Elkm1 PCSPIM Enrollment

[ajdesiderio]

Hello Everyone! I am trying to add to my Elk by adding UPB Lighting. I have all of the components I need to get this up and running but I am having issues getting the ELK to enroll the PCSPIM I have. It seems like it would be easy to wire and I am 98% sure I have it wired properly but when I attempt to enroll it with ElkRP it doesn't pick it up. I am able to locate the PCSPIM on Upstart so I know it is working. With the PCSPIM I will have 2 home runs and they are both terminated appropriately.
 
Does anyone have any ideas of how I can troubleshoot?

 

[mikefamig]

The PCSPIM is a combination serial port/UPB control. I believe that it shows up as a serial port when enrolled to the control.
 
Mike.

 

[TurboSam]

Silly question but are you sure you have the ELKM1PCSPIM (which I believe is black) and not the PCS branded Power Interface Module (which is white)?  (If not, you are going to need a M1XSP to connect to the PCS (or any other) PIM.)
 
Assuming you have the correct ELKM1PCSPIM, I have usually had better luck enrolling things from the the keypad and then making sure the network setting is correct in ElkRP:
 
CONFIGURATION
1. From M1 Keypad Programming (or ElkRP Software)
perform a Data Bus Enrollment. Upon successful
enrollment, the ELKM1 PCSPIM will show up as:
SerialPExpdr T5 (M1XSP) located at Addr=07. This
address is factory set and cannot be changed. If
another M1XSP is installed on the M1 and assigned to
Address #7 it will need to be changed and re-enrolled.
2. Using ElkRP Software, select the “Globals” Menu and tab
“G29-G42 (Special)”. Locate and program the UPB
Lighting Network Addr (1-255) to match the address
chosen for the UPB network being configured.
3. Make certain to program the format for each ElkM1
Lighting device as “Serial Expander”.

 

[ajdesidero]

Yes, I have the Elkm1PCSPIM (the black one). I have it connected to the RS-485 Databus. I tried enrolling with ElkRP and on the recommendation above I tried using the keypad. Still no luck. I do have another xsp connected but it is not on channel 7. It's like it doesn't exist to the Elk, it doesn't find it when I try to enroll. I wonder if there is something wrong with the PCSPIM.

Than you for the recommendations so far. Keep them coming.

 

[TurboSam]

I suspect it is a termination problem, and have a few more questions. (You should know I don't have a PCSPIM, so I'm spitballing here)
 
I assume all was well before you tried adding the PCSPIM....
 
Are you using a databus hub or are the home runs directly connected to the M1?  What is on each home run?  Is the PCSPIM by itself on one of the two?  Is there more than one device on any home run?  
 
All the Elk install manuals stress that there can never be more than two terminating resistors headers/jumpers on the the 485 bus, and depending on the configuration you started with, if you are adding the PCSPIM it seems to me one of the other terminating jumpers would have needed to be removed if you terminated the PCSPIM....

 

[ajdesiderio]

Thank you for your response TurboSam! To answer a few of your questions:

1. Yes, everything was working when I started this.
2. I have two home runes connected directly to the M1.
3. Each home run only has one device, one is the keypad and the other is the PCSPIM

I did remove the jumper from jp3 and tried enrolling and still no luck. I do believe it may be a termination problem too, I guess I can just keep trying different setups until it starts working. I terminated the PCSPIM with a 120 ohm resistor as it states on the instructions and the keypad has a jumper for termination.
 
I am sure it is something simple to fix I just have to figure it out.
 
Appreciate the quick and informative responses.

 

[TurboSam]

But  your earlier post (#4 above) said you also had another XSP connected so you have to have two devices on at least one of the home runs.... And if you are not using a databus hub, then you have to use the Option B (the six wire connection) on page 12 of the Elk manual to tie the two together correctly.  I'd check (and re-check) that page and the terminations closely. 

 

[mikefamig]

Hello Everyone! I am trying to add to my Elk by adding UPB Lighting. I have all of the components I need to get this up and running but I am having issues getting the ELK to enroll the PCSPIM I have. It seems like it would be easy to wire and I am 98% sure I have it wired properly but when I attempt to enroll it with ElkRP it doesn't pick it up. I am able to locate the PCSPIM on Upstart so I know it is working. With the PCSPIM I will have 2 home runs and they are both terminated appropriately.
 
Does anyone have any ideas of how I can troubleshoot?

 
You say that you are 98% sure that it is wired properly so I would go back and be 100% sure that it's right. Go back to the install instructions and study the wiring diagram until you are sure that you understand it. Each device has four leads to it -  "data A", "data B",  12v + and 12v -.
 
ERROR -
Each of the data leads  are connected in a series meaning that "data A" on the control goes to "data A" on the first device, then "data B" of the first device goes to "data A" of the second device Then "data B" of the second device goes to "data A" of the third device and so on until you reach the last device where "data B" goes back to "data B" on the M1 control.
 
The 12v leads must be connected in parallel meaning that the 12v+ goes from the control to 12v+ on each device and 12v- on the control goes from the control to 12v- on each device.
 
How you accomplish the above is up to you but most installers use cat5 or cat6 cable using six of the eight leads. Four leds are used for the data and two for power. There is a pretty good explanation and diagram on page 12 of the M1 installation manual.
 
Mike.
 
CORRECTION!
 
It was pointed out to me by a knowledgeable source that I got the wiring of the data bus wrong and that the devices should be wired in parallel rather than in a series. I hope that I didn't cause you any extra work....Mike.

 

[mikefamig]

For termination there are only ever two termination points on the data bus. If you have only one home-run cable then you terminate at the M1 control and at the last device on that cable. If you have two home-run cables leaving the M1 control then you remove the terminating jumper from the M1 control and terminate at the last device on each home-run.
 
Mike.

 

[TurboSam]

One more thought:
 
The diagram of Option B on page 12 of the Elk manual is pretty bad, but there is very good color PDF on the Elk website under data bus bus hubs entitled "M1 Data Bus - 3 or More Devices without M1DBH" on this page.  It shows in much more detail how the data wires have to be one loop and the three way splices at each device.

 

[ajdesidero]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I had someone else check the PCSPIM on their Elk and they ran into the same issues I had. I can only assume I have a defective PCSPIM at this point. Unfortunately I can't remember where I ordered it from. I bought it at least 2 years ago and just never did anything with it until recently.
 
Either way, the more I play with UpStart the more I realize that UPB may not be the best option for me. I have so much noise on my lines I am having difficulty controlling my switches. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. I guess a noise level of 25 is a little too much for my Gen I switches.
 
Appreciate the thoughtful responses. Cheers!