plc class

[sas11]

I have just started a plc class at local community college. The first night started out going over how to convert binary, hex, oct, etc. Does this have a practical application to working on/programing plc's? second is there any program for computer or treo to help in these conversions? Thanks in advance

[Ken Moore]

You need to understand the basics, using a program or calculator will not aide in your learning.

[Clay B.]

It is improtant you understand it and can reconize it on sight. Alot of PLC's use Octal or Hex for adressing.

[BobLfoot]

AB uses Binary, Hex and Octal. The calculator on any windows computer will do the conversion, but any programmer worth his salt can do these conversions in his/her sleep. So plan on learning it.

[TConnolly]

I wanted to point that part out. You are just getting started. Hang in there and before long you will be able to work smoothly with it. Here is an online converter: http://www.onlineconversion.com/base.htm but please only use it to check your work - understanding how to make the conversion yourself is part of feeling at ease with other number bases. In the mean time, enjoy a popular joke in our industry: There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary and those who don't. I've told that joke 1000 times and only 101 people got it, the other 11 had to have it explained to them. Welcome to the forum. We are more than happy to help students here, but we don't do your homework for you. But if you show some effort we'll give you lots of help. The objective is for you to learn. Good luck and I hope to see you back here.

[PdL]

Here's a tool I use a lot for hexadecimal to binary to decimal (either signed or unsigned) conversions. Works in all directions. HEX-DEC-BIN converter & SCALE Tool @ MrPLC.com

[BobLfoot]

And here I thought my Slide Rule was all that!

[Clay B.]

Am not sure if I am proud or just a really big geek because I understand that joke. Anyway back to topic. Like Alaric said hang in there. Once you get to Bolean Algrbra (I guess they still teach that) number conversions will seem like a cake walk.

[TConnolly]

I use that tool all of the time. Its a great tool to have. I can't believe I forgot about it. Its a simple program with no installation required.

[Chris Elston]

On top of what everyone else has said. I think it's MORE important to know what these are: BITS WORDS REAL or (FLOAT) <--AB INTEGER DOUBLE INTEGER And how you can convert a WORD into BITS, or get WORDS from a set of BITS and understand that if you want decimal points in in a PLC and you have no FLOAT, you need to breakup your number into two words and keep track of the value on both sides of the decimal point. These things are important to learn as well, get them into your head and do them in your sleep.

[Clay B.]

Now your just going to scare him. And you didn't even mention Binary Coded Decimal (BCD). Seriously though. Conversions seem hard now but once you start using them they do really become second nature. Plus it sounds real impressive when you can say off the top of your head that 2^15 is 32768 in decimal or 8000 in Hex.

[gravitar]

Knowing base conversions is important to be sure, but it has been my observation that half to maybe three quarters of what makes a PLC programmer good are the same skills and knowledge that makes an electrician good. So how would you rate your electrical theory and troubleshooting skills? That's what you need to master first, IMHO. The next step is getting really good at using PCs. You should have some knowledge of a "conventional" programming language, like BASIC or Pascal or C. Once you've got that under your belt, you're ready to take a serious stab at industrial controls.