Setting up the EtherTRAK IO module

There's nothing mysterious about setting up the A/D instrumentation module, although the software requires some experimentation to understand. You need a Windows PC and should have a crossover ethernet cable handy. The instruction manual is helpful, as are the following desscriptions, but you will likely need to spend some time to understand how it works.

Hook up a crossover ethernet cable to the EtherTRAK IO module.

Load the SIXNET IO Tool Kit onto your Windows computer and start it:

Click on File->New Project:


And then select "Add new station to the project:"


Select station type to be EtherTRAK I/O (ET-#):



Save the new project (in this example, LDSS.6pj):


Set the general  parameters as shown here, substituting the actual serial number for the example here:


Skip the RS485 setup screen:


Specify the IP address and primary protocol:


Set the analog parameters using the pull-down menus. The menu sets the voltage ranges for the A/D conversion. We set the unused channels 3 to 8 to +/-10 Volts range. The Temperature reporting setting is not important since we are not using thermocouple or RTD sensors:


Select the device in the Tree Views (upper left panel), then click on the "1" in the main panel on the right:


Load the configuration into the module:

You should see a "loading" message and some reporting in the bottom box.

If the EtherTRAK is already on-line and working and you have a SIXNET IO project file, do it this way:

1. Start the SIXNET IO Tool Kit on a Windows computer connected to the same network as the EtherTRAK
2. Select the project file to load. In this case, it's LDSS.6pj
3. Go to Operations->Auto Detect EtherTRAK Stations...and you'll see the station displayed with the current IP address: 
4. Click Close, then click through the tree view in the upper left corner and select the device
5. Go to Configure->Configure Station/Module...
6. and select the Ethernet tab on the Remote I/O configuration dialog box.  Click on "Specify an IP address:" and enter the new IP address. In this example, the new IP address is 192.91.178.94. Also select Modbus as the primary protocol, then click OK.
7. Next, click on Device->Select
8. and enter the current IP address in the "Use Ethernet" area of the Select Communciations Device dialog. In this case, 192.91.178.94, is the current ethernet address. Select Single station and click OK.
9. Click on the number (1 in this case) to select the device in the Took Kit box
10. Load the new IP address by selecting Operations->Load->Load Now (Basic Parameters Only)
11. Power-cycle the EtherTRAK and auto-detect to confirm the new address is OK