MENU MAPS
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10-9
SIG-00-22-02 JUNE 2022 (Revised September 2022)
Version : B.1
10.1.2.3 Vital Comms Links
Figure 10-5 shows the Vital Comms menu for Vital Comms Link 1. When the vital comms link is
turned on, the user can set the ATCS address of the neighboring GCE using either offsets to the
ATCS railroad (RRR), line (LLL), group (GGG), or subnode (SS) fields (note the OCE allows the
user to directly enter the ATCS address of the neighboring system).
The communication timing parameters are shown at their default values below. These should be
fine for any reasonable speed comms link. When the vital comms link is used, the messages
will be sent either by the CPU III echelon network or via the CPU III laptop Ethernet port,
depending on the setting of the ATCS IP Field Interface (Echelon / Ethernet) which is set in the
CPU III CP programming.
When Vital Comms links are used the GCE
must
be set with unique ATCS addresses, a failure
to set a unique ATCS address may result in a hazardous condition.
The Version field is used to check the consistency of the interface; if the version is inconsistent
on either side of the Vital Comms link, the Vital Comms link will remain out of session. For
example, consider the case of a system that is already installed in the field with two GCE
systems communicating via Vital Comms Link 1 and using a Version of 1. If a change is made
to the interface, for example changing what the message bits are used for, it is recommended to
update the version. This will then avoid any compatibility issues where one side of the link has
been updated but the other side hasn’t been updated.
Figure 10-5 Vital Comms Links