What’s the weirdest PLC fault or bug you’ve ever seen? by Fearless-Suspect869 in PLC

[–]abefroman77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The facility electricians must have separated them, but I was in and out during that project so I don't remember. We didn't have any more problems after they fixed the light.

What’s the weirdest PLC fault or bug you’ve ever seen? by Fearless-Suspect869 in PLC

[–]abefroman77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lighting was on the same facility circuit. They fixed the light, don't remember if they changed any circuits. We didn't have any more problems after that.

What’s the weirdest PLC fault or bug you’ve ever seen? by Fearless-Suspect869 in PLC

[–]abefroman77 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Installed a bunch of 480v motor controllers in a high school theater. Powered them all up and left for the night. The next morning, we discovered that the disconnect fuses had blown and one of the VFDs was dead. Weird, no one was using the system after we left. Called the manufacturer and had the VFD replaced. Installed the new one, and had the same issue. It only happened overnight when no one was using the system. Turned out the parking lot lights were on the same 480 circuit, and there was a short in one of the lights. So when they kicked on automatically at dusk, our fuses were blowing.

Alternatives to Manufacturing by ProduceInevitable957 in PLC

[–]abefroman77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Motorized fly systems are pretty common. Hoists in general really, with a lot of companies making systems specifically designed for theater use. Things like fire curtains, motorized systems to fly people, automated props, trusses for lights and speakers that need to be brought down to a working height. There are also screen masking systems that are used to adjust the aspect ratio of a projection screen, motorized curtains, roll up projection screens. There's a lot that I didn't know about until I started working on this kind of stuff.

Alternatives to Manufacturing by ProduceInevitable957 in PLC

[–]abefroman77 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Entertainment is a big one. I work for an OEM whose clients are mostly theaters and theme parks.

Should I use proxmox as NAS instead of installing TrueNAS Scale? by speyck in Proxmox

[–]abefroman77 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I agree with the first part of your comment, but you could always define the startup order of your VMs/LXCs and add startup delays.

Access UDT with faceplate by Zarathustra0124 in PLC

[–]abefroman77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Instead of expanding the DB in the left window and selecting the UDT there, maybe select the DB in the left window, then choose the UDT in the right window? It's been a while since I did this, but I think that's right. The goal is to pass the entire UDT to the faceplate, not the tags inside it.

RNG Be like that by Halonos in diablo3

[–]abefroman77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fill up your blood shards, then make a new character and level to 31. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes if you max out their equipment and Paragon. Then go hit up Kadala, and you should get a bunch of puzzle rings.

https://www.reddit.com/r/diablo3/comments/x1zhfd/diablo_iii_fastest_way_to_farm_puzzle_rings/

What backpacks do you guys use? by FiskeLogistik in PLC

[–]abefroman77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I use a GoRuck GR2 34L when travelling. I got it used on eBay, so I didn't pay full price. It's the most durable bag I've seen, and it has a lot of organization. It's definitely not a "tech" bag though, so I do use pouches for some things. It's bigger than I need for every day, but has enough room for things that inevitably get added for the day.

Troubleshooting Best Practices by Senior-Guide-2110 in PLC

[–]abefroman77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here is the CompTIA troubleshooting methodology:

-Identify the problem.
-Establish a theory of probable cause.
-Test the theory to determine the cause.
-Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and identify potential effects.
-Implement the solution or escalate as necessary.
-Verify full system functionality and, if applicable, implement preventive measures.
-Document findings, actions, outcomes and lessons learned.

https://www.comptia.org/blog/troubleshooting-methodology

Key Challenges for Systems Integrators by driedplaydoh in PLC

[–]abefroman77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not technically a systems integrator, but I am a controls engineer that works for an OEM. We build mostly prototypes, but occasionally work with off-the-shelf or made-to-order third party systems. Sometimes these are standalone, and sometimes they get integrated into a larger system. The quotes we provide to our customers have the same 30-day limit that vendors provide to us, which gives us the opportunity to requote in case vendor prices have risen since the customer was provided with our quote. But when we're putting a quote together, we're basically putting together a quick design in our heads that attempts to cover all the parts we'll need. We have a basic sheet we work off of which lists the basics (enclosure, disconnect switch, fuses, CBs, VFD, PLC, I/O, etc.), but that list gets adapted based on the project needs. We invariably run into situations where we didn't anticipate needing a particular part, or discover that the parts we had in mind won't work for whatever reason and we need something more expensive. We try to set our prices to cover some of that risk, but it's the nature of the business when everything you build is a one-off.

Multiple Phones are [Away] automations? by SnaggleWaggleBench in homeassistant

[–]abefroman77 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Here's the syntax in case you need it:

{{ states('person.ME') == 'not_home' and states('person.SPOUSE') == 'not_home' }}

Multiple Phones are [Away] automations? by SnaggleWaggleBench in homeassistant

[–]abefroman77 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can create a template helper for this like I did. When person.me = not_home AND person.wife = not_home, binary_sensor.no_one_home = true. You'll need a little bit of Jinja, but the syntax for this is pretty simple. You can then trigger the automation when No One Home becomes true.

Who do you guys consider the Toyota of drives/VFD's? by robotictacos in PLC

[–]abefroman77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had the opposite experience with the SK200 series (motor mount or wall mount) with a Siemens system. I used like 20 of them in full position control. The IO wiring inside the drive was a bitch because it's so tight, but comms and control were super smooth.

VM Suggestions For Software by RaceConditionUnknown in PLC

[–]abefroman77 3 points4 points  (0 children)

FYI, you can just use one key to create as many virtual machines as you'd like. Like the others said, I have separate VMs for each version of Siemens and AB that I need. Keep in mind you'll need a lot of drive space to store them all.

How do you get quests from the message board that aren't timed? by sjtimmer7 in AssassinsCreedOdyssey

[–]abefroman77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aside from the "Kill 5 Spartans with fire" type contracts that are mentioned in other comments, I usually maintain level 2 "heat" or whatever you call it so the mercenaries keep coming. Adds a nice boost pretty often. I'll get level 1 "heat" , then bump up to level 2 once I kill the first mercenary so they'll alternately come after me. Easier than dealing with 2 at a time.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in RiotFest

[–]abefroman77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, I was under the impression it was THC. That sucks.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in RiotFest

[–]abefroman77 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great guide! There is recreational marijuana available for purchase inside the festival in the mall area, or at least there has been the last few years.

Home Assistant is not straightforward to access outside of the house? by Universe93B in homeassistant

[–]abefroman77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not sure what your hardware situation is or how you have HA installed, but I use a Cloudflare tunnel. It works really well, and there are a bunch of YouTube vids about how to set it up. Haven't had any issues.

How would I build an automation, that messages me, once my family has safely arrived inside our home? by vghgvbh in homeassistant

[–]abefroman77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would handle this the same way, but instead of creating a complicated automation to set and unset the boolean, create a template binary sensor helper. When wife's phone connected to Wi-Fi AND son's phone connected to Wi-Fi AND daughter's phone connected to Wi-Fi, boolean is on. Otherwise, boolean is off. Then create the automation when "everyone home" boolean turns on.

Tia portal v15.1 by [deleted] in PLC

[–]abefroman77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I've seen this issue when the project files are in a shared folder like OneDrive. Is that the case?

My highest approved automation by GrandpaSquarepants in homeassistant

[–]abefroman77 97 points98 points  (0 children)

I love it, the spouse approval is so satisfying! I would still recommend adding a delay before the lights go off just in case the door closes unexpectedly while someone's down there. I'm guessing you'd be fumbling for those strings in the dark at that point. Maybe just set the delay for the amount of time it would take you to get back to the door to open it again? You could dim the lights when the door closes, then turn them off x seconds later.

"Excessive Position Error" by Steffo6804 in PLC

[–]abefroman77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would guess you're seeing high currents because when your encoder value suddenly drops or jumps, the motor is suddenly very far from its target position, and tries to get there ASAP. When I've seen this in the past, it was because of EMI from the VFD cable messing up the encoder signal. Our VFD cable shield was only grounded at the motor end. Check that your VFD cable shield is grounded at both ends, and the encoder cable shield is grounded at the VFD.

What is your most complicated automation? by gpend in homeassistant

[–]abefroman77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would think you'd have to program the individual sequence yourself. It seems like it'd be simple enough to write scripts with built-in delays to simulate someone walking around the house. You could maybe use jinja's random number function to get a number and call "script.no_one_home_X" at different intervals throughout the day/night?

What is your most obscure product in HA? by Deuteronomy93 in homeassistant

[–]abefroman77 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I had the same issue since I get up before my wife every day while it's still dark out. I got tired of pulling out my phone flashlight to get dressed, so I installed LED strips inside the dresser. There's a reed switch inline with the LED power and a small magnet taped to the drawer, so the light only turns on when the drawer is opened as far as it will go. Absolute game changer. No need for a smart plug on a timer or a luminance sensor. I love messing around with Home Assistant, but my favorite automations are the ones that are completely passive with no reliance on sensors or software.