Lighthouse PLCs, Inc. : Automation Forum
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The Hitachi “P-Series” was produced from 1979 to 1993, and is now obsolete. The suggested replacement is the Hitachi “H-Series”.
The P250, as with all the “P” series, was programmed using one of three devices. They were : PGME, PGME-R, (programmers) and the PIFE (Console Adapter). Unless you have one of these devices, you will be unable to view or change the program. Just as with the P250, these devices are no longer available from Hitachi.
No programming software was ever developed for the “P” series, as they did not have serial ports. As I understand it, the PIFE Console Adapter did have provisions to interface with a Host Computer as well as a Programming Console. I do not know anything else about these devices.
There are some manuals still available for the P250E (p/n NB912XA). The manuals come in a set of (4) Manuals: P250/500 Documentation, including: NB8911XA, P250 Instruction Manual / NB912XA P250E Instruction Manual / NB940AX P500E Instruction Manual / NB941X P250E/P500E Console Adapter. Lighthouse PLCs, has these in stock.
I hope this information helps.
Timothy 
Dear Luong Quoc Thai,
As there is no software for the P250, there is no way to backup the program to a personal computer. That said, there may still be an option. Please allow me to explain.
I checked the PGM5E Programmer in the “museum” in our PLC Lab. The programmer has two ports on the bottom. One is marked “MNT”, the other is marked “MIC”. I tried to find something in the manuals which discusses these two ports. I didn’t spend a lot of time, but I was unable to find anything. However, it is common among this and subsequent generation PLC products to utilize magnetic tape (like reel to reel, or cassette tape) for storage and retrieval of programs. I have never done this with a P series, but have with the “D” and the “E” series. The “MIC” port is what is used. The cable end is a monaural mini plug. In other terms, it is like the end of the cable on your Sony Walkman headphones, but is single channel (monaural), rather than stereo (two channel). So it only has the “tip and ring” – doesn’t have the extra band or ring that a stereo plug has.
With certain keystrokes on the Programmer, the program is converted to audible tones, which then are recorded on the cassette tape. They can be stored this way for a number of years, with care. Then, when the program is needed, the cassette player plays back the program. The same cable is used, and again certain keystrokes are made on the programmer. The audible tones are reconverted back into (?)assembly language which is uploaded into the PLC memory.
The “D” and “E” series programmers have both “MIC” and “EAR”.
- For Recording (Storing the program):
- MIC on the Programmer is connected to MIC on the cassette (sometimes referred to as CMT : Cassette Magnetic Tape)
- For Playing (Retrieving the program):
- EAR on the Programmer is connected to EAR on the cassette.
Perhaps the PGM5E Programmer uses MIC for both functions, or perhaps the MNT is what is used instead of EAR.
Obviously, if a cassette tape would work, the cable from the Programmer could be plugged into a sound card on a personal computer (probably would require a monaural to stereo adapter). As the “information” is in the form of audible (sounds like the squawking on a short-wave radio) signals, it could be recorded as a “wave” file on the PC. I have never actually tried this, but it does sound feasible.
I hope this has helped, or at least given you some ideas to play with.
Good Luck with your project.
Timothy
