OCT 05 1990 ---Overview--- Today, we are proud to announce the release of Generator Controller III. This release officially marks the end of support for the original v1 release of Generator Controller, released in 1975, for all customers, residential, commercial, and enterprise non-contract. Enterprise contracts will not be renewable for v1, however we will service them until their expiration date. Infinite length contracts will be serviced until January 1, 1993. ---Upgrade Recommendations--- We encourage all v1 users to migrate immediately to at least v2, however, we recommend that you perform a full hardware refresh and upgrade to v3 to avoid serious issues down the road. We are starting to see quite a few v1 systems experience serious (and usually catastrophic) failures. As such, we WILL NOT offer extended warranty services beyond January 1, 1993. ---Upgrading Your Software--- Call 1-800-313-1990 ext. 744 and ask for the Software Upgrade Preparation Kit, part number 1606636. This is free for all v1 and v2 users. v1 users will have to perform a full system reinstallation and re-certification with their local utility company. v2 users may be able to upgrade to v3 with no major changes. See "Hardware Requirements and Changes" below. ---Hardware Requirements and Changes--- * If you have an Intel 80286 or older or are planning on changing CPU architectures, you will need to order PN#1587100, Hardware Upgrade Planner. * Motorola 68000 Changes 68000 - Support dropped due to it's age, the dwindling software support for it, and it lacking many features of newer CPUs. Should've dropped this in 1983 with the release of GC2. 68010 - Support dropped. We no longer support <32 bit CPUs. 68020 - Support dropped. We require an MMU for protected mode. *68030 - Supported. See note below. *The EC suffixed version of this CPU will not work. This lacks an MMU, which we need. * Intel Changes 8086/8088 - Support dropped. Lacks protected mode, among many other things. 80286 - Support dropped. Half-baked, poorly implemented protected mode. 80386 - Supported, though we recommend that you pair this with an 80387 so it's not dog-slow. 80486 - Supported, again, we recommend that you pair this with an 80487 for best results. For controllers running an Interline Sync System, we recommend the 33MHz variant of this CPU. * Other CPU Changes SPARC - Newly supported. Most modules are tested working. The Interline Sync System performs at it's best here. Fujitsu MB86900 - This CPU is the best choice for running multiple Interline Sync Systems. * MCA Information We will not support IBM's Microchannel Architecture. GC3 will detect such systems and refuse to install. It's highly proprietary and none of our card vendors are planning on releasing MCA versions of their hardware. Save yourself the trouble and stick with something else. ---Electrical Changes--- * Switched to using a 32-bit counter to avoid crashing errors with fault currents above 65.5kA. Also enables high-precision voltage measurements on 66kV and above. * Added integration into PLC systems for remote equipment control. Requires PN#5287166, PLC Integration Kit. * Better handling of unknown or unexpected faults. Gone are the dreaded "UNK FLT ID XXXXXXXX" logs, in are the much clearer Fault Handler logs. When an unknown fault occurs, a subsystem attempts to probe the fault cause and provides a possible cause in the Fault Handler log journal, plus system state info. * Improved fault clear times. Now faults are cleared in an average of 12 cycles. * Added default configs for many reclosers. * Generator throttle micro-stepping greatly improved, also added Analog Infinijust for ultra-fine manual throttle control. * Realtime data acquisition added. Requires an 80486, 68030, or MB86900 and PN#4638001, Multimode Realtime High-Speed Data Acquisition Kit. * Phase differential, shift, and sync systems greatly improved.