RDWorks "No Device Connected" via cat5 issue

[Josh Ledger]

Hey guys. I an experiencing an issue with RDWorks V8. I connected my laser via cat5 and was able to read my vendor settings and write them with no issue the other day.

Now all of a sudden it will read and then when I go to write the file I'll get a "no device connected" message. I'll close out of it and try to read and it won't read, then I close rdworks down, open it up go to read and I get "no device connected", then after trying different things it will read again, then I go to write and it starts the whole cycle again.

I was able to get it to work earlier somehow but now it's doing it again and it's getting really annoying. Any suggestions?

[Josh Ledger]

I pinged the port and it is working and it will read on occasion and then not write. Can someone please offer some suggestions?

I need to get my vendor settings back to the original settings so I can get some jobs done.

I've restarted my comp, I've uninstalled rdworks v8, reinstalled, nothing. Uninstalled v8 and installed v6, nothing. Uninstalled v6, reinstalled v8, read once but got "communication error" when trying to write. I've tried restarting the machine countless times as well.

Any help is really appreciated guys!

[David Somers]

Josh,

I am running a Chinese laser and dont use Cat5 to connect. What model laser are you using?

First thought is your cable. Is it intact? (do you have a cable tester for it to verify continuity and the pinout?)
Next thought is, are you running through a switch or a hub? If yes, also test your cat 5 from the computer to the switch/hub. If you are using a hub I would consider switching to a small switch if possible. Or are you running through your router.

Next thought is are your computer or your laser set to get an IP address dynamically? If yes, you may want to force both to be static addresses.

Lastly, is there any chance the port on the laser is weak? Meaning a loose fit? Or perhaps the clip on the cat5 cable is weak so the plug is not staying firmly in place? You might need to replace the end if you have the tools to do that.

One further thought. Is a USB connection an option just to get you running while you continue to diagnose the ethernet problem?

Dave

[Bill Carruthers]

I pinged the port and it is working and it will read on occasion and then not write. Can someone please offer some suggestions?

I need to get my vendor settings back to the original settings so I can get some jobs done.

I've restarted my comp, I've uninstalled rdworks v8, reinstalled, nothing. Uninstalled v8 and installed v6, nothing. Uninstalled v6, reinstalled v8, read once but got "communication error" when trying to write. I've tried restarting the machine countless times as well.

Any help is really appreciated guys!
I agree with Dave - it's almost certainly a cable issue, I get the "communication error" when I forget to plug in my cable to the computer! Rd works well with (prefers?) a USB connection. Have you tried that?

[Josh Ledger]

Josh,

I am running a Chinese laser and dont use Cat5 to connect. What model laser are you using?

First thought is your cable. Is it intact? (do you have a cable tester for it to verify continuity and the pinout?)
Next thought is, are you running through a switch or a hub? If yes, also test your cat 5 from the computer to the switch/hub. If you are using a hub I would consider switching to a small switch if possible. Or are you running through your router.

Next thought is are your computer or your laser set to get an IP address dynamically? If yes, you may want to force both to be static addresses.

Lastly, is there any chance the port on the laser is weak? Meaning a loose fit? Or perhaps the clip on the cat5 cable is weak so the plug is not staying firmly in place? You might need to replace the end if you have the tools to do that.

One further thought. Is a USB connection an option just to get you running while you continue to diagnose the ethernet problem?

Dave

I have an ebay 300 x 500 machine with a "50w" "Reci" tube and it has the RDC644XG controller.

I am running the cat5 from my linksys router to the machine.

The cable is new and was functioning just fine prior. I will have to test it on another device but I don't believe the cable to be the issue. I checked for tight connections and all cables were tight. I even disconnected the Ethernet port from the controller and plugged directly into the controller to no avail.

My ip address is setup as such: 333187 I can try the static ip address idea. I did find that my ip settings on the machine and in rdworks are ip address: 192.168.1.100 and gateway is 242.57.0.0. Should these be matching what my router settings are? Is the "gateway" on rdworks and the machine the same as "subnet mask" on my router settings?

I will try via usb later when I get home but would still like to get this ethernet issue resolved as the usb option won't work in the long run.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Jerome Stanek]

Do you need a cross over cable some of the equipment we used to install called for them

[Josh Ledger]

It's worked before over cat5 so I don't believe I need a crossover cable.

I'm thinking the discrepancy in the last set of digits of the ip #s between the router and machine may be the issue but can't test at the moment as I'm not home.

Could that be the issue or am I off base?

[Keith Winter]

How far away is the laser? Could you use a usb cable to avoid the cat5 issue altogether?

[Josh Ledger]

It's too far for usb. I'm using a 75' cat5 cable.

[AL Ursich]

Ran into this Cat5 thing at Sony one time in the factory automation and it came down to the cable.... The Talk was connected to the Talk and the Listen was connected to the Listen.... You need a adapter that crosses the talk to the listen from end to end....

A WAG.... Wild AL Guess...

AL

[Jerome Stanek]

Some computers have an auto sensing ethernet port

[Keith Winter]

I have the same issue, my computer doesn't quite reach. My solution is to use a usb to cat5 cable connection, you stick one on each end and the cat 5 in the middle. I ordered one Friday, should be here later in the week. I haven't tried it yet, but I've read it's a solution to these types of issues. After I try mine next week I'll let you know.

[Josh Ledger]

I talked to the IT guy at work and he said my gateway on the machine should be the same as my routers ip address so I will try that and report back.

I tried the usb over cat5 approach but nothing happened when I connected to the machine. I assume because it only tranfers data via usb 1.0 (this is what I've read online and don't know how true it is).

[David Somers]

Hey Josh!

Sorry for the delay. Been a busy morning.

Your IT guy is right. The gateway is your router address. If you look at your computers IP address use the Gateway and subnet mask shown there. Since both devices both use the router the settings will be the same.
A static IP is easy, but not just a matter of picking a random number. Not sure if you are familiar with IP address setups so bear with me if I am babbling at you.

Most devices use dynamic addressing, meaning when they turn on they go out to the gateway address (your router) and ask for an IP address. They typically hold onto that address as long as they connect to the the gateway with a given time frame after being shut off. Think of it like this. You mom calls you Josh. You get to keep Josh as a name so long as you see your Mom every day, even if you go to sleep for 8 hours (turn yourself off) But if you exceed a day without seeing your Mom your mom says....Oh....Josh is gone. I can use that name for the next person who comes along.....and she will hand out that name to the next person who pops by. When you finally come home you may find yourself being called Fred and you start that whole cycle again. Some devices do fine with this. Some have problems with it. The technique usually gets used most when you have more devices than you have IP addresses to assign out BTW.

In order to use a static address you first need to go into the router and set aside a block of addresses to be static. Then you can take one of those addresses and have the laser use it from then on. Any other devices that you have setup to use dynamic addresses should be powered down and brought back up so they ask for new addresses and get assigned an address by the router that is outside the static address range you set up. Otherwise you may find a conflict in addresses and that can get confusing until some power cycles resolve it.

I would stay away from USB over Cat5. It may or may not work. A good USB cable can often be used over a fairly long distance, especially if it is attached to a powered USB hub. Your hub may as well support USB 3. Your cable could be the less expensive USB 2. Unless your laser is really old I doubt it is using USB 1. They are backward compatible however. I have a 50ft USB 2 cable running in the house on a powered hub without problem.

[Keith Winter]

Usb 2.0 standard is only 15 feet you can buy 25 feet bit that's it until you buy special cables with repeaters. 50 foot is supposed to be impossible but it sounds like you've debunked that myth :)

[David Somers]

Hey Keith!!

The cable I am using is actually two cables with a joiner in the middle. The hub is a powered hub. No repeater on it, though I was prepared to do that if needed. No issues so far.

Dave

[Kev Williams]

I bought a couple of 'self-powered' USB cables not long ago, a 30'er and a 50'er. They work just fine. I have the wireless antenna for my computer in the garage connected to the 50' so I can get it closer to the router in the basement. I always have 'very good' or better signal now instead of 'very low', and perfect network and internet service...

[Josh Ledger]

Ok guys, I was able to get it to work! With you guys' help along with the advice of my IT guy. The ip address that the machine was assigned (192.168.1.100) was already being used by another device. I changed the ip address on the machine to (192.168.1.102) and the gateway on the machine to match my local ip address (192.168.1.1). Then in RDworks, in the bottom right under "device", I changed the ip address in "port setting" to match the new ip address I had given the machine (192.168.1.102). It read and wrote without an issue and I was able to write my original settings back into the machine.

Thank you all so very much for all the suggestions and advice! You were spot on David Somers! I hope that anyone else that may be having an issue connecting will find this thread as it is filled with a lot of solutions to connection issues.

[David Somers]

Excellent Josh!! Glad to hear the problems got resolved!!
Dave

[Martin James]

Yep, I can tell when one of my kids wakes up as my mac will show an alert "your ip address is being used by another device"
Then the wifi will slow down to a crawl, then I change the wifi password, and everything works again. Sometimes I have to change the password 3 or 4 times a day.
M

[David Somers]

Martin, If you are seeing that error you are getting an IP address conflict where a given device has an address and another device either has the same address or was given that address by your router.

The way to fix it is to first decide if you need to use static addresses at all. Usually you don't. But, you could go into the router and set aside a small block of addresses to be used as static addresses if you need them later. No harm. You have a slug of address available on your router.
Then, if you actually need to use a few static addresses, assign them from that block you set aside in your router. Then set your device to use static addresses and give it one of those from the block, along with the gateway address (your router address basically) and your subnet mask. You can look at any device and see what those last two items should be set to. Once you do that, make sure that all your other devices are set to use dynamic addresses and then power cycle them. They should get new addresses assigned to it by the router from the remaining block of addresses you did not set aside as static.

If you dont need static addresses you could still set aside that small block of static addresses in the router. Like I said. No harm and then they are available later on if you want them. Once done go to each device and make sure it is set to dynamic addressing and if so power cycle the device so it gets a new address from the addresses on the router that are not set aside as static.

That should resolve the problems. This sounds like a lot of work, but actually won't take very long.

Dave