RS485 NI MAX

[LarsUlrich]

This may be the wrong board for this...

I have a device that communicates via RS485 modbus and I am trying to test out its programming codes in MAX.  It uses an old RJ12 connector, and I have an adaptor for RJ12 to RJ45, allowing me to plug it straight into what would normally be the hardwired internet port.

My question is, where would the device show up in NI MAX?  Is it possible to communicate to a device via what is normally used for the internet?  I am used to GPIB devices and when I plug this one in and open up MAX, it is not obvious which is my device.

Thanks!

[RavensFan]

I suggest looking closer at the specifications for this device.  Saying "allowing me to plug it straight into what would normally be the hardwired internet port" scares me.

RS-485 IS NOT the same thing as an ethernet port.  It has different pins and signal levels and everything.  There is actually no defined pinout for an RS-485 port like RS-232 (DB9 DB25) and ethernet ports (A vs. B) have.  An RS-485 port may be wired into a DB9, DB25, RJ-45, RJ-12 or a terminal strip in whatever way the manufacturer of the device decides.

Don't plug your device into an ethernet port just because it has an RJ-12 plug that just so happens to look so much like an RJ-45 ethernet plug.  You need to have an RS-485 serial port in your PC.

If you plug an RS-485 device into a PC, Max won't recognize anything but the fact that you have an RS-485 serial port in your PC.  It will show up in MAX has a com port as long as the drivers for the port are installed into Windows and the port shows up in Device Manager for Windows.

Before you plug in anything, READ THE MANUAL.

[LV_Pro]

See my reply in your duplicate post  I see that RavenFan and I are at cross purposes, so I suggest continuing in this thread and abandoning the other.