First, the bad news
On October 1, 2024 Siemens posted this announcement about their PROFIBUS repeaters.
“Milestone PM400 (announcement of product phase-out) was set on October 01, 2024 for the PROFIBUS standard and diagnostic repeaters, as well as the terminating resistor. Type cancellation (PM410) will be effective as of October 01, 2025. A functional replacement is not available.”
This means that on October 1, 2025 you will not be able to buy a Siemens PROFIBUS repeater, part number 6ES7972-0AA02-0XA0, and Siemens will not be making a repeater that is a direct replacement for this one.
It was with mixed feelings that I read that. The Siemens repeater was a very good repeater. It did have its drawbacks though. It was hard to wire and was often mis-wired. Plus, you could only view data on the first segment. However, it was a workhorse in the PROFIBUS world, and I will miss it.
Now, the good news
Luckily, there are better replacements available from other manufacturers and JCOM Automation sells three of them.
Helmholz FLEXtra twin repeater
If you are looking for a direct replacement for the Siemens repeater and do not have much panel space available, then the Helmholz FLEXtra twin repeater is a good option for you. It comes in only 6mm (0.236″) wider than the Siemens repeater and a lot smaller in height and depth. It has the same basic functionality and is a very good little repeater. Plus, you have access ports for both segments. One of the big limitations of the old Siemens repeater was that you could only view data on the incoming segment.
JCOM order number: Helmholz twin repeater + connector 700-972-2XA02
Figure 1: Siemens vs Helmholz width
Indusol MULTIrep X2
If you have more panel space, a better option for you is the MULTrep X2 by Indu-Sol. It is 30mm (1.18″) wider than the Siemens repeater, but it is smaller in height and depth. It is also smarter with its indicator lights and has a feature where errors are automatically filtered out and not transferred to other segments. Like the Helmholz repeater, you can view both segments. It is only a little more expensive than the Helmholz repeater and well worth it if you have the panel space.
JCOM order number: Indu-Sol MULTIrep x2 repeater 110030010
Figure 2: Indusol MULTIrep X2
Anybus B1 repeater
Last on the list is the Anybus B1 repeater by HMS. This comes in 10mm (0.394″) wider than the Siemens repeater but with similar features and limitations. Like the Siemens repeater, you can only view information on one of the two segments. For this reason, I would recommend either of the other two repeaters mentioned above.
JCOM order number: Anybus PROFIBUS DP repeater B1 101-00201A
Figure 3: Anybus B1 repeater
Conclusion:
Just like the old saying “when one door closes another one opens”, well in this case three doors open, you have multiple options for replacing your old Siemens PROFIBUS repeaters. JCOM Automation is here to help you select the best replacement for your application. Give us a call or Click here to go to our Repeaters product page.