Old jci facilitator on dial up

[54885488]

I have been thinking about removing the old dial up modems and replacing them with b&b electronics serial ethernet servers, model # VESP211-232 . I am wondering if i am on the right path with this so all my old front ends can be accesed with a web browser . Thinks in advance .http://www.bb-elec.com/getattachment...onverters.aspx

[mechdorn]

My opinion, your about to throw good money at an antiquated device. Take that money and put towards a new front end.

[joey791]

My opinion, your about to throw good money at an antiquated device. Take that money and put towards a new front end.

Agreed, you could replace with a Jace with a N2 driver

[54885488]

Yea we all ready have a jace at one of our schools but as a operator of both devices i would rather stick with the facilators plus i all ready got prices to replace with jaces and lets just say it was a big no . The facilitators do everything that we need i just want to access them by a web browser . Also 5000 for a jace compared to 150 for a serial server is in my budget . Any one know if it will work .

[joey791]

I don't know, but if you needs some replacement facilitators I have 6 or 7 sitting on the shelf here at my house

[54885488]

Thanks for the heads up on the replacement facilitators , at this time i have a spare . I hope to go to jaces when things eventually fail . I am going try a serial server on my spare in the office before i put it in the field . I was hoping some one had done this allready. Thanks again.

[klrogers]

Read this older post http://hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread....85-to-Ethernet

and the link in post #2 in it about timing issues. Might not apply to what you are trying to do, but something to be aware of.

Kevin

[54885488]

I think what they were trying to do is tap directly into the n2 bus with the converter . I want to remove the phone modem which ties to a serial port on the facilitator and replace with a ethernet modem with built in converter to the serial port .

[joey791]

Search for a guys posts named S2sam, he has made some servers that should work I believe.

[clogic]

Yes, it is a sound approach.

I have used the Lantronix UDS-10 (a device driver similar to the B&B device) in both Internet and Intranet applications.

A great way to extend the Customers original investment.

[clogic]

Attached is the information for a similar device.

[54885488]

Thanks everybody , i bought a used moxa n port 301 brand to test with and see if i can get it working . I figured i could not go wrong for 38 dollars .

[s2sam]

I think what they were trying to do is tap directly into the n2 bus with the converter . I want to remove the phone modem which ties to a serial port on the facilitator and replace with a ethernet modem with built in converter to the serial port .

Good day 54885488,

You are quite correct in that the issue had to do with remotely interfacing the N2 bus. In your case, I think the facilitator has a simple user interface that uses the serial port? If this is the case, then the direction you are going should be fine. There are a lot of Ethernet to Serial convertors out there and for applications that do not have timing related issues they should work fine. The differences between various manufacturers products are quality, reliability, and support (short and long term)... It is these factors that that influence the price variations between the various vendor's products. I would recommend that you use the vendor that actually manufacturers their own product, as they will be the ones that can best support you in the future. I say this, as there are a lot of vendors who simply re-brand inexpensive sub-quality devices and if something goes sideways they have limited ability to fix and/or sort out the issue.

Cheers,

Sam

[54885488]

Good day 54885488,

You are quite correct in that the issue had to do with remotely interfacing the N2 bus. In your case, I think the facilitator has a simple user interface that uses the serial port? If this is the case, then the direction you are going should be fine. There are a lot of Ethernet to Serial convertors out there and for applications that do not have timing related issues they should work fine. The differences between various manufacturers products are quality, reliability, and support (short and long term)... It is these factors that that influence the price variations between the various vendor's products. I would recommend that you use the vendor that actually manufacturers their own product, as they will be the ones that can best support you in the future. I say this, as there are a lot of vendors who simply re-brand inexpensive sub-quality devices and if something goes sideways they have limited ability to fix and/or sort out the issue.

Cheers,

Sam

Thanks sam . I am leaning towards b&b electronics serial device . I already have a couple of there converters and they have worked well . What do you think ?

[s2sam]

Thanks sam . I am leaning towards b&b electronics serial device . I already have a couple of there converters and they have worked well . What do you think ?

Good day 54885488,

You are most welcome!

I have not examined the B&B Ethernet devices and so I cannot comment on them. That being said, I have used some of their other simpler products and for the most part I think they are fine. The quality of their products are just OK, as the ones I examined are manufactured offshore and there is more attention paid to cost savings than to quality. I say this only because I am "particular" and also because I manufacture electronic devices which are typically over engineered and/or designed with a greater emphasis on quality, etc as opposed to cost. However, to be fair to B&B ...they need to manufacture as they do to meet the price point they offer their products at... I know I could not enter the product markets they are in for the prices they offer, as I would go broke in no time.

As for other Ethernet to Serial vendors, I do like Lantronix. They manufacture (or have it made form them) their own products and even OEM / re-brand their products for other manufacturers too. In my case, for applications similar to what you are doing, I typically do not use any other vendors' products and simply use one of own internal products/devices.

For your application I think you will be fine with whatever device you end up using providing you buy from known industrial and/or quality suppliers. The cheapie convertors on Ebay, etc are cheap for a reason (sub standard parts, re-used parts, counterfeit parts, etc). Secondly, I would only buy one or two devices first and try them out for several weeks to qualify them. B&B have been around for a long time and so if there were any significant issues with their convertors I am sure we all would have heard about it by now. So, going this route is no doubt fine.

Cheers,

Sam

[clogic]

Please refer to the attached for configuration and parameters.

JW

[clogic]

Oh yeah,

Don't forget to open the port in the previous example drawing

JW

[clogic]

Yes ur right Port 17

[Cagey57]

I have been thinking about removing the old dial up modems and replacing them with b&b electronics serial ethernet servers, model # VESP211-232 . I am wondering if i am on the right path with this so all my old front ends can be accesed with a web browser . Thinks in advance .http://www.bb-elec.com/getattachment...onverters.aspx

54885488,
We have used the Moxa Nport devices on both Companion (nearly Identical to a Facilitator) and NCM's (OT Mode) with good success. The only isues are getting the serial side (RS-232) settings correct. The Facilitator should be the same as a Companion; 9600 bps, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit and No Parity (VT-100 emulation). Your IT guys should be able to work out the ethernet stuff very quickly to get the interface connected and communicating on your LAN.

[54885488]

54885488,
We have used the Moxa Nport devices on both Companion (nearly Identical to a Facilitator) and NCM's (OT Mode) with good success. The only isues are getting the serial side (RS-232) settings correct. The Facilitator should be the same as a Companion; 9600 bps, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit and No Parity (VT-100 emulation). Your IT guys should be able to work out the ethernet stuff very quickly to get the interface connected and communicating on your LAN.

Thanks cagey57 . I got the thing working good and thanks for the serial settings . Would you happen to know how to get hvac pro to work thru the moxa n port . I always used auxiliary access before but i dont know how to access the serial server when using hvac pro . Auxiliary access only has com 1 and com 2 choices but hopefully there is a way around this . Thanks