H0-ECOM,  H0-ECOM100,  H2-ECOM,  H2-ECOM-F,  H2-ECOM100,  H4-ECOM,  H4-ECOM-F,  H4-ECOM100 Updated: 11/13/2018
Specification Firmware Documentation NetEdit3 ECOM Starter Kit FAQs
 

The ECOM and ECOM100 modules provide a high speed Ethernet connection to the DL05, DL06, DL205 and DL405 CPUs. They provide a very fast, general purpose interface port that can be used in a variety of ways:

  • All ECOM & ECOM100s can be used for PLC programming and debugging with our DirectSOFT software package.

  • All ECOM & ECOM100s can also be used to provide a high speed connection for HMI software. Our own LookoutDirect has a built-in driver for the ECOMs. Our DSData Server software provides OPC and DDE connection to ECOMs for HMI software like Wonderware's InTouch.

  • ECOMs can be used for high speed peer-to-peer connections between PLCs. You're no longer limited to Master / Slave networking like a serial network. Each ECOM can be a master and a slave to other ECOMs simultaneously.

    All of the ECOM100 versions also support Modbus/TCP in both Master and Slave configurations.

  • ECOMs & ECOM100s can also be configured to send PLC data to a PC. We refer to this as 'report-by-exception'. Your PC will no longer have to poll the PLCs to collect process information, the PLC can use it's built-in RX / WX instructions to send data to the PC whenever the PLC needs to. We have a 'care package' that describe the process, it has a ladder program that sends some data, and a Visual C++ application that receives the data from the PLC and displays it on the screen.
    Download the 'report-by-exception' instructions and examples (updated 6-23-03).

     
  • ECOMs & ECOM100s can be accessed across the Internet. It takes a little work because of the inherent security built into Internet access hardware. We have a document that describes how we did it here at Host. If you'd like to see it in action, we have an ECOM in a base with a DL250 and some I/O that's Internet accessible. 
    See how to configure a Link to communicate over the Internet with DirectSOFT or DSData Server.

     
  • ECOM100s - when used with DirectSOFT5 and the appropriate PLC firmware - can send email messages containing embedded PLC data.
     
  • An increasingly popular option is using our free Ethernet SDK (Software Developers Kit) to develop a custom driver for Visual C/C++, or Visual Basic, or any 3rd party software package. If you want to build a driver for a non-Windows system, such as Linux or Solaris, you can request the source code for the Ethernet SDK.
     
  • If you're interested in using your ECOM in an inexpensive data collection and storage solution for the Automationdirect.com PLCs, be sure to check out DataWorx PLC at www.bizwaredirect.com. Utilizing a client/server approach, the DataWorx server stores the data into a comma delimited or tab delimited file of your choosing, and it does all of it with no PLC programming!
     

 

And the coolest thing about the ECOMs & ECOM100s is their ability to perform all of the above roles simultaneously. The other communication modules (D2-DCM, D4-DCM,etc.), can be either a mastering device or a slave device. During their installation, you designate their role by the use of dipswitches or some other configuration method, and this role cannot be changed without powering down and changing some switches. The ECOM simply examines the packets it receives and determines what action to perform based on the packet type and data, changing roles as needed, on the fly. It's way slick!!

 

  H0-ECOM
Discontinued 3
H0-ECOM100 H2-ECOM
Discontinued 3
H2-ECOM-F H2-ECOM100 H4-ECOM
Discontinued 3
H4-ECOM-F H4-ECOM100
Supported CPUs DL-05
DL-06
D2-240
D2-250, D2-250-1
D2-260, D2-262
H2-DM1, H2-DM1E
D4-430, D4-440, D4-450, D4-454
TI-425, TI-435
Ethernet Interface 10Base-T
(10 MBit)
10/100Base-T
(10/100 MBit)
10Base-T
(10 MBit)
10Base-FL
(10 MBit)
10/100Base-T
(10/100 MBit)
10Base-T
(10 MBit)
10Base-FL
(10 MBit)
10/100Base-T
(10/100 MBit)
Ethernet Protocols IPX
UDP/IP
IPX,
UDP/IP Modbus/TCP
DHCP
HTML
IPX
UDP/IP
IPX
UDP/IP
IPX,
UDP/IP Modbus/TCP
DHCP
HTML
IPX
UDP/IP
IPX
UDP/IP
IPX,
UDP/IP Modbus/TCP
DHCP
HTML
Interface
Connection
RJ-45 RJ-45 RJ-45 ST-Style
Fiber Optic
820nm 1,2
RJ-45 RJ-45 ST-Style
Fiber Optic
820nm 1,2
RJ-45
Power Consumption
 ( 5VDC )
250mA 300mA 450mA 640mA 300mA 530mA 670mA 300mA
ECOMs per Base DL05 - 1
DL06 - 4
DL05 - 1
DL06 - 4
5 4 8 5 4 8
Link Distance 100m
(328ft)
100m
(328ft)
100m
(328ft)
2000m
(6550ft)
100m
(328ft)
100m
(328ft)
2000m
(6550ft)
100m
(328ft)
Maximum ECOMs
per Network
Virtually unlimited number of nodes per network
Slot Placement
Restrictions
None Not allowed in Slot 0 with DirectLOGIC (D2-2xx) CPUs Recommend Use in Local Base Only
Operating 
Environment
0 - 60 ºC (32 – 140 ºF)
5% to 95% humidity (non-condensing)
no corrosive gases, pollution level=2
Vibration: MIL STD 810C 514.2
Shock: MIL STD 810C 516.2
Storage
Temperature
-20 ºC – 70 ºC  (-4 ºF – 158 ºF)
Manufacturer Host Automation Products, LLC
Notes

 1 For 62.5 / 125 multimode cable
 
2 Fiber Optic Transmitter: HFBR-1414 (820nm) : Fiber Optic Receiver: HFBR-2416 (820nm)

 3 This product has been discontinued, use the ECOM100 as a replacement

Firmware

 

Upgrading the firmware in all of our ECOMs is done through our free Ethernet Module Configuration utility NetEdit3. If you don't already have a copy of the utility, you can use this link to download NetEdit3 from our web site.

Once you have NetEdit3 installed on your PC, use the File->Live Update feature to download the latest version of the firmware files from the Host Engineering website. Follow the instructions in NetEdit3 to perform the actual update.

 

H0-ECOM
Last Update   : 27 March 2012

F/W Version   : v1.0.364
Boot Version  : v3.0.154


View the ECOM Revision History

 

H0-ECOM100
Last Update   : 13 September 2022
(Rev 7 H/W)
F/W Version   : v4.1.113
Boot Version  : v4.1.10

(Rev 9 & Rev 11 H/W)
F/W Version   : v5.0.170
Boot Version  : v5.0.64

View the H0-ECOM100 Firmware Revision History

 

H2-ECOM & H2-ECOM-F
Last Update   : 27 March 2012

F/W Version   : v1.0.227
Boot Version  : v3.0.157


View the ECOM Revision History

 

H2-ECOM100
Last Update   : 2 September 2022

F/W Version   : v4.0.2148
Boot Version  : v4.0.165

(Rev 8 & Rev 10 H/W)
F/W Version   : v5.0.1051
Boot Version  : v5.0.12

View the H2-ECOM100 Firmware Revision History

 

H4-ECOM & H4-ECOM-F
Last Update   : 27 March 2012

F/W Version   : v1.0.227
Boot Version  : v3.0.154


View the ECOM Revision History

 

H4-ECOM100
Last Update   : 19 March 2020

F/W Version   : v4.0.2148
Boot Version  : v4.0.165

View the H4-ECOM100 Firmware Revision History


 

Documentation

Use these following links to view the user manuals for these products. 

Product Advisories

NOTE: you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the files (available at Adobe Acrobat Free Reader ).

ECOM Starter Kit
Are you just getting started with ECOMs and AutomationDirect PLCs? We've put together a care package that has everything you need to get started using ECOMs. This package contains:
  • one ECOM (either an H2-ECOM or an H4-ECOM)
  • one ECOM user manual
  • one 10/100Base-T Adapter card
  • a 14' CAT5 patch cable
  • and one Product Showcase CD that contains demo versions of our software packages.