HMS Airbus X-gateway troubleshooting

Size end issue: The X-gateway defaults to using Motorola (Big End) format to store 16/32-bit values. If the PLC uses Intel (small end) format, byte swapping is required on the user side.

Control/Status Word occupancy: If Control/Status Word is enabled, the first few bytes of I/O data will be occupied by these words. For example, the first two bytes of the input I/O data area are Status Word, and the user data starts from the third byte. If the mapping offset of the PLC is not adjusted at this time, it will cause data misalignment.

Live List occupancy: When Live List is enabled in the master configuration, up to 64 slave states (each slave occupies 1 bit) will occupy the first 8 bytes of the input I/O data area.

Solution: Go to the Change Configuration menu and check if the control/status word or Live List is accidentally enabled. If these functions need to be retained, corresponding offset addresses must be recorded in the PLC program.

3.3 Loss of slave stations under master station configuration (indicated by Live List)

In the Master to Slave gateway, the master interface maintains a Live List (active slave list). This list is a 64 bit bitmap, with each bit indicating whether the slave stations with node addresses 1-64 are active (specific interpretation depends on the network protocol, such as the "data exchange" status in PROFIBUS).

If a slave station reports' Slave not active ', possible reasons may be:

Power outage or physical disconnection from the substation.

The watchdog of the slave station has timed out (the watchdog time of the slave station can be adjusted).

The I/O data length configured by the master station does not match that of the slave station.

Diagnostic operation:

Check if Live List is enabled through the configuration menu Show Fieldbus System Configuration.

If enabled, the Live List will appear at a fixed offset in the input I/O data area. It is possible to quickly determine which slave has failed by monitoring the bitmap.

For the EtherNet/IP Scanner interface (without Live List), the connection status can be viewed through another diagnostic object.

3.4 Data behavior after network offline (freezing or clearing)

When a network interface goes offline (such as a PROFIBUS cable break), the gateway will default to clearing all data sent to the other network (i.e. setting all to 0). But in some applications, such as maintaining the final effective value, it may be safer (such as valve opening). At this point, you can modify the Offline option:

Clear: Clear the output data to zero.

Freeze: Keep the output data as the last received value.

This option can be set independently for each network interface. If the application requires maintaining the output unchanged when offline, it must be changed to Freeze.

In addition, some interfaces also support Offline timeout (milliseconds) parameters. If no new data is received within this time, it will be judged as offline and the above action will be triggered.

3.5 Configuration interface cannot be connected

The configuration interface of X-gateway is the bottom RS232 port (9-pin D-sub), which requires the use of standard null modem cables (2-3 cross, 7-8 cross, 5 direct connection). The connection parameters are fixed as:

Baud rate: 57600

Data bits: 8

Verification: None

Stop position: 1

Flow control: None

If using a USB-RS232 converter, ensure that the driver is correct and the baud rate is set correctly. After entering terminal software (such as HyperTerminal, PuTTY), power on the gateway, and the screen will scroll with startup information, finally prompting Press ESC to enter configuration interface. At this point, quickly press the Esc key to enter the main menu.

If no prompt or garbled text appears:

Check if the cable is null modem (not a straight line).

Attempt to reduce the baud rate of the terminal software (sometimes the gateway actually runs at 9600? The manual specifies 57600, but some older versions may be different).

Check if the PC serial port is occupied by other programs.

Practical Configuration Menu and Detailed Parameter Explanation

4.1 Main menu navigation

After successful connection through terminal software, the main menu displays:

text

Anybus X-gateway Main menu

1 - Show gateway system information

2 - Show fieldbus system information

3 - Show gateway system configuration

4 - Show fieldbus system configuration

5 - Operating Status information

6 - Change Configuration

7 - Configuration upload/download

8 - Restart Gateway

9 - Change operation mode (Master only)

A - Administration mode

Enter the corresponding number and press enter to enter the submenu. Press Esc at any time to return to the main menu.

4.2 Viewing System Information (Diagnostic Fundamentals)

Show gateway system information: Display the bootloader version, application version, product version, and serial number. Can be used to confirm whether the firmware needs to be upgraded.

Show fieldbus system information: Display the model, firmware version, MAC address (Ethernet interface), etc. of the Upper and Lower interfaces separately. If there is a significant difference in firmware versions between the two interfaces, there may be compatibility issues.