Communication Port(S) Use; Introduction; Communication Port Options; Personal Computer Requirements - ABB REL 301 Instruction Leaflet

4. 6.

COMMUNICATION PORT(S) USE

4.6.1

Introduction

REL 301/302 can be communicated with for target data, settings, etc., through the man-ma-
chine interface (MMI), The relay can also be communicated with via one of the communication
(comm.) ports. Comm port communications, provides the user with more information than is
available with the MMI. For example, all 16 targets are available and a more friendly user inter-
face for settings can be accessed (all settings are displayed on a single screen on the user's
PC). This section will provide the details of the comm port options, personal computer require-
ments, connecting cables and all information necessary to communicate with and extract data
from the relay. Additional communications details are contained in I.L. 40-603, (RCP) Remote
Communication Program. As stated in Section 1.5, RCP is required for all comm. port com-
munications. Information about the communications protocol can be found in the RCP I.L.
4.6.2

Communication Port Options

REL 301/302 is supplied with a rear communications port. If the network interface is not speci-
fied, a RS-232C (hardware standard) communications port is supplied. Network interface
comm. port option, NET-PONI (see I.L. 40-611 for details) allows the connection of the relay
with many other devices to a 2-wire network. A detailed discussion of networking capabilities
can be found in AD 40-600, Substation Control and Communications Application Guide.
RS-232C, rear comm. ports are of the removable, Product Operated Network Interface (PONI)
type and are available in two styles. One is identified by a 25 pin (DB-25S) female connector, it
is usually black and has a single data comm. rate of 1200 bps. The second style is a RS-PONI
(see I.L. 40-610 for details) identified by a 9 pin (DB-9P) male connector and externally acces-
sible dip switches (next to the connector) for setting the communication data rate. This port op-
tion is always black in color, can be set for speeds of 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600 bps (see
Table 4-7) and offers an option for IRIG-B time clock, synchronization input.
Front communications is another comm. port option. The front panel RS-232C communications
port, is supplied with a 9 pin (DB-9S) female connector and can be configured for 300, 1200,
2400, 2400, 4800, 9600, or 19200 bps. Data comm. rate choice is made by dip switch settings
which will be discussed later in this chapter.
4.6.3

Personal Computer Requirements

Communication with the relay requires the use of Remote Communication Program (RCP) re-
gardless of the comm. port option. RCP is supplied by ABB Relay Division and is run on a per-
sonal computer (PC).
To run the program requires an IBM AT, PC/2 PC or true compatible with a minimum of 640
kilobytes of RAM, 1 hard disk drive, a RS-232C comm. port and a video graphics adapter card.
The PC must be running Version 3.3, or higher, MS-DOS.
4.6.4

Connecting Cables

With each comm. port option the connecting cable requirement can be different. Also, connect-
ing directly to a PC or connecting to a modem, for remote communication, affects the connecting
cable requirements. Table 4-5 provides a summary of a plug pin assignments, pins required and
cable connectors.
Some terminology will be defined to aid the user in understanding cable requirements in Table
4-5. Reference, is often made to the "RS-232C" standard, for data communication. The RS-
I.L. 40-386.4
4-7