptop to the lon bus segment that the controller was on, open lonmaker and create a new database. When creating my new database I would register the correct plugin for the honeywell device.

Do a discover, I think from memory you can use a service pin to detect the correct domain, this should discover the devices on the network segment you are on.

This is the first step to get working, if you cant discover the devices, you need to take a step back and I would usually use nodeutil to try and work out the correct domain to establish communications.

Once you are able to use lonmaker to discover the devices you will need to determins which of the discovered devices is the one you want to change. By matching the nuron ID or unplugging it and seeing which one goes offline or by any other means.

Once you know which one it is you should be able to right click on it chose plug ins, chose the honeywell plugin and it should launch and you should be able to make the changes you want.

As I said at the start I dont know honeywell gear; so I dont know if the changes you want to make are possible via a plugin, it could be you need some other propriatory software to make these changes.

Dazza
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
That is very straight forward and exactly what I would expect. I will give this a shot and see what happens. I will update tomorrow. Thanks.
 
#15 ·
I am by no means an expert but have been working with lonmaker for some time.

It can be a pain at times when things go wrong but I find it pretty good most of the time; I guess it is what you get used to.

I will be offline for a couple of days so good luck and I will check back when I have time.

Dazza
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
Ok, I did as Azzad(thanks very much Azzad) stated and i was able to discover the device and connect but I cannot open the plugin.

In Visio if I go to the Lonmaker tab and go to register plugins, it shows that the plugin is registered but when I go to the drawing and right click and select plugins it is not available.

What am I doing wrong from here?

I think I am close. I just need to know how to recognize the plugin.

Do I have the plugin in the wrong directory or something like that?

Thanks
 
#17 ·
Try un-registering/deleting and re-registering the plug-in in Lonmaker.
 
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#20 ·
It's been a long time since I used Honeywell plug-ins but I think I remember a small application that comes with the plug-in. Look under 'Start' -> 'All Programs' -> 'Honeywell' and see if there is an application there for registering the plug-ins. That app might let you de-register and register the plug-in.
 
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flyin90
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