Sync Controller time to PC Clock w/o PACDisplay

Hi OptoTeam,

I tried searching for the answer to this question, but didn’t come up with much. My situation is the same as what “Freddie” wrote in post #3 of [B]this thread[/B], with the exception that we are not using PACDisplay in our application.

Is there any way to automate syncing of control engine clocks to a PC clock (not an internet server clock) without PACDisplay? Our controllers are on an isolated network, but the server and computer running our HMI are connected to the internet.

No, it’s not a coincidence that I’m asking this just 8 hours before daylight saving time starts… :stuck_out_tongue:

Thanks for your time,
Sean

Hi Sean,

Welcome to the OptoForums!

A few thoughts, and I’m hoping other OptoFans will jump in here with other thoughts/opinions:

  1. Although you're not using PAC Display now, might you add it for the purpose of syncing? ([[B]PAC Display Basic[/B]](http://www.opto22.com/site/pr_details.aspx?cid=1&item=PACDISPLAYBAS) is free!)
  2. There's also [[B]this older/smaller program[/B]](http://www.opto22.com/site/downloads/dl_drilldown.aspx?aid=1409) which could sync for you (although it's an additional program that needs to run, like PAC Display). It doesn't mention PACs in the documentation, but works the same as a UIO, just use port 22001.
  3. If you ran SoftPAC on your PC, you could read the date/time of the PC from the mem map (address F035 0000), using a similar method to the one mentioned in [[B]this post[/B]](http://www.opto22.com/community/showthread.php?t=680). But SoftPAC is NOT free, so unless you had a reason to add SoftPAC into the mix, you might prefer those first two I mentioned.

Hope that helps!
-OptoMary

Hi Sean,

Another option might be to consider running an NTP server on that one PC that does have access to the Internets.
You could then run the standard SNTP commands in PAC Control in one of your charts.
There is a quick example code of how to do that in Optoscript here in the Forums.

Note, the first link is just one of the results I found Googling the question about running an NTP server on Windows.
I have not used the software or know if its the best approach out there, it was just a pretty comprehensive walk-though and seemed to lay it all out there (that and I love that he talks about using a Raspberry Pi as a time server at the bottom).
Your millage may vary.

Cheers,

Ben.

Mary, Ben, thank you so much for your input and advice. This issue has been put on the back burner for the moment, in favor of more pressing tasks, but as soon as I can tinker around with your suggestions, I’ll be sure to report back.