This just pings the port and the load cell responds with 'A' to indicate that it is set up and ready.

Once connected, a few simple commands are all that are needed to operate the load cell:

To set up Hyperterminal or other terminal emulation program to communicate with the load cell, select the appropriate COM port in the program and connect. It can also be used directly as a COM port using any terminal emulation software such as HyperTerminal that is included with Windows XP.

The iLoad Digital USB load cell can be used through LoadVUE or LoadVUE Lite software from Loadstar Sensors. In Windows XP, launch the Hyperterminal program. You are now ready to start using your iLoad Digital USB load cell. The ports associated with iLoad Digital USB load cells will indicate that they have a Loadstar Sensors driver as shown below. If you have more COM ports than you have load cells connected, you can double-click on the entry for a COM port. When your iLoad Digital USB load cells is connected and correctly installed, you should see a COM port assigned to it as shown highlighted in the following screen shot (next page). On the System dialog box click on the Hardware tab and select the Device Manager button. You can do so by going to the Control Panel in Windows and double-clicking on System. To verify the COM port number that has been assigned to the load cell, open the Hardware Device Manager. However, you will usually not have to insert the CD again. If you use a different physical USB port, you may need to go through this procedure again to associate a COM port with that USB port. The load cell will appear as a COM port to Windows whenever you plug it in to the same USB port on your computer. Windows installs the driver for your iLoad Digital USB load cell. On the next dialog box click Continue Anyway. Your computer should scan the CD to find appropriate drivers for the load cell. On the next screen select the option for 'Install the software automatically' option and click Next. Select the option for 'No, not this time' and click Next. The New Hardware Wizard window will come up in a few seconds. Plug in your iLoad Digital USB load cell into an available USB port on your Windows computer. Note: The iLoad series load cells are intended for use with an NRTL approved device such as a computer or regulated power supply.