A communication option board allows a Laureate digital panel meter, counter or timer to be interfaced to a PC for programming via Laurel’s Windows-based Instrument Setup Software, or to output readings to a remote PC, PLC or other device with a communication port. The transmitted data may include the latest reading, peak value, valley value, alarm status, and setup information. The data can then be displayed, processed and data logged. The data can also be received by a Laureate 6-digit remote display, which can display the serial data, control relay outputs, and generate a scaled, isolated 4-20 mA, 0-10V or -10V to +10V analog output.

If the primary objective is to program a meter directly from a PC using Instrument Setup Software, a USB interface board is recommended. Once the meter has been programmed, the interface board can be removed if no longer needed.

If the objective is to connect a network of meters to a PC, our USB 2.0-to-RS485 converter board can be used. That board can be connected to a PC via a USB port, and also act as the server for up to 31 meters on an RS485 bus via RJ11 connectors. The remote meters must be equipped with Laurel’s RJ11 RS485 interface board. That board features dual RJ11 connectors wired in parallel for RS485 daisy-chaining using commercial 6-wire RJ11 data cables, with no need for a hub. Please see our cables page.

If the objective is to connect meters to an existing Modbus RS485 bus, either of two RS485 interface board can be selected. Both boards are fully compatible with the Modbus RTU protocol, as are all other Laureate serial interface boards. Our RJ11 RS485 interface board uses dual RJ11 connectors wired in parallel for daisy chaining, while our RJ45 RS485 interface board uses dual RJ45 connectors wired in parallel for daisy chaining.

If the objective is to connect a meter to an Ethernet LAN, our Ethernet interface board allows a meter to be connected to an available router port using a standard Ethernet cable. Our Node Manager software and Instrument Setup software makes node discovery and setup exceptionally simple.

If the objective is to connect a network of meters to an Ethernet LAN, our Ethernet-to-RS485 converter board should be selected. That board can be connected to an Ethernet LAN utilizing a single Ethernet cable and also act as the server for up to 31 meters on an RS485 bus via RJ11 connectors. The remote meters must be equipped with Laurel’s RS485 interface board. The Ethernet-to-RS485 converter board features dual RJ11 connectors for RS485 daisy-chaining using commercial 6-wire RJ11 data cables, with no need for a hub.

Three communication protocols are user-selectable:

• Custom ASCII is a text string based protocol and is recommended if the only devices on theserial communications data line are Laureate meters. It supports up to 31 digital addresses. It is not compatible with Ethernet.
• Modbus RTU is an international master / slave communications standard and allows Laureates to share the same RS485 data lines with non-Laurel devices. It supports up to 247 digital addresses.
• Modbus TCP is Modbus RTU seamlessly converted to TCP/IP packets by our Ethernet Nodes.

Specifications