Scott T.'s Profile

1 Review

Overall I enjoyed this DVD video series (5 videos). The videos provide a decent introduction to basic PLC programming "concepts." If someone wanted to actually program a PLC, they probably would still have to read a lot of the documentation for their specific PLC. I rented this video to get a better idea of what a PLC might be able to do vs. a PIC or Basic Stamp chip for control purposes and for the most part I achieved that goal. In addition some of the concepts taught, can be used for these other devices.

The instructor Ron, who also runs plcs.net, is a corny and enthusiastic instructor. Some of the humor seemed circa 1980's which was right up my alley. The video content is mostly Ron, his enthusiastic hand motions, and markerboard sketches. This is definitely a homebrew video with "ghosts" sometimes bumping into the camera.

I appreciated the refresher on the binary and hexadecimal numbering system and associated math but what was missing was that he never actually programmed the plc and connected it to sourcing/sinking inputs or outputs, switches, or lights.

I would not have been happy if I purchased the video series for $379 but for about $60, the price is bearable (You get the best deal if you rent all 5 videos). It leaves me $319 for a pretty good plc setup for additional learning or a lot more Technical Video Rentals.