Avoiding the Obstacles of Tending an Aging Paperless Recorder
Posted by danstips in Honeywell, Trendview X-Series Paperless Recorders, Troubleshooting on October 31, 2016
Written by: Dan Weise
It’s been about a decade since the Honeywell Trendview X-Series paperless recorders were first introduced. And as with any product, you can expect some routine maintenance and service requirements that come with age.
We’ve summarized the top four obstacles you may face when tending to your aging paperless recorder, and how you can overcome them to further maximize the lifespan and functionality of your device.
Before you start, make sure you have a printed record of your paperless recorder’s custom configurations in case you need to restore them to your unit.
1. Changing the Clock Battery
If your paperless recorder is getting old, the battery may be ready to be swapped out. Your recorder uses a standard CR2032 lithium battery that is both inexpensive and readily available at most drug stores.
Although this appears to be a simple solution, I’ve noticed when I change out the battery, the system resets the clock to January 1, 2003.
If you haven’t enabled security, you can just login and change the time. But, this can pose a problem if your recorder uses the ESS extended security (usually a pharmaceutical requirement). When an ESS-enabled recorder resets back to Jan 1, 2003, no user, not even an administrator, can get access to the setup because the valid period for all passwords appears to have expired.
In order to avoid this problem, it is best to plan ahead before attempting to replace the clock battery.
How to Avoid Honeywell Process Instrument Explorer (PIE) Software Communication Errors
Posted by danstips in Analytical Measurement Devices, Communications, Configuration, Control, Loop Controllers, Process Automation Controllers, Serial, Software, Troubleshooting on August 26, 2016
Honeywell’s Process Instrument Explorer (PIE) configuration software used for configuring UDC controllers and the UDA analytical controller communicates with the instruments via RS-485, Ethernet, or Infrared (IR).
Since most newer PCs don’t ship with built-in serial ports to connect an IR adapter, you can use a USB-to-RS-232 converter, and then connect using the Actisys serial-to-infrared adapter (ACT-IR220L+). The USB converter will plug directly into your PC’s USB port, but install on a virtual COM port.
Here’s where it gets tricky: That COM port has to match the COM port used in PIE, and PIE doesn’t support ports above COM8.
