Beginners hardware for experimentation, what to get?

[huenerschrecker]

Hi there,

maybe you can give me a little advice. I want to learn to work with PLCs and need a little hardware for experimentation.
I’d like to learn to work with the most recent software, which seems to be TIA Portal.
What’s the cheapest S7 that can be dealt with using TIA Portal?

The Situation requires me, among others, to
-monitor two thermocouples
-monitor and log a current, probaly via a shunt
-control a little pump
-control a heating system


Considering reading the thermocouples, is there a way to use something cheaper than the original Siemens stuff? It’s just experimentation anyway...

[sania]

https://www.siemens.com/tstcloud
cheapest for your requerments is 1212+ai card

[huenerschrecker]

Sorry for the late answer.
Meanwhile I found older 3xx models work to, given they have the latest firmware.

[CoMod]

Sorry for the late answer.
Meanwhile I found older 3xx models work to, given they have the latest firmware.

for update firmware to TIA Portal need MMC 8 MB

https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs ... t/16750732
Operating System Updates for CPU 315-2DP

[huenerschrecker]

I know, that's the catch

But those Siemens cards are ridiculously overpriced, maybe there is an alternative. 8MB should be a joke nowadays.