This general menu is used to configured the monitoring of any input’s activity (Metering, Status, etc…) A counter starts counting as soon as an input becomes active, and stop counting when it becomes inactive. It can be used to count and log the cumulative on-time of generator, the time the temperature inside the site’s shelter exceeded a preset limit, etc.

1 – ID: ID of the selected input. Select from the drop-down menu.

2 – I/O DESCRIPTION RETRIEVAL: Click to retrieve and display the current normal description of that ID. Normally hidden to minimize data transfers on low speed or high fee data connections.

3 – ACTION TYPE: Selects the action type that will happen when an out-of-limit condition occurs. 3 types are available: Major alarm, Minor alarm, and Command (CMD). On CMD, no alarm will be triggered. Use this Action when you want to take actions without triggering any alarms.

4 – QUALIFIER AND QUALIFIER STATE or DATA: Qualifying element (operand) which can be any input, output, flag, timer, SNMP GET, Logic Gate, etc.  Essentially any ID in the Davicom Cortex can be used to mute or unmute the input to prevent it from taking any action. When the Qualifier is active, the input will be monitored and be able to generate alarms. When the qualifier is non-active (or normal), the input will be muted and it will  not be able to generate an alarm. To invert the Qualifier’s level,  simply put a ! in front of its ID. For example, use !1D01 to invert it. Leave the Qualifier field blank for a “don’t care” condition.

STATE (default setting): the State (Normal or Active) of the input being qualified can change only when the Qualifier is active. Readings from the input (Current Value) continue to be updated periodically independently from the Qualifier state.

DATA: Same as the STATE mode, but in this case the readings from the input (Current Value) remain frozen at their latest values, as long as the Qualifier is not active. This mode is used like a “Sample-and-Hold” for the readings from the input.

5 – SOURCE ID: The identifier of the input on which activity monitoring will be performed (Metering, Status, etc…)

6 – CONTROLLED OUTPUT: Outputs to be controlled (on/off) based on the state of this input. The two output types allowed are relays (both physical and virtual) and SNMP SETs. For the relays, adding a P suffix will Pulse the relay (ex: 1R01P), L will Latch it and R will Release it.

7 – ALARM MODE – CONSECUTIVE or CUMULATIVE: Method used for the time-based activity / inactivity alarms of the Status inputs. The calculation method takes into account the Maximum Activity Time value and/or Maximum Inactivity Time value (see #7 and #8 below).

CONSECUTIVE (default): Timer counts the amount of time the input has been at its current level. It resets every time the input level toggles.

CUMULATIVE: Timer cumulates the amount of time the input is active. An alarm is set if this cumulated time exceeds the threshold (more detail below).

8 – MAXIMUM ACTIVITY TIME: Total amount of active time that must be reached by the counter before the Timer is turned on. A time value of 0 to 9999 minutes can be set. Default setting is 0, for which no automatic action will happen.

9 – ENABLE: Enable / disable the input. Useful to deactivate an input, without losing all its settings, when the input is causing intermittent problems or nuisance alarms.

10 – SYSTEM LOG: Log (or not) the input’s activity in the System Log. Useful when inputs do not need to be logged, but are required for day-to-day operation.

11 – COUNTER: The counter starts counting as soon as an input becomes active, and stop counting when it becomes inactive.

LOG DAILY ACTIVE TIME: Log the daily active time in the System Log.

RESET AT MIDNIGHT: Reset counter at midnight every day.

12 – RESET COUNTER: Manual counter reset.

13 – RESET TRIGGER: Operand-based automatic reset. Reset can be generated automatically by any input ID in the Davicom Cortex.

14 – LAST RESET: Date and time at which the last reset occurred.

15 – REFRESH / READ: Refresh / read the screen content.

16 – SAVE / WRITE: Save the screen content.

17 – EXIT: Exit menu.

Status inputs activity monitoring

Similar to Activity Monitoring, except these are dedicated to monitoring the activity on the Status Inputs.

This feature is maintained for legacy compatibility purposes. The Activity Monitoring (1G1…) function can also be used in place of this (1T1…) function.

The Activity Monitoring is a feature of the Status inputs that uses built-in timers to monitor for activity that is too long, inactivity that is too long, or simply to count and log the cumulative activity time on an input. Useful to monitor things like generator tests, compressor duty cycle and other time-critical parameters.

1 – ID: ID of the selected input. Select from the drop-down menu.

2 – I/O DESCRIPTION RETRIEVAL: Click to retrieve and display the current normal description of that ID. Normally hidden to minimize data transfers on low speed or high fee data connections.

3 – ACTION TYPE: Selects the action type that will happen when an out-of-limit condition occurs. 3 types are available: Major alarm, Minor alarm, and Command (CMD). On CMD, no alarm will be triggered. Use this Action when you want to take actions without triggering any alarms.

4 – QUALIFIER: Qualifying element (operand) which can be any input, output, flag, timer, SNMP GET, Logic Gate, etc.  Essentially any ID in the Davicom Cortex can be used to mute or unmute the input to prevent it from taking any action. When the Qualifier is active, the input will be monitored and be able to generate alarms. When the qualifier is non-active (or normal), the input will be muted and it will  not be able to generate an alarm. To invert the Qualifier’s level,  simply put a ! in front of its ID. For example, use !1D01 to invert it. Leave the Qualifier field blank for a “don’t care” condition.

5 – CONTROLLED OUTPUT: Outputs to be controlled (on/off) based on the state of this input. The two output types allowed are relays (both physical and virtual) and SNMP SETs. For the relays, adding a P suffix will Pulse the relay (ex: 1R01P), L will Latch it and R will Release it.

6 – ALARM MODE – CONSECUTIVE or CUMULATIVE: Method used for the time-based activity / inactivity alarms of the Status inputs. The calculation method takes into account the Maximum Activity Time value and/or Maximum Inactivity Time value (see #7 and #8 below).

CONSECUTIVE (default): Timer counts the amount of time the input has been at its current level. It resets every time the input level toggles.

CUMULATIVE: Timer cumulates the amount of time the input is active. An alarm is set if this cumulated time exceeds the threshold (more detail below).

7 – MAXIMUM ACTIVITY TIME: Total amount of active time that must be reached by the counter before the Timer is turned on. A time value of 0 to 9999 minutes can be set. Default setting is 0, for which no automatic action will happen.

9 – ENABLE: Enable / disable the input. Useful to deactivate an input, without losing all its settings, when the input is causing intermittent problems or nuisance alarms.

10 – SYSTEM LOG: Log (or not) the input’s activity in the System Log. Useful when inputs do not need to be logged, but are required for day-to-day operation.

11 – QUALIFIER – STATE or DATA

STATE (default setting): the State (Normal or Active) of the input being qualified can change only when the Qualifier is active. Readings from the input (Current Value) continue to be updated periodically independently from the Qualifier state.

DATA: Same as the STATE mode, but in this case the readings from the input (Current Value) remain frozen at their latest values, as long as the Qualifier is not active. This mode is used like a “Sample-and-Hold” for the readings from the input.

12 – REFRESH / READ: Refresh / read the screen content.

13 – STATUS INPUT: Brings-up the Status Input configuration menu screen.

14 – SAVE / WRITE: Save the screen content.

15 – EXIT: Exit menu.

Alarm mode – cumulative

This mode of operation is best explained with the example of logging generator run-time to know when to schedule oil changes. If 1D01 is set to go high every time the generator runs, this run time can be logged in the Davicom Cortex. If a maximum activity time is set at 100 hours (6000 minutes), the Davicom Cortex will send a Generator Oil Change alarm after 100 hours. A site operator can then log in to the unit and manually reset the counter after the oil has been changed. Alternatively, another input, such as 1D02, could be used to automatically reset the counter if, for example, the oil cap is removed.

1 – ALARM MODE – CUMULATIVE: Counter cumulates the amount of time the input has been at its active level. (The reset options are listed below).

2 – MAXIMUM ACTIVITY TIME: Total amount of active time that must be reached by the counter before the Timer is turned on. A time value of 0 to 9999 minutes can be set. Default setting is 0, for which no automatic action will happen.

3 – LOG DAILY ACTIVE TIME: Log the daily active time in the System Log.

4 – RESET COUNTER: Manual counter reset.

5 – RESET AT MIDNIGHT: Reset counter at midnight every day.

6 – RESET TRIGGER: Operand-based automatic reset. Reset can be generated automatically by any input ID in the Davicom Cortex.

7 – LAST RESET: Date and time at which the last reset occurred.

8 – REFRESH / READ: Refresh / read the screen content.

9 – STATUS INPUT: Bring the Status input configuration menu screen.

10 – SAVE / WRITE: Save the screen content.

11 – EXIT: Exit menu.

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The remaining Limitations sections, which are in alphabetical order are more precise, specific limitations that can be assigned to a user but are only active if one or both of the top-level sections allow access to them.

In the following example I have created a No menu access level for a user named andrew with a password of 12345678. Please use the supervisor access level to perform any Custom Level Editor operations.

1- The first step is to click System>Users to access the Custom Level Editor function. Refer to the screenshots for each of the steps.

2- Uncheck the Allow checkboxes in the Menu section.

3- Click Save and add an appropriate name to the Access Level Model, e.g., No menu Access in my example.

4- Uncheck the Allow checkboxes in the Other Commands section.

Doing these steps will block access to the Pause, Local  and Alarm Calls buttons in the main window along with all the Menus.

5- Click the Save button and make sure you are saving it to the same name that was previously set.

6- Exit back to the Users menu.

5- Click the + button, select the No menu access in the Access Level drop down, and add the new user with username andrew and password12345678.

6- Click the Save button to add the new user to the list of users already registered in the Davicom Cortex.

7- Logout from the unit and then log back in as the andrew user.

8- You should now see a workspace screen with no menus with the Pause, Local and Alarm Calls buttons greyed out.

Note that you can give any name you wish to the new user and set any password you like, but the password must be at least 8 characters in length.

Final note: Privileges/credentials for the default Davicom Cortex users (direc01, super01, admin01, viewer01, oper01, HDMI) cannot be changed, they are hard-coded in the unit.

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The Hardware Monitoring screen provides information on several internal parameters of the Davicom Cortex 360. Each parameter has its own setup menu and offers different user-definable settings.

1 – SELECT ALL: Select / unselect all inputs at once.

2 – STATE: Current state of the inputs (normal, active, minor, major).

3 – ID: ID of the inputs.

4 – DESCRIPTION: Description of the inputs. Factory suggested descriptions, but modifiable by user.

5 – VALUE: Shows current value of the inputs.

6 – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION: Select / unselect one or more inputs.

7 – CONFIGURATION: Brings up the configuration menu of the selected inputs. Bulk edition is allowed, see this article for more details. Menu can also be directly accessed by right-clicking anywhere on an input line.

8 – DELETE: Delete selected inputs.

9 – REFRESH / READ: Refresh / read the screen content.

10 – EXIT: Exit menu.

Typical configuration screen of a hardware monitoring input.

1 – ID: ID of the selected input. Select from the drop-down menu (1B1 in this case).

2 – I/O DESCRIPTION RETRIEVAL: Click to retrieve and display the current normal description of that ID. Normally hidden to minimize data transfers on low speed or high fee data connections.

3 – ACTION TYPE: Selects the action type that will happen when an out-of-limit condition occurs. 3 types are available: Major alarm, Minor alarm, and Command (CMD). On CMD, no alarm will be triggered. Use this Action when you want to take actions without triggering any alarms.

4 – QUALIFIER AND QUALIFIER STATE – DATA: Qualifying element (operand) which can be any input, output, flag, timer, SNMP GET, Logic Gate, etc.  Essentially any ID in the Davicom Cortex can be used to mute or unmute the input to prevent it from taking any action. When the Qualifier is active, the input will be monitored and be able to generate alarms. When the qualifier is non-active (or normal), the input will be muted and it will  not be able to generate an alarm. To invert the Qualifier’s level,  simply put a ! in front of its ID. For example, use !1D01 to invert it. Leave the Qualifier field blank for a “don’t care” condition.

STATE (default setting): the State (Normal or Active) of the input being qualified can change only when the Qualifier is active. Readings from the input (Current Value) continue to be updated periodically independently from the Qualifier state.

DATA: Same as the STATE mode, but in this case the readings from the input (Current Value) remain frozen at their latest values, as long as the Qualifier is not active. This mode is used like a “Sample-and-Hold” for the readings from the input.

5 – HIGH LIMIT: Voltage value above which the input state will switch from normal to active. Factory-set but changeable by user.

6 – LOW LIMIT: Voltage value below which the input state will switch from normal to active. Factory-set but changeable by user.

7 – CONTROLLED OUTPUT: Outputs to be controlled (on/off) based on the state of this input. The two output types allowed are relays (both physical and virtual) and SNMP SETs. For the relays, adding a P suffix will Pulse the relay (ex: 1R01P), L will Latch it and R will Release it.

8 – DELAY BEFORE ACTION: Delay before the input changes into an active state when an out-of-limit condition occurs. Prevents glitches from setting-off any alarms.

9 – DELAY BEFORE RETURN TO NORMAL: Delay before the input returns to a normal state once an out-of-limit condition is over. Prevents too-brief returns-to-normal from causing multiple repeated alarms.

10 – ENABLE: Enable / disable the input. Useful to deactivate an input, without losing all its settings, when the input is causing intermittent problems or nuisance alarms.

11 – SYSTEM LOG: Log the input’s activity in the System Log. Useful when inputs do not need to be logged, but are required for day-to-day operation.

12 – MEASUREMENT UNIT: Select desired measurement unit, or enter your own. Maximum of 3 characters.

13 – HYSTERESIS – HIGH LIMIT: Gap value which must be exceeded, when the input voltage returns from a high out-of-range state, before the input can actually switch back to a normal state.

14 – HYSTERESIS – LOW LIMIT: Gap value which must be exceeded, when the input voltage returns from a low out-of-range state, before the input can actually switch back to a normal state.

15 – SIGNALLING ON – ALARM: Enables / disables alarming. When checked, any out-of-limit condition will automatically generate an alarm. When         unchecked, no alarm will be triggered when an out-of-limit condition occurs.

16 – SIGNALLING ON – RETURN TO NORMAL: Enables / disables Return To Normal signalling. When checked, a notification will be generated when the input changes back to its normal state after an out-of-limit alarm condition. When unchecked, no notification will be sent when the initial alarm condition returns to normal.

17 – REFRESH / READ: Refresh / read the screen content.

18 – SAVE / WRITE: Save the screen content.

19 – EXIT: Exit menu.

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1- Serial protocol configuration

2- Modbus protocol configuration

3- I/O configuration

These three steps are separated into the three first main sections of this article for easier access and comprehension.

Serial protocol configuration (RS-485)

USB dongle

1- Before starting the setup, make sure you have on hands an USB-to-RS485 serial adapter (or dongle), like the USB-RS485-WE-1800-BT from FTDI Inc. shown in the image below. Comlab, as well as most popular electronic components distributors like Digi-Key, Mouser, Newark, etc… carry this dongle.

2- Along AC voltages, if you plan on measuring AC currents, special AC current transformers will be required (1 per phase). Comlab carries these transformers, as seen in the image below, which product datasheet is available here.

3- Having a copy of the Davicom Cortex Mega Workspace will greatly facilitate the display of the different ACMP-1 measurements in a Davicom Cortex screen. Please visit Davicom’s website under Support > Resources > TechTips, Notes, Apps and more where it can be found, or contact Davicom technical support.

The screenshot below shows the MEXM/Modbus tab view of the Davicom Cortex Mega Workspace. Since the Davicom MEXM expansion panels use Modbus, the same workspace can be used for Modbus accessory, like the ACPM-1 for example (note that only the Metering Inputs boxes would be used for the ACPM-1). The Davicom Cortex workspaces can easily be edited to suit your needs. Please contact Davicom technical support for information on how to edit a workspace.

4- Quick test setup

To ease the setup procedure listed in this guide, a powered setup was used. As much as possible, we strongly suggest you to also use a powered setup. Again, be very careful of possible lethal voltages and currents when setting-up and using an ACPM-1.

In order to set an ACMP-1 on a Davicom Cortex, it is required to have the ACPM-1 connected to the Davicom Cortex and have it powered. The image below shows an example (using a 208 VAC version of the ACPM-1) of how to quickly and easily power-up an ACPM-1. At this time, only power is required for the ACPM-1, no need to have any current draw. For current draw, any 120 VAC load would do, like a portable household heater for example.

If you want to test the ACPM-1 with a current draw, a current transformer is required, along a small splitted AC power cord extension (see note below).

This setup will not only verify that everything is working ok before heading out at a site for the installation, but it would also allow to get familiar and acquainted with the ACPM-1 along the Davicom Cortex.

NOTE: One of the sides of the AC current transformers made for the ACPM-1 can be opened to insert a wire without having to cut it.

5- Setting up the ACPM-1 Modbus RTU address and Modbus comm speed.

The image below shows the default factory-set DIP switch that is found on the top of the ACPM-1. Make sure it is set identically as shown, which is switch #1 and switch #8 set to “ON”, and set all the other switches to “OFF”. This sets the ACPM-1 with an RTU address at 1 and a communication speed of 19200 bps.

6- Connect the USB-RS485 serial adapter on the ACPM-1 as shown in the image below.

7- Setting up the USB-RS485 serial adapter parameters in the Davicom Cortex.

Connect the USB-RS485 adapter into one of the 4 Davicom Cortex rear USB ports.

Connect to the Davicom Cortex using a web browser or DavLink.

When connected, from the top menu, go to Devices > USB Serial.

The screen shown below will appear, showing the detected USB-RS485 serial adapter.

Right-click on the green 1USBS1 ID, or anywhere on the line, and click on Config.

8- The following screen will appear. In the Active Default and Normal Default description boxes, write something like ACPM-1 USB-RS485. Next, click on the Actions tab.

9- In the new screen that opens, set Usage to Modbus, set Baud Rate to 19200, and click on save. This completes the setup of the USB-to-RS485 serial adapter.

Serial port

Please refer to Section 1 of this article for information on hardware configuration. Section 2 explains how to configure the software for any device, but we will explain how to configure the software for the ACPM-1 specifically below.

1- Go to the Devices drop-down menu.

2- Go to Modem & IOIOI.

3- Select IOIOI and click the configuration button.

4- Enter ACPM-1 for the Default Description.

5-Select Modbus for the device Usage.

6- Select 19200 for the Baud Rate.

7- Leave the Flow Control at NONE.

8- Save the configuration.

9- Exit the configuration screen.

Modbus protocol configuration (RS-485)

ACPM-1 Custom Register Map

For more information on Modbus configuration and operation, please refer to this article. (currently unavailable)

The table below shows the ACPM-1 Custom Register Map. You will need this data for the configuration. If you wish to be able to consult it without having to scroll back up every time, you can click here to open the table in a new tab.

* The CurrentA, CurrentB, and CurrentC Integer value listed in the chart is for current transformers rated at 50 Amps. If you are using current transformers rated at a different current value, use the corresponding Integer value from the list below:

• For current transformers rated at 50 Amps, use a value of 0.0025
• For current transformers rated at 100 Amps, use a value of 0.005
• For current transformers rated at 250 Amps, use a value of 0.0125
• For current transformers rated at 1000 Amps, use a value of 0.05
• For current transformers rated at 1500 Amps, use a value of 0.075

If your application requires to monitor only one or two phases, or only measuring AC voltage, a shorter range of registers can be used.

Adding and configuring a Modbus device

1- In the Davicom Cortex menu, go to Devices > Modbus, and click on the + (Add) button.

2- In the next screen, write ACPM-1 in both the Default Active and Default Normal boxes. Click on the Save button and don’t close the screen.

3- Click on the Parameters tab and set the screen settings as per the ones shown in the image below.

4- Click on Comm Lost to expand its menu, and uncheck the Pause On.

5- When done, click on the Save icon and close the screen.

If you click on Details to expand it, you will see this section appear:

This shows you the corresponding ID for each register address. This will be important once configuring the metering inputs.

NOTE: Communication is still not fully established between the ACPM-1 module and the Davicom Cortex 360. In order to establish full communication, it is required to configure at least one metering input. In other words, COMM LOSS and COMM RESUME notification will not work unless a metering input has already been configured.

I/O configuration (RS-485)

Now that the Modbus device has been properly configured, we can set and enable the associated Modbus Metering Inputs.

1- In the Davicom Cortex menu, go to Inputs > Metering Inputs, then in the screen that opens, click on the + (Add) button.

2- In the next screen, click on the input’s ID drop-down menu and select the first Modbus Metering Input listed, 1MA1.

Several other Modbus Inputs are now visible in the list, confirming that previous settings have been properly made. The quantity of Modbus Inputs listed matches the Length number set in the configuration screen seen at step 3 of the previous section. These Inputs are the ones that were listed at the end of the previous section.

3- In the next screen, enter description such as Phase A Power (Watts).

In this example, the description corresponds to the first Modbus register of the Custom Register Map seen in Section 2.1, which is register number 43478 (also set at step 3 of the previous section as the register Start Address).

4- When done, click on the Save button, then click on the Actions tab.

5- The following screen appears, which is the default Metering Input configuration screen, this one being for the first Modbus input, the 1MA1.

Note that both the standard Metering Inputs and the Modbus Metering Inputs share the same identical configuration screen menu (other than the RAW option, which is only available for Modbus inputs)

6- In the configuration screen, set the Voltage Range to RAW, and set the Measurement Unit to W.

Note also that at this moment, for this input, the B value of the Sensor Coefficients section is left to the default value of 1 as per the listings given in the register map in Section 2.1, but a value of 0.1 would have to be used for other measurements, like when reading RMS voltages for example. Other values can also be required.

7- Click on the save button, and close this screen only.

8- In the window left open, as seen below, the power consumption appears.

9- You can now close this screen.

10- Looking at the workspace will also show proper measurement of Modbus Metering Input #1, 1MA1.

11- The other Modbus inputs can now be added and configured using the same procedure as described in the steps above.

Once fully configured, the screen should look something like this:

Basic description of the ACPM-1 top LED indicators

The COM LED shows the status of the Modbus communication between the ACPM-1 and the Davicom Cortex.

GREEN

• Off = No communication.
• Blinking = Communication is ok.

RED

• Blinking = Communication problems.

The STATUS LEDs show the status of each of the three current measuring inputs of the ACPM-1.

GREEN

• Solid on (no blinking) = No current is flowing through the transformer
• Blinking = Current is flowing through the transformer in proper direction

RED

• Blinking = Current is flowing through the transformer in reverse direction

To correct an improper direction of current flow:

• Remove the transformer side insert
• Remove wire
• Twist transformer 180° (front-to-rear)
• Replace wire
• Replace the transformer side insert

Please consult the Wattnode Installation and Operation Manual for a complete listing of the LED indications.

The post How to Connect the Davicom ACPM-1 (WattNode Pulse) to the Davicom Cortex appeared first on Davicom Exchange Support Portal (DEX).

The Davicom Cortex 360’s serial port can be configured for RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485 operation.

RS-485 is used for Modbus peripherals and allows the Davicom Cortex 360 to connect directly to these Modbus devices without using an external adapter. Note that if you are already using the serial port for connection to another device or for backhaul in RS-232 mode, you may want to use a USB to RS-485 adapter to connect to one of the Davicom Cortex 360’s USB ports.

Locate the serial port mode jumpers on the main PCB.

Set the jumper on the pins corresponding to the mode you desire.

Next, select whether you want to use terminating resistors (sometimes required for long cable runs). Install the jumper at the position indicated for TX Termination and/or RX Termination. Use TX Termination only in 2 wire mode.

The following table shows the pin assignments on the Davicom Cortex 360’s rear-panel DB-9 connector.

This connector is a male connector, which means that it is defined as a DTE (Data Terminal Equipment) device.

The Davicom Cortex unit is a DTE, which is a generator or receiver of data. In serial communications, a DTE usually connects to a DCE (Data Communications Equipment) such as a modem. The DCE usually has a female connector.

Software configuration

1- Go to the Devices drop-down menu.

2- Go to Modem & IOIOI

3- Select IOIOI and click the configuration button.

4- Enter the device name.

5- Choose the way you want to use this port. For example, if you wish to communicate with a Modbus RS-485 device, select Modbus.

6- Configure the right parameters.

7- Save the configuration

8- Exit the configuration screen.

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The Davicom Cortex’s Virtual Logic Gates (VLG’s) are at the heart of its problem detection, decision making and problem resolution powers. The concept of VLG’s is a bit different from coding Macro commands in a programming language. Each VLG is more like a single neuron that connects different I/O’s like metering inputs, status inputs, relays, alarm-call lists, schedulers, timers, SNMP commands and hardware flags together and combined in myriad ways to create specific user-defined actions and controls.

The results of these logic functions can dictate automatic actions to be performed by the Davicom upon very specific events, or can be used to qualify other inputs. VLGs can also be used to display a specific result on a workspace object or beside an I/O State LED. Each virtual logic gate is set individually according to its use and function, but one of the most important characteristics of VLGs is that they can be cascaded and nested.

VLGs allow you to program Davicom units so they act according to y our needs. For example, you may not want the Davicom to call you during the night to tell you that the utility power is off, and the Generator is running OK. But if the power is off and the Generator did not start, then you may want to be woken-up. You can create VLG Neurons to do just that.

VLG’s can be one of any 6 types of logic gates: AND, NAND, OR, NOR, XOR, XNOR and each VLG can have up to 6 inputs from which one output is generated. For easier reference, the configuration screen also shows the standard logic tables for each type of gate.

The screenshot below shows a typical workspace with many VLG’s configured.

See this article for details about the generic Main screen, Description screen and Vocal Description screen.

1 – ID: ID of the selected input. Select from the drop-down menu.

2 – I/O DESCRIPTION RETRIEVAL: Click to retrieve and display the current normal or active description. Normally hidden to minimize data transfers on low speed or high fee data connections.

3 – ACTION TYPE: Selects the action type that will happen when an out-of-limit condition occurs. 3 types are available: Major alarm, Minor alarm, and Command (CMD). On CMD, no alarm will be triggered. Use this Action when you want to take actions without triggering any alarms.

4 – QUALIFIER: Qualifying element (operand) which can be any input, output, flag, timer, SNMP GET, Logic Gate, etc. Essentially any ID in the Davicom Cortex can be used to mute or unmute the input to prevent it from taking any action. When the Qualifier is active, the input will be monitored and be able to generate alarms. When the qualifier is non-active (or normal), the input will be muted and it will not be able to generate an alarm. To invert the Qualifier’s level, simply put a ! in front of its ID. For example, use !1D01 to invert it. Leave the Qualifier field blank for a “don’t care” condition.

5 – LOGIC OPERATOR: There are six different logic gate types to choose from. Each has its own logical behavior and the truth table (#12) shows the resulting outputs.

6 – OPERANDS: Inputs and outputs that can be used as logic signal sources for the VLG. Can be status inputs, metering inputs, relays, timers, flags, other VLG’s, SNMP Traps, SNMP GETs. Essentially, any Identifier (ID) that exists in the Davicom Cortex can be used as an input for the VLG’s. An exclamation mark ( ! ) can be put in front of the operand in order to invert its logic state, for example !1D01 will be Active if 1D01 is Normal.

7 – CONTROLLED OUTPUT: Outputs to be controlled (on/off) based on the state of this input. The two output types allowed are relays (both physical and virtual) and SNMP SETs. For the relays, adding a P suffix will Pulse the relay (ex: 1R01P), L will Latch it and R will Release it.

8 – DELAY BEFORE ACTION: Delay before the input changes into an active state when an out-of-limit condition occurs. Prevents glitches from setting-off any alarms.

9 – DELAY BEFORE RETURN TO NORMAL: Delay before the input returns to a normal state once an out-of-limit condition is over. Prevents too-brief returns-to-normal from causing multiple repeated alarms.

10 – ENABLE: Enable / disable the input. Useful to deactivate an input, without losing all its settings, when the input is causing intermittent problems or nuisance alarms.

11 – SYSTEM LOG: Log the input’s activity in the System Log. Useful when inputs do not need to be logged, but are required for day-to-day operation.

12 – TRUTH TABLE: Dynamic table showing the logic state (Result) of the VLG for every possible condition of its operands (1 to 5). Normal is comparable to a logic low or logic 0, while Active is comparable to a logic high or logic 1.

13 – SIGNALLING ON – ALARM: Enables / disables alarming. When checked, any out-of-limit condition will automatically generate an alarm. When unchecked, no alarm will be triggered when an out-of-limit condition occurs.

14 – SIGNALLING ON – RETURN TO NORMAL: Enables / disables Return To Normal signalling. When checked, a notification will be generated when the input changes back to its normal state after an out-of-limit alarm condition. When unchecked, no notification will be sent when the initial alarm condition returns to normal.

15 – REFRESH / READ: Refresh / read the screen content.

16 – SAVE / WRITE: Save the screen content.

17 – EXIT: Exit menu.

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