Motion Control

[mmarcum6]

I have a 1394 drive controller that has lost its parameters a couple of times when the power was off for a couple of weeks. This had never happened before a month ago, but now looks like it is going to get to be a regular issue. I looked over the controller and didn't see an obvious battery. Can I correctly assume that these drives use a capacitor for memory retention?

[NorwichUK]

What parameters in particular are lost - all of them or just some?

Could it be that these are being written to by an external device and the 1394 not losing the data?

If its the battery, then the data must be stored in a different type of memory from the application program, otherwise you would lose that as well.

The following is from the KB on the subject (Ans ID 27691). The following isn't what you want to read - so need to be sure its the battery thats causing your issues.

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BATRAM KEY FEATURES

10 years minimum data retention in the absence of external power
Data is automatically protected during power loss
Unlimited write cycles
Low-power CMOS
Lithium energy source is electrically disconnected to retain freshness until power is applied for the first time
Summary: The battery back up RAM (batram) for the 1394 GMC & 1394 GMC Turbo is NOT field replaceable, the unit MUST be sent in for repair. The batram is a self-contained lithium energy source and control circuitry.
Catalog Number: 1394 GMC;1394 GMC Turbo
DocFullNum: G73448994

[mmarcum6]

I can't tell you for sure if it is all or just some as I simply in the interest of time and getting the machine back us as quick as possible I simply connected with GML and did a diagram download. If it occurs again I will try and get more information if time permits. I can tell you that the status of the diagnostic LEDs on the top of the drive were 0=on steady and 1 & 2 were off and per the manual:

On Off Off Solid - Memory fault - Setup or program checksum errorb - Re-Download the GML diagram with the setups - Reset the controller.

[NorwichUK]

Sounds like you've lost everything when this happens.

Maybe its time for that repair as mentioned in the tech note.

[mmarcum6]

If I keep a live feed to the 24 Volt input will this retain the memory if the battery is the problem? I just need a solution until I can get a replacement or the time and money to upgrade the drives.