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Instrument Setup Software
for
Series 1 Laureates
Digital Panel Meters, Scale Meters,
Counters, Timers,
and 6-Digit Remote
Displays.
Applicability
This web page describes Laurel's
Windows-based Instrument Setup software when used with Series 1
digital panel meters, weight /
scale meters, counters, timers and remote displays, which were shipped
prior to mid-2007. The software recognizes these legacy products and bring
up the appropriate computer screens, which are somewhat different than the
screens for Series 2.
Setup Overview
Setup of the Laureates entails the placement
of plug-in jumpers to set ranges at the hardware level, followed by programming.
Programming can be in three ways:
- From a computer running Instrument Setup software and connected to the instrument via RS232.
- From the instrument front panel as
guided by Instrument Setup software, with no connection to the
instrument via RS232.
- From the instrument front panel using
the printed user manual and no computer assist.
Method 1 is the easiest and makes full use
of the graphical user interface (GUI) provided by Instrument Setup
software. When the computer is connected to the instrument, the software
recognizes the type of instrument and only brings the appropriate screens
and menu choices. Clicking on any item brings up a detailed help
screen for that item. Setup files can be retrieved from the instrument or from disk. Edited setup files can be downloaded into the instrument (and
be saved to disk.
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| CBL01 RS232 cable |
For connection to a PC, each
Laureate must be equipped with a serial communications
board
and a communications cable. The wiring of the RS232 cable is shown
above with end views of the two connectors. Plugging into the Laureate is
the RJ11 connector of a common 4-wire telephone extension cable. Plugging
into the PC is custom-wired DB9-to-RJ11 adapter, which accepts the other
end of the telephone extension cable. Following setup, the communication
board may be removed from the meter.
To install, download
instrument_setup.exe
software from this website at no charge. Double-click on the downloaded
file to unzip into a special directory, such as c:\temp. Within
that directory, double-click on setup.exe, which will install the
software on your PC. You may wish to paste a shortcut of the executable
file Instrument Setup.exe onto your desktop.
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DPM Setup |
Click on any of the screens
for a full-size screen view, then click on the Back button of your
browser to return to this page.
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Welcome Screen
 From the Windows desktop, click go to Start
> Programs > IS2 > IS2. This welcome screen will be
displayed for two seconds. You can also paste the IS2 icon on your Windows
desktop. |
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Communications Selection Screen
The next screen allows you to select the protocol and serial bus
type. If Unknown is selected, the software will find the protocol
that works. Select None if the computer is not connect to an
instrument. |
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Com Port & Baud Rate
Selection Screen
To establish communications, specify the computer Com port and meter baud
rate. The default Laureate jumper setting is
for 9600 baud. In the event of success, as indicated by a green field,
click on Main Menu. |
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Setup File Selection Screen
Under the File pulldown menu, you are give the opportunity to
open a Default setup file from disk for your type of Laureate, to
Open a previously saved setup file from disk, or to Save an
edited setup file to disk. Under DPM, you can Get the setup
file from the meter or Put an edited file into the meter. |
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Jumper Setup Screen
Under the Jumpers
pulldown menu, you are presented with the jumper positions and
electrical connections for Laureate plug-in modules: DC, Temperature, True RMS, Load Cell, Power Supply, RS232,
and RS485. The example
to the left is for the DC signal conditioner board. |
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DPM Setup Page 1
When you click on View > Setup, the DPM Setup Page 1 is
displayed. Each of the yellow fields is a pull-down menu. In the example
to the left, the signal conditioner is selected as SD, and the range is
selected as 0.2V. |
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Comprehensive
DPM Help
Screens
Pressing the F1 key
while any of the yellow pull-down menus is displayed brings up a detailed
help screen for that field. The example to the left
is for the Resolution field. |
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DPM Setup Page 2
When you click on the Page 2
button and have specified a "loaded" meter in Page 1, this second DPM Setup screen is displayed to set up signal
filtering, external inputs, and alarms. There are again multiple pull-down
menus. Clicking on any of the white fields changes this field to green,
and a small new window appears so that you can input the value for that
field. The example to the left includes the window to input Deviation
for Alarm 1. |
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Simplified DPM Setup Page 2
When you click on the Page 2
button and have not specified an alarm output option in Page 1, a
much simplified second DPM screen is displayed. The example to the left
includes the Filter and External Input fields, but does not
include any of the Alarm setup fields. |
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DPM Setup Page 3
When you click on the Page 3
button and you have specified a "loaded" meter in Page 1, this third DPM Setup screen is displayed to set up serial
communications and analog output, and to specify any meter lockouts. The
example to the left includes the window to input the meter reading for the
analog output High Reading (10V if voltage output is selected). |
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Simplified DPM Setup Page 3
When you click on the Page 3
button and you have not specified serial communications or analog output in Page 1, a
much simplified third DPM Setup screen is displayed. The example to the
left includes the Lockout fields, but does not include the
Serial Communications or Analog Output fields. |
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Front Panel Setup Screens for
DPMs
When you click on View
and select Menu, the sequence of front panel steps
required for meter setup is displayed. This allows Instrument Setup software to be
of benefit when there is no connection between the meter and computer. All
entries made under Setup View Pages 1-3
are reflected. Clicking on the Printer button causes front panel steps
to be printed. |
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Comprehensive Help Screens
Clicking on any step of the
Menu View sequence brings up a detailed Menu Help window. The example to the left
shows the meaning of each digit in the SEtuP step. With this type
of detailed help, there is much less need to refer to a manual. |
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Counter Setup |
The initial steps, choice of Setup
of Menu screens, general operation, and context-sensitive help
for the Laureate counter are as for the Laureate DPM. Click on any of the reduced screens
for a full-size screen view, then click on the Back button of your
browser to return to this screen.
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Counter Setup Page 1
This page allows you to specify the type of main board (basic or
extended), the signal conditioner (dual pulse input, V-to-F converter, or
quadrature), and any relay option, communications option, or analog output
option. Except for these hardware differences, the capabilities of
Laureate digital counters are specified via this setup screen and two
other setup screens. |
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Counter Setup Page 2
This page allows you
set up Channel 2 of Laureate electronic counters as well as two alarms. As for digital panel
meters, clicking in any yellow field produces a pull-down menu with
choices. Clicking in any white filed brings a data input window. Pressing
the F1 key for any field brings up a detailed help screen.
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Counter Setup Page 3
This page allows you set
up external input, serial communications, an analog output proportional to
the display (optional), and lockouts for Laureate digital counters. The
grayed out area at the top right of the screen applies to
Laureate remote displays.
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Front Panel Setup Screen for
Digital Counters
If you click on View
and select Menu, the sequence of front panel programming steps is
presented on the computer screen. All entries made using Setup View Pages 1-3 above
will automatically be reflected. Clicking on any step in the sequence
will bring up a detailed Menu Help window. The example to the left
shows the meaning of each digit in the Gate Time GAtEt step. |
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DPM & Counter Calibration |
Click on any of the reduced screens
for a full-size screen view, then click on the Back button of your
browser to return to this screen.
For absolute calibration, the Laureate must be
connected to an external standard and to a PC running Laureate PC Setup
& Calibration Software. The initial step is to establish serial
communications between the PC and DPM or counter, as described for DPM
setup. (Special calibration software is required for Laureate
temperature meters and DC, strain or loadcell meters used in ratiometric
bridge mode, as described in a separate
calibration page and software
download page).
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DPM Calibration Main Menu Screen
From the Main Menu
screen, click on Calibration on the top menu bar. The software will
recognize the type of Laureate DPM (DC meter, True RMS, load cell meter, scale
meter, or temperature meter) and bring up the appropriate calibration screen. |
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DC Signal Conditioner Calibration
Screen
The DC Signal Conditioner
Calibration screen is an example of a Laureate DPM calibration screen. It
prompts the user for each range to be calibrated, displays the required jumper
settings, and prompts for the signals to be applied from an external
calibrator. Click
on the screen to the left for additional details. |
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Frequency Meter Calibration
Screen
Calibration of the quartz
crystal of the Laureate counter with dual-channel frequency signal
conditioner requires the input of a known frequency from a calibrator.
Apply the frequency, then enter the frequency in Hertz. Calibration will be
automatic, with storage of the calibration factor stored in non-volatile
memory. Click on OK to exit. |
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Other Online DPM Operations |
If you have a serial connection to a
Laureate DPM or counter, you can perform a number of online operations
from your PC.
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Setup File Selection Screen
for Panel Meters
Under the DPM pulldown, menu you are given the opportunity to
Get Setup (or retrieve) setup data from a DPM, or to Put
Setup (or
download) setup data back into the nonvolatile memory of the DPM.
The same setup file stored on disk can be downloaded into multiple
Laureate instruments, greatly speeding up setup in a production
environment. |
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Commands Screen for
Digital Panel Meters
Under the Commands
pulldown menu, after you have performed a Get Setup operation, you
can command functions by using the computer mouse. You can reset
individual meter functions, display current or peak readings, and enter
numbers to be displayed remotely by the DPM. For the remote display, the
first position must be a blank, + sign or - sign. |
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Graphics Output Screens of
Digital Panel Meters
Under the Readings
pulldown menu, you can select three formats to display the DPM data on the
computer screen:
- List presents the latest readings
in a 20-row by 10-column table. Press pause at any time to freeze the
display. This is one method to capture peak readings.
- Plot generates a plot of readings
vs. time in seconds. It effectively turns the DPM-PC combination into a
printing digital oscilloscope.
- Graph generates a histogram where
the horizontal axis is the reading and the vertical axis is the number
of occurrences of readings. The display continually resizes itself as
the number of readings increases.
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