lon network

[habs]

I am a little confused about lon still. If I have an existing system that is lon can I put a different manufacturer's device on the network and program it with the same software or do I need manufacturer specific software for each different device but they can still be on the same bus.
Thanks for the replies.

[willf650]

There are others on this board that probably alot more qaulified to answer this but I'll try and some can fix my answer. Lon is a com spec with a predifined set of points that any manfacturer with a true lon spec controler should have to be lon certified. These points would be available for any brands cotrollers to pick up and use on the network. It is an open comunication protocal free for any manufacturer to use that was created by ecelon corp. Echelon was smart as even if its a free protocal to use you still have to buy the chips from them. As far as the actual programing for fully programable controlers its still a manufacturer specific program. I've have only done a couple jobs that have a couple different manufactures controlers integrated so I'm not the best to answer.

[fat eddy]

Our head in on lon networks will talk to any lon device on the network and pick up what ever points are available, there is a binding process that has to be done for every controller though, it is not even remotely plug and play.

I beleive there is an interface block that needs to be provided by the manufacturer of the device in order to program it.

My experience with lon networks is more in the communication troubleshooting end rather than the programming.

[NormChris]

Is there a device called a "Bridge" that is made to allow two different systems to talk to each other? I thought they make different bridges that convert one language to another and you need to get the correct bridge for the two languages you want to convert between.

Am I talking about the same thing here or something different?

Norm

[willf650]

There would be no need for a bridge in a Lon system as all the devices should talk the same language. That is the selling point of Lon as its not a single manufacturer spec as the Trane misc comms , Johnson N2 bus, Alerton BacTalk or Ibex and whatever other manufacturers are calling thier comunication links. There is an XIF (external interface file) used to bridge the gap between the different manufacturers controllers.

[fat eddy]

I've heard of a bridge to merge BacNet with Lon

[sysint]

Gateway guys - they call them gateways....

Anyway to answer the question Cardinal.. see my new post on AHR show - Circon.

EDIT- Cardinal - you get the manufacturer plugins and you can do everything with the LNS software of your choice. If the manufacturer doesn't provide plugins, you can still add the device to the network.

Alot of OEM's don't give plugins. Then they wonder why they don't have huge LON demand. Look at lwarren's post.

MCS apparently has no clue in what it takes to provide a decent Lonworks solution. Sounds like a really incomptetant group. Multistack is another one that knows little. Carrier has Lon communication adapter interface rather than actual LON controllers.

That's why companies like Circon, Distech and TAC kick their tails in reliable Lonworks products.

[Edited by sysint on 02-23-2005 at 08:35 PM]

[NormChris]

I need a gateway or bridge that will communicate between Modbus and Lon. Is there such?

[amigo]

If you need an expensive one look at Fieldserver, if you don't mind european ones, you can probably find better and cheaper ones. But then you may need to know how to read/speak dutch or german.
http://www.intellicom.se/gateways.shtml
May I suggest: if you want to stay sane, start small and keep it fun.