FRICK QUANTUM EVAPORATOR CONTROL PANEL S90-600 CS
COMMUNICATIONS SETUP Page 9
the Gould publication PO-MBUS-300 “Gould Modbus
Protocol Reference Manual”.
Port Configuration of the Leader:
7 Bits per Character
No Parity
1 Stop Bit
No Handshake
Quantum Data Table
Allen-Bradley and Modbus Data Access
Data passed to and from the Quantum are integer values
with one decimal field assumed unless shown otherwise or
the command is sent to select two decimal fields. For
example, if the data’s value is 25.5, then the value 255 is
sent. All temperatures are in degree C and all pressures
are in PSIA, unless the command is sent to select the
units of the panel. A mode such as evaporator mode is
sent as an integer value that represents the mode it is in.
For example, a 10 is sent if it is in Mode 1, or a 20 is sent
if it is in Mode 2, or a 30 is sent if it is in Mode 3. The
value zero (0) is used to represent an “OFF” status and a
“DISABLED” option. The value one (1), which is received
as a 10, is used to represent an “ON” status and an
“ENABLED” option. Only data values that are designated
as setpoints are modifiable. “Read Only” is used to help
identify what data is not modifiable. The setpoint range is
checked to see if it is an allowed setting. If it is not
allowed, the setting is not changed. Reference the “Frick
Evaporator Quantum Control Panel Setpoints Data
Sheets” for the setpoints default settings and ranges.
Reference the “Quantum Data Table” for the address
listing and description of data.
A command has been provided that selects whether data
to and from the Quantum will be integer values with either
one or two decimal fields assumed. Another command has
been provided that selects whether data to and from the
Quantum will be returned in the units that are the default
(pressure in PSIA and temperature in Degree C) or in the
units that are selected to display at the panel.
With the Evaporator control system, all zone-specific
setpoints are stored at the GCU board and are only loaded
to the Quantum panel as needed. As a result, delays will
be encountered when reading or writing these setpoints as
the values are transferred between the Quantum and GCU
board. Setpoints whose Frick addresses are between 70
and 699 should be considered zone-specific.
To properly read or change the zone-specific setpoints
stored at the GCU it is necessary to follow certain
procedures. First, send the proper command that will login
the Quantum to the zone containing the setpoints that are
to be viewed or modified. The Quantum screen will
immediately move to the Zone Overview display and the
Panel Control Status value will be set to Remote. Next,
read the id of the zone the Quantum is currently logged in
to and verify that it is correct. (The current zone id is
stored at Frick address 211.) At this point, a command
may be sent to read or write setpoint values.
All zone-specific setpoints are divided into data groups. A
data group is a number of related setpoints that are saved
and read from the GCU board as a group. They are also
usually displayed together on one page in the Quantum.
To achieve the best system performance, it is highly
recommended that all the setpoints of a data group be
handled together. When reading setpoints from the
Quantum, read each data group together. When changing
setpoints, make all necessary changes to one data group
before moving on to the next group. In addition, it is
recommended that all handling of setpoints be completed
for one zone before moving on to the next zone. Rapidly
jumping from one zone to the next will slow response
times considerably.
When using the Modbus protocol, expect to wait a up to
several seconds while the required values are downloaded
from the GCU board. With the Allen-Bradley protocol, the
first time a value from a data group is requested, after
login to a zone, no data is returned, but the data group is
downloaded from the GCU board. The same data request
should be sent several seconds later, and the downloaded
data will now be returned. When saving setpoints in either
Modbus or Allen-Bradley, each setpoint change will not be
immediately uploaded to the GCU board. Rather, all
setpoint changes made to one data group will be stored at
the Quantum. Only when a setpoint change is made to a
second data group or when the Refresh command is sent,
will all the changes to the first data group be saved to the
GCU board. If neither of these events occurs within a set
amount of time the changes will automatically be saved to
the GCU board. These operational methods, when used
properly, allow a person to make a large number of
setpoint changes without stalling communications.
When reading values from the GCU board that may
change periodically, such as the Alarm List, send the
Refresh Setpoints command before reading the values to
verify that current settings are being read. Also, be aware,
if a person presses the "Login to Zone" button at the
Quantum, the Panel Control Status setting will be set to
Manual. This will prevent a remote system from reading or
writing the setpoints stored at the GCU board until the
Panel Control Status is reset to Remote.