GE Sensing PT878 User Manual

GE

Measurement & Control

1.0 Introduction

The TransPort® PT878 portable ultrasonic flowmeter allows the user to
update firmware, communicate with a PC running the GE PanaView™
graphical user interface software and transfer files via a built-in USB
Interface. This guide provides instructions for performing these actions.

The PT878 USB design uses an RS232 to USB converter. which converts the
USB data to standard serial port data. The RS232 communications protocol
is used, which allows the meter to operate with both the GE PanaView
graphical user interface software as well as commercially available terminal
emulation programs such as HyperTerminal (see Section 4.0 on page 6). The
PT878 communications parameters, such as baud rate (300 to 38400 baud),
can be set via the PT878 keypad.

TransPort® PT878

USB Interface Guide

Important: All PC and PT878 communications parameters must match for successful data transfer.

The PT878 always ships with the latest firmware version installed. However, as new firmware versions become
available, your PT878 firmware is easily updated via its USB interface (see Section 6.0 on page 16).

The USB connector installed in the PT878 is
for a short period of time.

Caution! Be sure to use caution when connecting a USB cable to the PT878, if the meter’s USB
connector has been exposed to water.

The following topics are covered in this document:

IP67 rated and is leak-resistant, even if the instrument is exposed to water

• Section 1.0 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 1

• Section 2.0 USB Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2

• Section 3.0 PanaView Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

• Section 4.0 Terminal Emulation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6

• Section 5.0 Transfer Files Between the PT878 and a PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6

• Section 6.0 Firmware Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 16

1100 Technology Park Drive, Billerica, MA 01821, U.S.A.

Telephone: [phone] or 800-833-9438

Sensing House, Shannon Free Zone East, Shannon, County Clare, Ireland

Telephone: [phone]

916-142, Rev. A

January 2015

TransPort® PT878 USB Interface Guide January 2015

2.0 USB Setup

The initial step for communicating with the PT878 through its USB interface is to make sure that the PC operating
system recognizes the USB device in the PT878. This is done by connecting the PT878 to the PC with a USB cable and
verifying that the PC operating system loads the correct drivers for the PT878 USB interface device.

2.1 USB Cable

The recommended USB cable for use between the PT878 and a PC is a USB A male to mini USB B male cable, such as
GE p/n 238-407-LF or equivalent.

2.2 USB Drivers

To set up the USB drivers in Microsoft Windows®, complete the following steps:

1. Power on PT878.

2. Plug the mini B USB male connector into the PT878 USB port.

3. Plug the USB A male connector into any USB port on the PC.

4. Verify that Windows automatically loads the driver for the FTDI chip in the PT878.

Note: Windows may take a few minutes to update the driver. Please wait for Windows to complete the update and to

verify completion of the driver installation

5. Open the

PT878 USB port is installed.

Control Panel>>Device Manager window and then select Ports (see Figure 1 below). V erify that the

Figure 1: Device Manager Window

Note: If the USB port is not automatically installed, the driver may be installed manually from the FTDI website.

Install Virtual Comm Port (VCP) drivers for the FT230XS UART from http://www.ftdichip.com
does not load properly on Windows 7, refer to FTDI Application Note AN_119.

Note: For operation with the GE PanaView software, set the Com Port between COM1 and COM 15.

916-142, Rev. A 2 of 16

. If the driver

TransPort® PT878 USB Interface Guide January 2015

2.2 USB Drivers (cont.)

6. Open the USB serial port settings window (see Figure 2 below) and match those listed in the

PT878\Meter\Communications window at the PT878 User Interface. Note that the COM port settings may

vary with the PC configuration.
Note: For operation with the GE PanaView software, set the Com Port between COM1 and COM 15.
The USB driver setup is now complete.

Note: The USB driver should recognize the flowmeter each time the PT878 is reconnected to the PC, but the COM

port number may change depending on the PC configu ration.

Figure 2: USB Serial Port Properties

916-142, Rev. A 3 of 16

TransPort® PT878 USB Interface Guide January 2015

3.0 PanaView Setup

The PanaView setup procedure for PT878 USB communications is the same as for any other Comm port setup. All
functionality available when using PanaView with the PT878 via infrared communications is also available with USB
communications. This includes programming, data logging, graphing and signals display.

To set up USB communications in PanaView, complete the following steps:

1. Launch PanaView and select File\New Meter Br owser.

2. Expand the network and right click on the Computer icon, which is located just below the Network icon in the

Explorer window.

3. Select New Communications Port to open a window similar to Figure 3 below.

Figure 3: Setup Communications

4. Program each Com Port parameter to match the corresponding PT878 parameters. The Protocol and Com Port

Type should remain as Panalink and RS232, respectively. Make sure the Com port number matches the PT878
USB Com port, as discussed in “USB Setup” on page 2.

916-142, Rev. A 4 of 16

TransPort® PT878 USB Interface Guide January 2015

3.0 PanaView Setup (cont.)

5. Right click on Com Port icon and select New Meter. On first screen of the Add New Meter wizard select “I

don't know the node ID of the meter I am adding to the network” and click OK. On the second screen select “It

is the only meter connected to the communications port” and

Figure 4 below will open. Click

OK.

Figure 4: The New Meter Node ID

OK. If the meter is found, a screen similar to

6. Enter the Name and Serial Number and click

OK on the next screen (see Figure 5 below) to add the PT878 as a

new meter. PanaView will automatically upload the required system parameters into its database. The

PanaView setup is now complete.

Figure 5: Add Meter Name and Serial Number

916-142, Rev. A 5 of 16