Overview; What The Modbus Communications Card Does - Thermo Scientific APEX 100 User Manual

Overview

The optional APEX Modbus Communications Card is a hardware add-on that allows the
APEX to communicate with your company's Ethernet, intranet, or other internal network.
The APEX Modbus Communications Card comes in two versions, as follows. Which one
you need depends on the communications protocol used by your existing network.
• Modbus TCP/IP Communications Card—This card allows your APEX to
communicate with Ethernet and other networks using the transmission control
protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP).
• Modbus RTU Communications Card—This card, which you can configure either as
an RS-232 or RS-485 card, allows your APEX to communicate with networks
using the remote terminal unit (RTU) communications protocol.
Please note that version 3.0 or higher of the detector's operating software is needed for
the Modbus Communications Card to work. If you are not sure which version of the
software is currently installed on your APEX, please navigate to page 5 of the detector's
system and tools menu, which is shown below. (This screen shows that version 3.0 of
the detector's operating software is currently installed.)
Software Version
For more information about how to navigate to the Software Version screen, please see
page 193.

What the Modbus Communications Card Does

The Modbus Communications Card allows you to do the following.
• Use your network to remotely access APEX parameters.
•
Change products remotely.
• Get real-time statistics—such as current reject count—from the APEX.
• Back up critical APEX settings.
These are described in more detail in the following sections.
Thermo Scientific APEX User's Guide Page 321