GE-FanucIC610ABM100ASeries One ASCII/BASIC Coprocessor Module, Single Slot, 300 mA at 9 VDC

Product Description

What this part is

This is a GE Fanuc Series One ASCII/BASIC Module — a single-slot plug-in coprocessor card that runs the BASIC programming language resident on the module and exchanges data with the PLC’s ladder logic. Its job is serial communication and computation the ladder cannot do comfortably: driving a printer or terminal, reading a barcode scanner, scale or gauge, formatting reports, or doing arithmetic and string handling. It is an intelligent coprocessor module, not a CPU and not an I/O card: the Series One CPU still runs the machine, and this card is a peripheral processor working alongside it.

Decoding the catalogue number

IC610 — the GE Fanuc Series One family prefix.
ABM — ASCII/BASIC Module. This is the field the old copy dropped: ABM is a specific functional designation, not a generic “basic module” meaning an entry-level card.
100 — the module type within the ABM range.
A — hardware revision letter. Later letters supersede earlier ones and are backward compatible within the ABM100 designation, so an IC610ABM100B or -C serves the same slot.
Also written IC-610-ABM-100-A and IC610ABM100.

Correcting the source data

Earlier copy described this as a “PLC processor” for “process control applications”. It is not the PLC’s processor. The Series One CPU is a separate module in the IC610CPU range; this card is the ASCII/BASIC coprocessor. If you need the module that scans and solves the ladder, you are looking for an IC610CPU part number, not an ABM.

Published specifications

Occupies a single slot in a Series One or Series One Plus rack
Resident BASIC interpreter; exchanges I/O point status and internal reference data with the PLC ladder program
Maximum power draw 300 mA, supplied from the 9 VDC output of the Series One power supply
Compatible with both Series One and Series One Plus control systems
Reference documentation: GE Fanuc GFK-0249A, Series One ASCII/BASIC Module Manual

What these specs mean in practice

Two details decide whether this card earns its slot. First, the 300 mA draw off the 9 VDC rail: Series One power supplies are modest, and adding an ABM to an already-full rack is a genuine budget question — add up the rail current for every module before you commit the slot. Second, Series One Plus is the better host: the expanded instruction set with data operations is standard on Series One Plus, and it lets the ladder move blocks of data to and from the module efficiently. On a plain Series One the module still works, but you will be shuffling data a reference at a time, which limits how much you can practically do per scan.

Quantity and configuration

One module ships. No rack or baseplate, no CPU, no power supply, no serial cable or mating connector, no programming software and no manual are included. You will need the serial cable appropriate to your peripheral, and GFK-0249A if you are writing BASIC for the module from scratch.

Installation and setup notes

Power down and lock out the rack before inserting or removing the card — Series One modules are not hot-swappable and a live insertion can corrupt the CPU’s memory as well as damage the card. Seat the module fully so the backplane edge connector engages squarely, and clean the gold fingers with isopropanol and a lint-free wipe if the card has been in storage; on this generation of control, intermittent faults are more often a dirty edge connector than a failed board. Set the module’s serial parameters to match your peripheral before commissioning, and check your rail current budget as noted above.

Interchange guidance

Searched as IC610ABM100A, IC610ABM100, IC-610-ABM-100-A, IC610-ABM-100A, IC610 ABM 100 A and Series One ASCII BASIC module. Later revision letters — IC610ABM100B and IC610ABM100C — are the same module at newer hardware revisions and are carried as cross-references, the difference being the revision letter only. Do not confuse this with the IC610CCM communications range (IC610CCM105, CCM110, CCM111), which handles serial links and remote I/O but has no BASIC interpreter, or with the IC610CPU range, which is the actual processor. Brand history for search reach: the Series One line ran as GE Series One, then GE Fanuc Automation, then GE Intelligent Platforms, and is now supported under Emerson; the platform is long obsolete with no factory replacement, so surplus stock and board-repair houses are the source.