I am having trouble with getting my information from the ICP CON i7018
When I click on "REAL TIME METER READING" is says null?????
I can't understand why it says this.
I am sure the connections of my J-type thermocouples are correct (White being + and red being -)
I have checked the data cable for continuity as well as all the other cables from the ICP to the Prim7 convertor.
I flashes TX but never RX which in my understanding is that the Prim7 is not receiving and data from the ICP CON?
I thought it might have been the actual thermocouple so I tried 2 others but I still get no readings.
I also have a problem with my energy meter (Elster A1140) giving me outrageous reading of current. The machine I am using draws 4.2A and when I look on my profile in SCADA is says 220A which is impossible. I know it has something to do with the CT config but when I try and change it then it doesn't want to connect to the modem. The funny thing is I have just had it fixed by SDG but now I'm back to square one. We seriously need these meters to work so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

The last time your modem connected was 4 hours ago.
You wont be able to change the CTs if the modem is not connected.
If you didn't physically switch it off, then maybe you have bad signal.
The default antenna given for TC65s have 0db gain.

The View->Meter Realtime Values screen gives null for your readings because there is currently no connection to that meter.
So the focus is first to sort out connection.
As previously stated, you can check a log of the connection under View->GPRS Modem Logon Statistics

>>I flashes TX but never RX which in my understanding is that the Prim7 is not receiving and data from the ICP CON?
if I understand correctly, the Prim7 is between your modem and your ICPCon right?
The TC65 is a smart modem that can log values from the ICPCon locally on itself, even while there is no GPRS connection to the server.
So in this case it might be that the modem is logging the values from the ICPCon every 5 minutes.
The fact that you see no RX is concerning, however I cannot verify any problems until connection to the TC65 modem is restored

Is your SIM prepaid or contract?
If it is prepaid, it might be that you need to load more data bundles on it.
If it is a Vodacom SIM, you can check the amount of money on the SIM by registering an account at vodacom. (Choose Internet device)

Thanks for the feedback...it's greatly appreciated!!!
I definitely have a connection to the modem with regards to my meters as they are all green in the overview (I'm just using Panel 2 for now) and by looking at the GPRS Modem Status.
I have a prepaid sim card but checked the data and there is enough.
Yes the PRIM7 is between the ICP Con i7018 and the modem. I still don't see any RX on the Prim7 but I can now get real time readings from the ICP CON. I only have 3 Type J thermocouples connected to the ICP Con but is gives me 7 readings? How is this possible?
Lastly the when I change the CT ratio (and the modem is connected)and then go to the communication monitor via clicking TOOLS I get this error message:
Summary: CT discrepancy. Please fix first.
Explanation: CT discrepancy between DB and meter. Please fix either by setting the CT ratio different in the Meter Details screen, or programming a different CT ratio in the meter with PMU.
Not exactly sure what to do from here since the only time is works is when I have the CT ratio at 250/5 but then I get current readings of 220A when the machine is running at 4.6A..any ideas??? Plus I get 3 phase readings when I have only connected a single phase machine?

I have a problem with the temperature readings I am getting from my Thermocouples on my meter. The readings are completely off by about 10 degrees. Is there something I am missing i.e. calibration or what?

Regarding the CTs.
CTs gets programmed into the Meter as well as in our Database.
For the A1140, if the CTs are not similar, we do not read the meter.
The reason for this is because someone might have tampered with the meter.
You can change the CTs on the meter in the Edit->CT Functions screen.
After that, you can change the CTs in the database on the Edit->Meter Details screen.

Regarding the temperature.
We use the normal J type thermo couple.
The probe length shouldn't be more than 15 meters.
The ICPCon needs to be set up for J type (if it hasn't already). You can access that in the Tools->TC65 Functions screen.
On the right you'll see there's a button Setup ICPCon. Click it and wait for a success message.
Under that, there's a button, Read ICPCon Temperatures. Click it and wait for the data from the ICPCon.
If this is still out, you can manually program the ICPCon, by connecting it to your computer with a serial cable and sending the command
%01010E0600{Enter} to the ICPCon using hyperterminal.
And then reading the temperatures using #01{Enter}

Thanks will give it a try and get back to you. By the way this help forum is an excellent idea from you guys!!!

I did what you advised regarding the ICP CON in the TC65 Functions "page"
I clicked Setup ICPCON and this was the response:
Hex:25303130313045303630300D:
!01
After that I clicked read ICPCON temperatures and this was the result:
Hex:2330310D:
>+020.84+020.20+020.18+023.00+022.92+022.98+022.80+023.44
Are these readings correct i.e. how will I know?

wow, cool, so you got your values.
You have 8 values now, devided by + or -.
The first value 20.84 is the temperature in celcius of the first channel (if it is connected) ... and so on
What we do to test them is to use a temperature gauge with it that we know work and to see that we get exactly the same value.
In our tests, they were usually within 0.1 degrees of each other.
Don't worry about the channels that are not connected, they often give weird values.

Thanks unfortunately I don't get anywhere near the values of what my digital thermometer gets. For example I put the thermocouple into a cold bottle of water which was 8 degrees then I used the thermocouple from the ICP CON and it gave me 20 degree? Not sure why this is the case?

Are you sure the probe cable has been undamaged? I know with those specific temperature probes, you cannot shorten the cables, because then it will throw off the readings. If I remember correctly, its got something to do with the amount that different metals expands or contracts at different temperatures.

I have 8 probes that I have tried using on two different panels and yet I get the same readings which are way off. I tried going to the doing the setup ICPCON function under Tools>TC65 Functions then clicking setup icpcon then clicking read temperatures but I just get these way off readings which is extremely frustrating!!!

I having a problem with extracting my data from the internet and exporting it to excel. Could anyone explain to me how I go about doing this? I want to export my profile graph to as well as my instrument profile to excel. I can do the actual export but then in excel I can't seem to get the data back into graph form. I'd really appreciate some help with this.

For downloading the electricity or water profile graph, you need to view a Profile for a Meter Account that has been added for the meter. From the screen where you view the profile graph, the comma separated values text file can be downloaded under View->Download. This file can be imported in excel, and you should see it as a spreadsheet.
The link to download the values for the Instrumentation Profile is on the Instrumentation Profile graph display itself.
Once the values are in Excel, to draw a graph from the data again, is outside the scope of PNPSCADA. You can do a search on Google and you'll find many pages that can help you to use Excel, even YouTube videos.
e.g.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4474239_make-graph-using-excel.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZAZj7NIkic

you might also want to check out these articles:
https://wiki.pnpscada.com/fpost.jsp?thread=530
https://wiki.pnpscada.com/fpost.jsp?thread=534