Rover--Beating a dead horse?

[Maxt]

I have numerous customers with Trane equipment with ZN boards, in a nutshell, Rover would make service and configuration a whole lot easier than running down to the buildings offices from the 21st floor to check the status of the heat pump, or deal with the lame refresh rate of it.
I Searched and read every relevant Rover post I could find, but the line seems to go either way on whether or not a contractor can purchase Rover.
I went to my local light commercial, they have no access. The main Trane dealer here is a dealership parts and service dept., and refuses to sell Rover, I got a pretty long song and dance why I dont need rover for trane equipment, which begs the question, why does Trane even develop it , if its not needed. Obviously it serves a purpose in servicing and setting up trane equipment.
Here's the silly thing, I can buy replacement Controllers, but then Trane wants to send their tech to my jobsite to configure my customers controllers, Hmm, maybe the fact that their is another Non trane contractor working on a building that is loaded with Trane equipment and automation should be hint of what that particular building owner thinks of Trane service.
The local dealer does not offer any Rover/summit/Tracer training for contractors either.
Anyone know of any Friendly Trane offices, that offer training and sells the service tools? I will travel if needed.

[dapper]

Why not buy Echelon's LonMaker and download the free Trane plug-ins, they look exactly like Rover and work the same.
If you have a Summit or Tracer system this would be a different story but if you are talking stand-alone units this is all you need. I have Rover but never use it.

[Maxt]

Most of the systems are on summit and tracer, but I suppose I could isolate it from the comm link and plug in on an individual basis, it would just not be as convenient as marching up the zone sensor and plugging in I guess. Also not all of the units are new, some are older and not lon capable, the rover I was told was backward compatible to E-ware boards.

[michael26]

Can I do this with Care 7? Just download the plugins and I can access points for troubleshooting.

[mallron]

I think the part # is sft1001 for rover v6 lon/comm4. You should be able to buy it from parts if they'll sell it to you.

[Maxt]

I went in armed with the part number, they had it as an automation part on their system, and thats when the walls went up around the product.. They basically said the reason they dont sell it, is because it would allow non Trane personal to make adjustments that could cause damage to the building, like boiler setpoints, low temp detect temps etc etc. In their eyes, Trane knows all, and everyone else is a blithering dolt in the hvac world, so Trane is doing mankind this huge favour by being the protector of all things controllable....

[jslimjeff]

try contacting the commercial sales office salesman for commercial equipment. Ur right parts cannot sell it u have to go through a salesman and get a price. U should tell him it is for balancing and decommissioning controllers. What office are u using. The Milwaukee office will sell to contractors and balancers, they do not provide training but u can get the full manual and help from on here. I am willing if needed.

If push. Comes to shove and u Trane users keep getting the run around from different offices, I will post the Midwest area controls managers name and number for u to inform him of the problems u are having.
Unfortunatly I have heard with the new Trane product line to come out, the service software which I think is called tu and already out foe the cwntravac touch panel is going to be completly locked down and will not be available to anyone but trans authorized partner members or Trane employees. This I think is a terrible position for them to take. It seems they are making software access just like TAC and novar does. U will have to toto their traing center and become a sales rep under a contract.

[seewll]

I know in my area the commercial office will sell the service Rover, this is a scaled down rover that will allow you to configure controllers. I guess it depends on the area you are in, Our local commercial office is CUSTOMER oriented, unlike others, they are the franchise, so they play a bit different, but try to follow the rules. Sounds like it is the area you are in, unfortunatley the local offices will not sell out side of the area, or I would give you there contact info, they are able to track the software back to the office that purchased it, and this can cause them trouble so they will not sell out of area, I have asked. SOunds like you have a few options based on the other post. Good luck.

Trane does make some good products though. Maybe in time they will change.

[Cuziwanano]

Why not buy Echelon's LonMaker and download the free Trane plug-ins, they look exactly like Rover and work the same.
If you have a Summit or Tracer system this would be a different story but if you are talking stand-alone units this is all you need. I have Rover but never use it.

dapper, I have a zn517 that has never been installed and wanted to configure it with LM for a stand alone shop demo but could not change the unit type from Heat_pump. 90% of the LNS plug-in (downloaded from Trane)worked fine, however I could not change the unit type, to say a generic RTU. This is the first time I have tried this so I may be missing something.

Any help would be appreciated.

[willf650]

dapper, I have a zn517 that has never been installed and wanted to configure it with LM for a stand alone shop demo but could not change the unit type from Heat_pump. 90% of the LNS plug-in (downloaded from Trane)worked fine, however I could not change the unit type, to say a generic RTU. This is the first time I have tried this so I may be missing something.

Any help would be appreciated.

The ZN517 is setup for the light comercial/Tracker crowd. Made to act as a comunicating thermostat replacement and not need Rover to get working. You change the basic unit type/configuration with the 2 dip switches under the cover. Sorry, I'don't know what the settings are off the top of my head.

[seewll]

dapper, I have a zn517 that has never been installed and wanted to configure it with LM for a stand alone shop demo but could not change the unit type from Heat_pump. 90% of the LNS plug-in (downloaded from Trane)worked fine, however I could not change the unit type, to say a generic RTU. This is the first time I have tried this so I may be missing something.

Any help would be appreciated.

Heat pump DIP SW settings, Off, ON, Off, dip 4 not used
Heat Pump with Econ, Off, On, ON, dip 4 not used

2 Heat 2 Cool, Off, Off, Off
2 Heat 2 Cool w Econ, Off, Off , ON

4 Cool On, Off, Off
4 Cool w Econ On, Off, On

[Cuziwanano]

Thanks for the info. I had forgotten that they had d/s under the cover.

[mdp]

Can the Echelon Lonmaker be used on comm4 devices as well? Debating if it's worth the money to purchase Rover.

[freddy-b]

Can the Echelon Lonmaker be used on comm4 devices as well? Debating if it's worth the money to purchase Rover.

No, it cant.

[freddy-b]

Can the Echelon Lonmaker be used on comm4 devices as well? Debating if it's worth the money to purchase Rover.

No it does not.