Hi Rich Thanks for replying to my plea. The answer to the Serial Port is Yes and No. "Yes", you can have serial comms to the unit - which is one way of re-setting it But "No" - not by any usual, readily available lead directly into the unit - only via the "PC Connection Set". The "Set" comprises an Interface Adaptor which fits in place of the SDP/BOP/AOP (Control or Monitor Panels) and a "standard" D-type plug lead. The Interface gives isolated connexion to the Unit. The D-type lead is standard and I have the wiring details but, as you can imagine, the details of the Interface pin-out, etc, are not available - as far as I can find out on the Web and from other sources - otherwise Siemens would probably not sell any. Since writing, my "FME" may have identified a source for a BOP - from Scotland - at a reasonable price and, with that, we should be able to re-set the "beastie frae the loch". Andy -----Original Message----- From: modeleng-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:modeleng-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of R.L. Roebuck Sent: 13 February 2006 11:03 To: modeleng@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [modeleng] Re: Siemens Micromaster 420 Hi there Andy, If the unit has a serial port on it, it is possible that by hooking it up to your PC COM port directly, using a suitable cable (Maplin VD76 may do the trick, or the equivalent with the Rx and Tx connections reversed), and running Hyperterm (free with Windows - go to start->programs->accesories->communications->Hyperterm ...that you may be able to get something out of it. You need to be a bit careful though, as you could blow the PC if it is not intended to be connected up in this way (although in the probably worst case, you would only damage the serial port). Note that you would also need to configure Hyperterm to suit the units settings - I can give you some possible suggestions for this. Let me know what you think and if you'd like to give it a go, I can fill you in more on the above. Yours, Rich. On Fri, 10 Feb 2006, Andrew Houston wrote: > Guys > > A fellow Model Engineer has bought a Siemens Micromaster 420 Inverter (more > accurately a single-phase to 3-phase Variable Frequency Motor Drive) on > E-bay, which is fitted with the standard simple Status Display Panel (SDP). > I have been assisting him in his efforts to get it working on his machine > tool. Despite our collective efforts, we have hit a "brick-wall" and cannot > get the drive operative. > > I have contacted "Siemens Technical Assistance" but they cannot shed any > light on the problem, based on our diagnosis so far, and have advised us to > check the 420 Parameters and Fault codes - a conclusion we had come to > ourselves - in order to understand if the drive is faulty or if it just > needs re-set to "factory default". > > Unfortunately, this cannot be done with the SDP supplied and requires one of > the following :- > A Basic Operator's Panel (BOP) > OR > An Advanced Operator's Panel (AOP) > OR > A PC to Inverter Connection Set + Software CD > > All of these are available as optional extras and will fit all sizes of > Micromaster 420. We have downloaded the Manual but the S'ware CD, which > would have been supplied with the unit and Instruction Manual, wasn't part > of the E-bay deal and I can't locate a source for it. > > As you can imagine, purchase of any of these items at retail price is not a > route we would like to take if the VFD is "NBG". > > Has anyone in the UK got a 240 BOP, AOP or PC Connection Set + S'ware, which > they would be willing to loan us for diagnostic purposes or sell us at > reasonable price. > > We are located in SE England. I'm on the Bromley/Kent border and he's in > Chatham but, of course, we'd pay postage, etc, if needed failing a > "get-together". > > Andy > > MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST. > > To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send a blank email to, > modeleng-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. > MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST. To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send a blank email to, modeleng-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST. To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send a blank email to, modeleng-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.