USB Interface Board for Laurel Electronics 1/8 DIN Instruments

The Laureate USB serial communication board allows a Laureate 1/8 DIN digital panel meter, counter or timer to be interfaced to a PC with an available USB port. Its primary use is as an alternative to the Laureate RS232 board for programming, since most new computers now feature multiple USB ports as opposed to RS232 ports. As for the RS232 board, connection to a PC allows programming via Laurel's free Windows-based Instrument Setup Software, or to output readings to a PC for display and datalogging. The USB board is shipped with a driver on a mini CD ROM.

A single USB meter is normally connected to a host computer via an off-the-shelf USB line with A and B connectors. The line can be up to 5.0 m (16.4 ft) long according to the USB standard. Laurel's driver will assign a COM port address to the connected device, which is then treated like an RS232 device.

Multiple USB meters can also be connected to the host computer by using powered hubs, which can branch the original USB line from the computer into multiple lines. Theoretical limits are up to four hubs in series for five tiers of lines, a maximum line length of 5 m per tier (up to 25 m total), and up to 127 devices including the hubs. Laurel's driver will assign a unique COM port address (out of an available 256 addresses) to each connected device, which is then addressed as a single device on a port.

Multiple meters can also be digitally addressed using alternative interface boards: Ethernet board, Ethernet-to-RS485 converter board, USB-to-RS485 converter board, RS485 board with dual RJ11 connectors, and RS485 Modbus board with dual RJ45 connectors. A USB board is recommended if the objective is to interface a single meter to a PC with an available USB port.

Three serial protocols are user-selectable: Modbus RTU, Modbus ASCII, and Laurel ASCII. The Laurel ASCII protocol is the simplest and is recommended if Laureates are the only devices on the network. For more information, please see our Modbus Protocol Serial Communications Manual and our Serial Communications Manual.

The Laureate USB 2.0 board provides a USB Type-B connector for plug-and-play connection to the USB port of a PC. It is ideal for use with a PC to program a Laureate meter using Instrument Setup Software. The required USB cable is readily available in computer stores and also from Laurel as P/N CBL05.

USB Type-B connector

USB cable, P/N CBL05

• Instrument Setup Software runs on a PC and provides a Windows Graphical User Interface (GUI) as an alternative to programming the meter from the front panel. This software can be downloaded from this website at no charge. Its use requires a serial communications board in the meter, but following setup that board can be removed if desired. Compatible with Modbus or Laurel ASCII protocol.
• Custom Curve Linearizing Software is compatible with the Extended option version of all Laureates. Not applicable to temperature. Custom curve linearization can provide exceptional accuracy from low cost transducers and extend their working range on the high and low ends. This software can be downloaded from this website at no charge. Meter setup requires a serial communications board in the meter and the Laurel ASCII protocol, but following setup that board can be removed if desired and any protocol can be used.
• Data Logging Software turns a PC into a data logging system. The RS232 board allows data logging with a single meter. Use of RS485 boards allows data logging with up to 31 Laureate instruments. Data can be logged from selected meters into an ASCII file, which can then be imported into MS Excel. Data can also be displayed on the computer screen in the form of up to 64 actual or virtual panel meters in 4 groups (or screens) of up to 16 meters each. Compatible with Laurel ASCII protocol only.