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Instrument Setup Software
FREE software to set up Micron Digital Panel Meters,
Counters, Timers, Remote Displays, and Transmitters.
Digital Panel Meter
4-20 mA DIN rail transmitter
Electronic Counter
1/8 DIN Digital Panel Meter
DIN Rail Transmitter
1/8 DIN Counter, Timer
or Remote Display

Windows-based Instrument Setup (IS) software is an easy method to set up Micron 1/8 DIN digital panel meters, counters, timers and remote displays. It is the only means to set up Micron DIN rail transmitters. Micron 1/8 DIN instruments can also be set up from the front panel, as explained in their respective Owners Manuals, but that process is more difficult. Instrument Setup software is of benefit whether or not the PC is connected to the instrument.

  • When the PC is connected to the instrument, Instrument Setup software can get the setup file from the instrument or open a default setup file or previously saved setup file from disk. View Setup then provides graphical user interface (GUI) screens which pull-down menus applicable to input, display, scaling, filtering, alarms, communications, analog output, and front panel lockouts. Fields that are not applicable to the instrument as configured are either left out or grayed out. Clicking on any item will bring up a detailed Help screen for that item. Once edited, the setup file can be downloaded (or put) into the instrument and be saved to disk. The same setup file can then be downloaded into multiple instruments.
  • When the PC is not connected to the instrument, the above GUI screens can be used to set up a virtual instrument. The setup file can then be saved to disk. Switching to View Menu then brings up a screen with the required front panel programming steps. This view can be printed out for use at the instrument site and to serve as a hard copy record.

Instrument Setup software can be downloaded at no charge from this website in the form of a self-extracting 6 MB file named instrument_setup.exe. The latest version is 2_4_0. The same software can be used with Micron digital panel meters, counter, timers, weight / scale meters, remote displays, and transmitters.

RS-232 cable for use with Laureate digital panel meters and counters
RS-232 cable for 1/8 DIN instruments

cable02a

For connection to a PC, each 1/8 DIN Micron instrument must be equipped with a serial communications board and be connected to the computer via a serial communications cable. The wiring of the RS-232 cable is illustrated above with end views of the two connectors. This cable is available as P/N CBL01. Plugging into the Micron is the RJ-11 connector of a common 4-wire telephone extension cable. Plugging into the PC is custom-wired DB-9 to RJ-11 adapter, which accepts the other end of the telephone extension cable. Following setup, the serial communications board may be removed from the instrument if desired. All Micron transmitters come standard with a 3-wire serial interface, which can be jumpered for RS232 or RS485.

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 (labeled IS2) of the executable file Instrument Setup.exe onto the PC desktop.

Meter Setup Screens
 Click on any of the reduced screens below for a full-size screen view, then click on the Back button of your browser to return to this page. The screens examples below are for a fully-loaded Series 2 Digital Panel Meter (DPM), which is connected to the PC via RS-232. If the meter is a Series 1 meter (pre-2007), this is sensed by the software, and somewhat different screens are brought up. Please see Series 1 setup screens.
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Welcome Screen
 
From the computer desktop, click on Start > Programs > IS2 > IS2. Or click on the IS2 icon on your desktop. This splash screen will be displayed for three seconds. The software revision number is in the lower right.
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Communications Selection Screen
 
Specify your desired communication protocol and the serial communications bus type, which should match the jumper setup of the instrument. Select None if the PC is not connected to the instrument.
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Establish Communications Screen
 
If you selected RS-232, you will be asked to specify the PC Com Port and Baud Rate, which should match the jumper setup of the instrument. Click on Establish. With the right settings, the Communications Established field will light up in green, and the Meter Type will be recognized. If so, click on Main Menu.
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Main Menu Screen
 
Click on File > Default Setup to retrieve the default setup file from disk for your type of meter. Click on File > Open Setup to retrieve a previously saved setup file from disk or on File > Save Setup to save your edited setup file to disk. Click on DPM > Get Setup to retrieve the setup file from your meter or on DPM > Put Setup to download your edited setup file into the meter.
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DPM Input + Display Setup Screen

From the Main Menu, click on View > Setup, then on the Input+Display tab. You can now specify the meter hardware, signal type, display mode, and functions of control inputs A and B. Clicking on any item brings up a pull-down menu with the available choices.
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DPM Scaling Setup Screen

Click on the Scaling tab, which provides three scaling methods to relate the signal to the displayed reading: 1) Scale and Offset method, 2) Coordinates of two points method, and 3) Reading Coordinates of Two Points method. The last method uses actual high and low signals, and the computer will prompt you.
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DPM Filter Setup Screen

Click on the Filter tab, which allows you to specify the digital filter time constant (if any), the adaptive filter threshold, and whether Peak / Valley values are filtered or unfiltered. As for all setup screens, clicking on the F1 key while an item is highlighted brings up a Help screen for that item, as illustrated.
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DPM Relay Alarms Setup Screen

Click on the Relay Alarms tab, which allows you to set up Alarms 1 and 2 for the optional dual relay output board. Clicking on any of the four numeric fields changes these to green and brings up a special field to enter the desired numeric value, which is tied to the displayed reading.
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DPM Communications Setup Screen

Click on the Communications tab so set up serial communications. In particular, you can special the Serial Protocol and the meter address if multiple meters are to be addressed on the same serial data line.
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DPM Analog Output Setup Screen

Click on the Analog Out tab so set up the optional analog output board. Three output ranges are selectable, the endpoints of which can be tied to user-specified High and Low readings.
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DPM Lockouts Setup Screen

Click on the Lockouts tab to check off menu items which will no longer be accessible from the front panel of the meter. This will simplify meter operation and prevent unintended setup changes.

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Other Meter Setup Utilities
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DPM Front Panel Setup Screen
 
As an aid to programming the meter from the front panel when a serial connection is not available, you can return to the Main Menu and click on View > Menu. The required sequence of front panel screens will then be displayed. Click on any step in the sequence for the meaning of each digit, as illustrated for the FILtEr step. For a hardcopy, simply press on Print.
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DPM Jumper Setup Screen
 
From the Main Menu, click on Jumpers. A pull-down menu with all plug-in board applicable to DPMs will be displayed.
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DPM Jumper Setup Screens

Click on any of the displayed plug-in boards, and you will be presented with the jumper positions and electrical connections for your selected board. This minimizes the need to refer to the printed manual.
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DPM Commands Screen

From the Main Menu, click on Commands if your PC is connected to the meter. You can then reset individual meter functions via the PC, display current or peak readings, enter numbers to be displayed remotely by the DPM, and more.
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Graphical Output Screens

From the Main Menu, click on Readings if your PC is connected to the meter. A pull-down menu then offers three choices: List, Plot and Graph.

  • 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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DPM Calibration Screens
 
From the Main Menu, click on Calibration. A screen then allows you to select each range to be calibrated, displays the required jumper settings, and prompts you for the signals to be applied from an external calibrator.
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Frequency Meter Calibration Screen

Calibration of the quartz crystal of the Micron frequency meter 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.

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