The Laureate P/N LUSB 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. 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. Connecting the USB board to a PC will cause the PC to download the required driver.
A single USB meter is normally connected to a host computer via an off-the-shelf USB cable with A and B connectors like Laurel's cable CBL05. The line can be up to 5.0 m (16.4 ft) long according to the USB standard. The PC driver software 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. The PC driver software will assign a unique COM port address (out of an available 256 addresses) to each connected device, which then needs to be addressed as a single device via its unique COM 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 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.
Laurel's free XLOG2 datalogging software allows virtual meters to be displayed on a computer screen and to be datalogged to disk with no need to write custom software.
Two serial protocols are user slectabel for custom software: Modbus RTU and Custom ASCII. For detailed information on our protocols, please see our communication user manuals.
The Laureate LUSB 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 cable CBL05.
USB Type-B connector | USB cable, P/N CBL05 |
LUSB USB Board Specifications | |
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Data rates | 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200 bps |
Connector | USB Type-B receptable |
Line length, max | 5 m |
Standards compliance | Universal Serial Bus Spec Revision 2.0, Full Speed |
Isolation | 250V rms working, 2.3 kV rms per 1 min test |
ESD Protection | 15 kV per IEC 1000-4-2 |
EMI Immunity | 10 V/m per IEC 1000-4-3 |
EFT Protection | 2 kV per IEC 1000-4-4 |
Short Circuit Protection | Continuous |
Power to USB Board | Via USB connector |
Selectable Protocols | Modbus RTU, Custom ASCII. |
Modbus RTU Protocol | |
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Standards Compliance | Modbus over Serial Line Specification V1.0 (2002) |
Protocol Type | Master-slave, query-response command mode |
Data Streaming Mode | Not supported by Modbus specification |
Data Formats (selectable) | 1. No parity, 8 data bits, 2 stop bits |
2. Odd parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit | |
3. Even parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit | |
Main Board Revision Level | Level 5 or above |
Custom ASCII Protocol | |
Standards Compliance | Laurel proprietary protocol |
Data Format | No parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit |
Protocol Type | Text string based command mode or continuous data streaming mode |
Data Streaming Mode | User selectable for up to 60 readings/sec |
Main Board Revision Level | Any |