GE IC693BEM330-CF Single-Mode Fiber Genius Bus Interface Module

Description

In distributed industrial automation architectures, getting a Series 90-30 PLC to talk reliably to remote I/O racks across a plant floor used to mean accepting either slow Genius Bus scan times or the high cost of fiber-optic repeaters that still left you with single-point failure risks. Engineers maintaining water-treatment networks, conveyor systems, or large material-handling yards often hit the wall when the standard 1,200-meter copper limit on Genius I/O was simply too short, yet full Ethernet migration wasn’t budgeted. This is precisely the bottleneck the GE IC693BEM330-CF was engineered to break. As a single-mode fiber-optic Genius Bus Interface Module for the Series 90-30 platform, the GE IC693BEM330-CF extends the proven Genius I/O network up to 15 km per segment at full 153.6 kbaud speed while adding true dual-port redundancy with automatic switch-over. It lets legacy 90-30 systems keep their existing Genius blocks, VersaMax drops, and Field Control stations without a single line of ladder logic change, yet gives you fiber distances and noise immunity that used to require an entirely new controller generation.

The GE IC693BEM330-CF drops into any Series 90-30 CPU or expansion base exactly like the standard BEM331 copper version and occupies one slot. It presents itself to the CPU as a normal Genius Bus Controller, handling up to 128 devices per bus with full 128-byte I/O diagnostics and block health reporting. Dual ST-terminated single-mode fiber ports (9/125 µm) operate at 1310 nm and are wired in a counter-rotating ring topology: traffic enters one port and leaves the other, so a single fiber break never drops the network. The module automatically detects fiber faults, switches direction, and lights the front-panel “Fiber Fault” LED in under 100 ms — transparent to both the CPU scan and the remote I/O. On-board dual-port memory and watchdog circuitry maintain deterministic update rates even during fault recovery, and the same Hand-Held Monitor or Logicmaster diagnostics you already know work without modification.

Specifying the GE IC693BEM330-CF is usually the fastest, lowest-risk way to stretch a 90-30 system across an entire facility without rewriting code or retraining technicians. The fiber ring eliminates ground potential rise issues that plague long copper runs, while the automatic failover means a cut fiber in a conveyor tunnel no longer forces an emergency stop. Many sites that once budgeted weeks of downtime to migrate to Ethernet I/O instead bought a handful of these modules and extended plant life another decade for a fraction of the cost.

You’ll see the GE IC693BEM330-CF linking main control rooms to remote pump houses in municipal water districts (runs up to 10 km are common), connecting packaging halls across multi-building food & beverage campuses, and tying together coal-handling conveyors in mine sites where EMI from 6.6 kV switchgear made copper Genius unreliable. It’s also a staple in automotive paint shops where solvent vapors prohibit copper runs between explosion-proof zones.

IC693BEM331 – Standard multimode fiber version (2 km max)

IC693BEM333 – Copper Genius Bus Controller for shorter runs

IC693PCM301 – Programmable Coprocessor companion for custom data concentrators

IC693NIU004 – Ethernet NIU when full migration to PACSystems is planned

IC693CBL316 – Genius diagnostic cable used with all BEM33x modules

HE693FTL100 – Third-party single-mode to multimode converter for hybrid rings

IC694BEM331 – Rx3i equivalent when upgrading the CPU but keeping Genius drops

Before powering up a new GE IC693BEM330-CF, verify you’re using true 9/125 µm single-mode fiber patched with ST connectors and that total optical loss (including splices) is under 12 dB. Set the rack rotary switches to a unique bus address (usually 31 for the controller) and leave the fiber ports unterminated until both ends are connected to avoid false fault indications. After insertion, watch for steady green “OK” and alternating “TX/RX” LEDs on both fibers — that confirms ring closure. Maintenance is minimal: blow dust from the ST ports during annual shutdowns and keep a spare meter of pre-terminated patch cord in stores. Most installations never touch the module again once the ring is proven.