Ladder Logic 308: Allen-Bradley’s MSG (Message) Instruction – Video

Today’s video is in response to a post I put on my Facebook automation forum, Automation Training. Jason Lafever asked if I would cover a bit on Allen-Bradley’s MSG (Message) Instruction, and cover Produced-Consumed Tags. I decided to split these topics into two separate posts.

One of the reasons I have been creating more videos lately is that I am about to start releasing some of my online video courses, and I am also transitioning to a much larger online presence. With the COVID19 pandemic, I feel like the writing is on the wall when it comes to PLC and automation training. In the near future my traveling with the “other” Automation Training is probably going to be severely curtailed. They do provide live online training, but so far I have not participated in that.

After losing my training facility in the tornado, I have also been severely limited in my online activity. My internet is very slow in my neighborhood, and I am in a very tight space upstairs in my home office (a corner of my music room if you can’t tell from my video).

This will be changing soon, I am looking at buying a place in my area rather than renting as I did before. After I do, I can have in-person classes again, but many plants may be less likely to send students out, so I too will need to be able to provide live training online.

I have also been using a consultant for some online mentoring on internet marketing methods, video coaching, and an overview of the training video market. His name is Robert Lunte of CourseCreek Consulting, and while his particular videos were made for a very different market (singers), he has been in the video course industry for a while and can provide valuable advice. I hope to “spice up” some of my presentations in what to many people may perceive as a dry field, that of industrial automation.

Another interesting concept I am considering is an offering in between recorded courses and live training. Rather than having an instructor present material in person or viewing only recorded material, I am considering essentially renting out my training computers for online access when I am not using them for classes. There are a lot of tricky pieces to this puzzle, using my Fischertechnik models and simulations, and how much personal assistance can be offered. Anyway, the first step is to get into a new facility.

I hope you enjoy the post and can get some useful information out of the video. Don’t let Corona Phranc scare you!