A tip from Opto 22 when developing or changing an HMI project in PAC Display – use AutoCorrect Tags.  It is recommended you use this any time you change a PAC Control Strategy or a PAV Display project.  It validates all dynamic attributes by comparing them against the PAC Control tag database.  If you changed a name of a tag in the strategy or re-added a deleted tag, this tool will automatically correct references in PAC Display.  When you are developing, run it on a regular basis, i.e. each time you save or at least once a day.  Just a note – if you deleted an unused tag in PAC Control, but the tag is referenced in PAC Display, the AutoCorrect Tags tool will not automatically fix it, but will point out the problem so you can fix it.

To run AutoControl Tags – Once in PAC Display Configurator, choose Tools>AutoCorrect Tags.For more information, contact technical support at 800-462-3500 or customerservice@ptpcorp.com.

PAC Project 9.0 Basic and Pro are now ready for download.

PAC Project Basic 9.0 – Adds pulsing, totalizing, ramping, and subroutine types that were previously available only in PRO.

PAC Project Pro 9.0 – Adds controller-level redundancy Requirements – 2 identical S-series PACs and the SNAP PAC Redundancy Option Kit.

For more information, contact customer service at 800-462-3500 or customerservice@ptpcorp.com.

Opto 22 offers:

N-TRON Wireless Access Point (AP) - You need a wireless access point that can stand up to harsh industrial environments if using wireless for industrial automation.  N-Tron is design for toughness with:

• Redundant power inputs
• Extended environment specifications
• One-million-hour MTBF rating
• Support for 802-11a b, & g
• Advanced security algorithms, including WPA2/TKIP

PAC Project 9.0 is expected to be released next week.  It will work with either 8.5c or 9.0 firmware.  If controller redundancy is not needed, use firmware 8.5c.  All SNAP PAC controllers and brains will ship with 8.5c firmware.  You will need to download 9.0 firmware if using controller redundancy.

A Tip from Opto 22 for finding IP address by using PAC Manager if IP address was not written on a brain or controller’s white label (where MAC address f unit is printed).

1. Open PAC Manager – Start>Programs>Opto 22>PAC Project>PAC Manager
2. On PAC Manager main window, under Tools, select Find Opto 22 MMP devices
3. Dialog box will appear.  Click Find button on lower left.
4. All Opto 22 devices on your network will appear.  Locate the brain or controller’s MAC address.  Not only does it show IP address, it will also show the device type’s current firmware version, double clicking the device will give you even more details

For more information about Opto 22 products, contact our customer service representative at 800-462-3500 or customerservice@ptpcorp.com.

Opto 22 introduces:

SNAP-IT-EMU1 - Energy Monitoring Unit . This is a complete package of hardware and software that lets you monitor energy usage for a 3-phase electrical device, such as air conditioning and heating unit, pump, machine, or engine.  Now you can anticipate energy bills and respond quicker when energy use rises unexpectedly.  It includes SNAP PAC rack-mounted controller, SNAP-AIPM-3 analog input module, power supply, and is encased in a study NEMA type 4X polycarbonate enclosure, PAC Project Basic Software Suite with control programming and HMI development and runtime.  It is designed to be used as is or expanded to monitor and control other devices.

For more information about this energy monitoring system, contact our customer service representative at 800-462-3500 or customerservice@ptpcorp.com.

What’s new from Opto 22?

SNAP-AIRTD-10 – A new temperature analog input module that provides 2 channels of 10-ohm.  It monitors temperature by connecting to copper resistance temperature detectors or RTDs, which makes this suited to older installations where RTDs are found.

There has been a connector change in some of the SNAP temperature modules. These connectors are easier to use as the wire is easier to insert and less likely to slip off when tightening.  They have been tested and confirmed that performance hasn’t changed. Wiring diagrams and functionality hasn’t changed. The modules that have these new connectors include SNAP-AITM, SNAP-AITM-2, SNAP-AITM-i, SNAP-AITM2-i, SNAP-AITM-8, and  SNAP-AITM-8-FM.Opto 22 has a tip in how you can inspect I/O or variables when in PAC Controls Debug Mode.  You can either click on them in the Strategy Tree or the second way is  from inside a flowchart block by double clicking in flowchart if the block is not open. Then right click the variable or points name, choose Inspect (the dialog box pops open showing item’s current value).  If you then click on Expand Icon, if you  see more and “More Info” to see even more.  After PAC Control Professional 9.0 is released (soon), and if its a digital or analog I/O point, you will be able to click Plot button to see the point’s value over time on a plotted graph.

For more information on Opto 22 products, contact our customer service representative at 800-462-3500 or customerservice@ptpcorp.com.

Opto 22’s new SSR’s now have an integrated heatsink, making installation faster and simpler.  Now, no more hassle calculating and locating the necessary heatsink.  There are 3 models to choose from.

Opto 22 is featuring:

N-TRON708TX – A fully managed Ethernet network with 8 copper ports.  It features:

• High reliability
• Extended temperatures, high shock or vibration and elevated RFI/EMI levels handled with ease
• Redundant power inputs, 2 million-hour MTBF rating and coated steel enclosure
• Configurable alarm contact,
• N-ring technology,
• ESD and surge protection diodes on all ports
• Port trunking and port mirroring
• VLAN
• RSTP
• DHCP
• Full SNMP and web browsing management
• And much more

Contact our customer service representative at 800-462-3500 or customerservice@ptpcorp.com for more information.

PAC Project 9.0 will been released soon.  Highlights:

PAC Control

• Use 1 SNAP PAC as primary controller with a second one running at the same time so that it is then ready to take over is something happens to first one.
• Now have several I/O features in PAC Control Basic that were only available in Pro.  These include pulsing, totalizing, TPO, ramping, and frequency and period measurement commands.
• Can start alternate host tasks dividing up communication workload for controller.
• Cleaner toolbars and search box at bottom of Strategy Tree.
• In debug mode, get a lot more data in Inspect dialog boxes.  With Pro, you can plot I/O points

PAC Display

• In Pro, display a webpage window in Runtime
• New alarm features, including new warning alarm state and ability to display alarms in alert window in Runtime and send email when alarm occurs
• In Runtime, users allowed to log into PAC Display can be added and modified by qualified operator
• Create a PID button to launch a graphical PID tuner in Runtime (Pro only) enabling operators to change PID parameters.

To learn more about this exciting new product and when it will be released, contact our customer service representative at 800-462-3500 or customerservice@ptpcorp.com.

Opto 22’s Wired+Wireless was chosen Control Engineering’s 2010 Engineer’s Choice Awards’ top pick of the year for wireless I/O systems, by more than 600 engineers, who choose winners from among 96 products in 29 categories.

Why Wired+Wireless?

• Choose 802.11 a, b or g for best performance for your application
• Choose top security algorithms including WPA2-AES,  which is used by governments and corporations
• Choose any Snap I/O product to suit your needs
• Use wireless network, wired network, or both simultaneously.  You can switch back and forth between wired to wireless, and vice versa without adding or changing hardware, without disturbing field wiring, and without changing control logic.

For more information about this product or any other Opto 22 product, please contact our customer service representative at 800-462-3500 or customerservice@ptpcorp.com.

Opto 22’s PAC Terminal Utility software, which can be installed with any version of PAC Project, provides a quick way to get basic and detailed controller status data for all of your controllers. The main PAC Terminal window shows all of your controllers’ names and IP addresses. You can either get a quick summary of all controllers by clicking Scan All (located on right side of window) or highlight the controllers you want to see and click Scan Selected. Then for detail information, double click on a specific controller to open Inspect Window. You can have multiple of these windows open in order to compare controllers. The inspect window will provide lots of information, including communication loop time and communication errors, RAM available, number of messages in message queue, and many more.

For more information on this product, please contact our customer service representative at 800-462-3500 or customerservice@ptpcorp.com

New to Opto 22:

N-TRON Industrial Ethernet Switches and APs – These are built to take whatever your application dishes out, whether it is noise, vibration, shock, temperature extremes, unreliable power sources. They just keep communicating, which is exactly what you need for a reliable control network. Reliability makes these switches he ones you can count on for your Industrial Ethernet network.  They feature the highest industry specs for shock and vibration, plus an extended temperature range from -40 to 85 degrees C and MTBF of 2 million hours (which equals 228 years).The new switches include:

• N-TRON708TX – 8 10/100 BaseTX RJ-45 copper ports
• N-TRON708 FX2-ST – 6 10/100 BaseTX RJ-45 copper ports and 2 100BaseFX fiber optic ports with ST connectors

Here’s a helpful tip from Opto 22 on its PAC Manger, the configuration utility software for SNAP PAC Controllers and brains – If you don’t want to connect to the device most recently inspected, just hold down the shift key while selecting Inspect or clicking the button.  This way, Inspect window opens without connecting to any device, then you can enter/choose the one you want to see.  If you want the most recent device inspected, select Tools>Inspect (or click inspect button).

For more information, please contact our customer service representative at 800-462-3500 or customerservice@ptpcorp.com