stinky stuff

[rswolff]

ok....so if you want to use GE Plc's, drives or HMI's just go ahead and shoot yourself in the foot now......non-existent or minimal support (they're more apt to simply tell you something wrong or answer a completely different question)......can't figure out why there own equipment doesn't work....and really don't care....complain and they'll simply take your information, customer name, and any documentation you supplied and send it directly to a competitor.....s/w is really good for something in the early 70's.....h/w is worse....and if it doesn't work or if they sell you the wrong stuff they MIGHT take it back....for a measly 30% restocking charge!!!......(mostly they simply says its yours...who cares that it doesn't work).... and any engineer, supervisor or manager who decides GE is the stuff he's gotta use should be fired on the spot....they're either stupid, or incompetent....or they're getting the jollies off from a distributor (those free golfing sprees and fishing junkets are great for the companies bottom line!!!) so go ahead and use their c@#p.......don't say I haven' warned you........

[bartolim]

Wow, someone or something must have really pushed the wrong button for you. Having used most of the different flavors of hardware and software out there extensively, I can only say that none are perfect, but all have good and bad points. And GE customer support by no means has a lock on the top spot for difficult to get answers from. I currently have about a dozen different GE PLCs networked together and talking to their Cimplicity HMI, and haven't found anything that would cause me to rip it out and start over. Six months ago, when GE was announcing the end-of-life timeline for their 90-70 and 90-30 hardware through their factory representatives and distributors, our factory contact came out, provided me with the documentation, did an inventory of our hardware, and provided a staged migration plan that we could live with. They also laid out a cash value tradeup program, which will make the conversion financially easier. We also have a large Controllogix platform that talks to RS View, or should I say talked; we have replaced RS View with something easier to configure and faster to communicate. The bottom line is that, if you work with your old hardware and software long enough, you will find that you probably hit a wall at some point, no matter whose you use. I keep our installation current, and will continue to specify GE hardware and software. I, my manager, and his manager are all sold on the stuff, and we are not stupid, or incompetent. And none of us have ever been taken on a golfing or fishing junket. Sounds like you just need to find some new contact people.

[bartolim]

If any GE bashers out there want further proof that they are not alone in misery, see this post: http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php?showtopic=21711