GE-FanucIC600BF949LASCII / BASIC Coprocessor Module for Series Six PLC, RS-232C / RS-422

Product Description

What this part is

A GE Fanuc ASCII/BASIC coprocessor module for the Series Six PLC family, IC600BF949. It is effectively a small programmable microcomputer that occupies a single Series Six I/O slot: GE BASIC programs run on the module itself, alongside the PLC’s ladder logic, to handle jobs the ladder is bad at — floating-point maths, string and ASCII message handling, report generation, and serial conversation with barcode readers, printers, scales, gauges and supervisory computers.

Physically it is a two-board assembly in a motherboard-and-daughterboard arrangement, and it carries its own RAM, its own EPROM-resident operating system, and two serial ports. It is a coprocessor and communications module — it has no I/O points of its own and it is not the PLC CPU.

Decoding the order code

IC: GE Fanuc Automation industrial controls prefix.

600: the Series Six PLC family (Model 600 / 6000). Neighbouring GE Fanuc groups do not interchange: IC610 is Series One, IC630 is Series Three, IC693 is Series 90-30, IC697 is Series 90-70.

BF: the Series Six module class for I/O-rack-resident functional and interface modules. Series Six CPU and control modules carry CB, and memory modules carry CM.

949: the specific module, here the ASCII/BASIC coprocessor.

L: the hardware revision letter. A revision suffix, not a different product; the -M revision of the same module appears on the market as well.

Published specifications

Function: ASCII/BASIC coprocessor module, programmable in GE BASIC.

Language features: Full-function floating-point math, interrupts, timers.

RAM: 12 KB.

EPROM: 32 KB, containing the resident operating system.

Serial ports: Two, selectable RS-232C or RS-422.

Maximum cable length: 50 ft (15 m) on RS-232C; up to 1.2 km on RS-422.

Supply: 5 to 12 V DC, taken from the rack backplane.

Construction: Two boards, motherboard and daughterboard.

Mounting: One slot in a Series Six I/O rack; compatible with Model 60 CPU racks and high-capacity I/O racks.

What these specs mean in practice

“BASIC” here is the programming language, not a description of the module’s capability. This is one of the more capable modules in the Series Six range, not a stripped-down one — it is the reason a 1980s Series Six installation could produce a formatted production report or talk to a serial gauge at all.

The port choice is the specification that decides the installation. RS-232C is limited to about 50 ft, which suits a panel or an adjacent desk; RS-422 is good for up to 1.2 km and is what reaches a control room or another building. The two are not electrically compatible.

The 12 KB of RAM is where the BASIC program and variables live, and it is volatile.

Quantity and configuration

Sold as 1 piece — one ASCII/BASIC coprocessor module, the complete two-board motherboard and daughterboard assembly. Scope of supply is the module itself. New old stock, in an opened box.

Interchange guidance

Searchable equivalents of the same part: IC600BF949L, IC600BF949, IC600-BF-949-L, IC600 BF 949 L, IC600BF949-L. The IC600BF949M revision is the same module at a different revision level. Different parts, not interchangeable: other IC600BF numbers are different Series Six modules entirely — IC600BF942 is a bipolar ±10 V analog output module, IC600BF943 is a 4–20 mA analog output, and IC600BF814 is a thermocouple input. Same class prefix, completely different function.