Punch Tape

[Fabio1]

Our 15M controler shut off for no apparent reason the other day.While looking through the panels for the cause,I came across a box with machine paramters writen on it.Inside was a reel of punch tape.BINGO!
My question is,can I load the parameters from that tape directly to a pc to look them over b4 I install on the controler?

[perfpro]

You can read the tapes into the controller as a program, then save to your pc.

[Fabio1]

Originally Posted by perfpro You can read the tapes into the controller as a program, then save to your pc.

Will give that a try.Hope I have enough room.
Thanks

[Lohmeyer]

Does your machine have a tape reader? If it's an external unit, you might be able to disconnect it and attach to a PC and read directly into a terminal program on the PC using a serial port. But, if you have a tape reader on your machine, yes, it's easiest to just load the tape into the machine and save params back to your PC after the fact. But, I wouldn't do to that unless you are sure your machine's current params have been lost. The tape is probably a set of factory settings, but there may have been changes since the machine was put into service. Loading from the paper tape will over write any changes since put into service.

If you don't have a tape reader, I can help. I have a separate unit I've used to read tapes onto my PC.

Regards,
Mike

[perfpro]

Good advice Mike.

Fabio1 be wary of overwriting existing machine parameters!

Load the tape as a program, as in O0001, then press Read.
The tape can be loaded as a program on another machine if your tape reader is not working. Get a printout of the file when you save back to the PC, and compare that with the parameters in your controller. If your machine is operational at this stage I would not reload the parameter tape as a parameter tape ( just read it in as a program ).
If you do alter any parameters, for whatever reason, note any changes.

[Fabio1]

Originally Posted by perfpro Good advice Mike. Fabio1 be wary of overwriting existing machine parameters! Load the tape as a program, as in O0001, then press Read. The tape can be loaded as a program on another machine if your tape reader is not working. Get a printout of the file when you save back to the PC, and compare that with the parameters in your controller. If your machine is operational at this stage I would not reload the parameter tape as a parameter tape ( just read it in as a program ). If you do alter any parameters, for whatever reason, note any changes.

Thanks guys that is exactly the reason why I want to put it on pc first,so I can compare.There seems to be alot of parameters not on on this controller and just curious as to whether or not it was loaded properly.
I also have another experiment I want to try.I want to get a serial to USB cable and see if I can dump programs onto a stick.There is a very limited amount of space on these controllers.

[Lohmeyer]

Common serial to USB cables are only meant to work on a PC, to give a PC a serial port. You can't use them the other way around like you describe. Neat idea, and maybe someone makes such a device, but probably not.

[roja.raou]

It's data. MACHINE READABLE DATA.

[Fabio1]

Originally Posted by Lohmeyer Common serial to USB cables are only meant to work on a PC, to give a PC a serial port. You can't use them the other way around like you describe. Neat idea, and maybe someone makes such a device, but probably not.

Just need a gender changer and whether or not the controller will see it or the stick will accept it.

[Lohmeyer]

Maybe I misunderstood what you were saying. A USB to serial adapter only works when plugged into a PC (Windows, Mac OS, Linux, etc.). I.e. the USB side must plug into a computer. You can't plug a memory stick into the USB side of a serial to USB adapter and write to the USB stick from the serial side.