Automation Q & A

PLCs vs PACs: Did Digi-Key get it right? I’m not so sure… (qa230316)

Automation Q & A from the Morning Show dated 03/16/23: There's no question that Digi-Key has contributed to the industry with its many high quality (and completely free) technical articles. But the question today is if they got the difference between PLCs and PACs right in their recent article, a...

CompactLogix – Why Does Its IP Address Keep Changing? (qa230221)

Automation Q & A from the Morning Show dated 02/21/23: A reader recently asked why does his CompactLogix's IP Address keep  reverting back to the old value every time he cycles power, and I share my thoughts on that in today's Automation Q&A. NOTE: You'll find the articles mentioned in this...

PanelView Plus – .MER Runtime: Unable to load ActiveX control, Newer version required (qa230214)

Automation Q & A from the Morning Show dated 02/14/23: A reader recently asked why he's getting this error on his PanelView Plus: “Unable to load ActiveX control. Cause: Newer file version of ActiveX control required,” and I share my thoughts on that in today's Automation Q&A. NOTE: You'll find the...

BOOTP-DHCP Utility – Why Won’t It Disable BOOTP? (qa230210)

Automation Q & A from the Morning Show dated 02/10/23: I was recently asked by a community member what to do if the BOOTP-DHCP Tool/Utility wouldn't disable the BOOTP setting in a PLC and HMI, and I share my thoughts on that question in today's Automation Q&A below. NOTE: For our...

Message (MSG) – ControlLogix to PowerFlex 525? (qa230208)

Automation Q & A from the Morning Show dated 02/08/23: Recently I was asked by a community member if they could use a MSG instructions in a ControlLogix to communicate with a PowerFlex 525, and I share my thoughts on that question in today's Automation Q&A below: NOTE: If you need...

Micro800 – Can I use the USB Port to Read Data? (qa230202)

Automation Q & A from the Morning Show dated 02/02/23: Recently I was asked by a community member if they could use the USB Port on a Micro800 to connect to a third party RFID device to read data into the PLC, and I share my thoughts on that question...

PanelView Plus – .MER Runtime: Terminal Cannot Find File? (qa230131)

Automation Q & A from the Morning Show dated 01/31/23: Recently a community member ran into an issue with a newly purchased machine where the PanelView Plus was showing an error that it could not find the .MER Runtime file, and I share my thoughts on what might be happening...

PLC-5 – Why is 1771 I/O Addressed in Octal? (qa230130)

Automation Q & A for 01/30/23: Recently I was asked why a PLC-5's I/O is addressed in Octal, and I answer that question in today's Automation Q&A below: NOTE: If you need to learn how to use and program the PLC-5, check out my Ultimate PLC-5 online course. It comes with support...

PanelView Plus – Firmware: “Your PanelView Plus Firmware May Be Corrupt…” (qa230125)

Automation Q & A for 01/25/23: I was asked by a member of our community recently what he should do now that his PanelView Plus 600 is booting up to an error like, "Your PanelView Plus Firmware May Be Corrupt," and I discuss the answer that question in today's Automation...

Automation Q & A for February 25, 2020 (qa200228)

In this episode of our Automation Q & A Show, I review twelve of the questions which came into The Automation Blog and Forums over the last several weeks: For more information, check out the "Show Notes" located below the video.  Automation Q & A Episode 4 Show Notes: If...

Automation Q & A for April, 2019 (qa190425)

In this week's episode of The Automation Show we review viewer questions on a wide range of topics: For more information, check out the "Show Notes" located below the video. [vimeo 366846567 w=750 h=420] The Automation Show, Episode 13 Show Notes: Support Shawn's work on Automation.Locals.com! You can now support Shawn's work on The...

Automation Q & A for March, 2019 (qa190328)(s10)

In this week's episode of The Automation Show we answer viewer questions on a wide range of automation topics: For more information, check out the "Show Notes" located below the video. [vimeo 368566024 w=750 h=420] The Automation Show, Episode 10 Show Notes: Support Shawn's work on Automation.Locals.com! You can now support Shawn's work on...

Automation Q & A Show for May 18th, 2018 (qa180518)

[vimeo 365847944 w=750 h=420]NOTE: You can now sponsor our show and site! Contact Us for more information! Welcome to the The Automation Q & A Podcast from The Automation Blog, My name is Shawn Tierney, and in this my weekly Q&A podcast I answer several of the week's questions answer that...