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National Instruments Corporation
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FieldPoint FP-3000 User Manual
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Troubleshooting
The FP-3000 is a powerful and highly flexible tool you can use to solve
distributed I/O and control problems. Because of this flexibility, you might
encounter problems getting the FP-3000 to perform the functions you want.
This chapter helps you diagnose and solve common problems that you
might encounter using the FP-3000. Problems you might encounter with
the FP-3000 include Fieldbus communication problems, I/O module
problems, and software configuration problems.
Fieldbus Communication Problems
The interface between the host computer and the FP-3000 is a
FOUNDATION Fieldbus network. The network allows you to connect
multiple devices (such as FP-3000s or other Fieldbus transmitters) and
hosts together, with each device or host having a unique network address
and a unique device tag. A master device on the Fieldbus constantly polls,
or probes, empty network addresses to check for new devices. A number of
problems can arise related to this networking scheme.
Setting Device Tag and Network Address
All Fieldbus devices such as the FP-3000 need a unique network address
and a unique device tag before they can be fully operational. The FP-3000
ships without a device tag and with a default network address, which is a
network address used temporarily to allow a device tag to be written by a
host configurator. Once the device tag is written, a permanent network
address can be assigned. If you are using the NI-FBUS Configurator, these
steps happen automatically when the Configurator sees the FP-3000.
