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What does the tool do and why is it necessary?
Signet produces a line of sensors that provide a blind 4-20 mA output. These sensors are factory-calibrated to standard operating ranges.

The new 3-0250 USB to Digital (S³L) Configuration / Diagnostic Tool allows users to modify the default values for all user-modifiable parameters in most Signet sensors with a 4-20 mA output.

These parameters consist of the 4 mA and 20 mA set points in the 2250, 2350, 2450, and 2750 sensors.

For the 2551 and 2552 sensors, additional parameters such as the signal averaging, sensitivity, low-flow cut-off, and noise rejection frequency can also be modified.

How does it work?
The sensor is connected to the 3-0250 USB (Universal Serial Bus) module and then the module is connected to a PC’s USB port.

The 3-0250 comes with software that can communicate with the sensor via the digital (S³L) interface. The 2250, 2350, 2450, 2750, 2551 and 2552 digital (S³L) output versions are powered by the USB port. The 4-20 mA versions of the 2551 and 2552 require external 24VDC.

The 3-0250 software reads the digital (S³L) serial data from the sensor and converts in into a format (ASCII) that can be read and displayed on the screen. Users can change parameters to cater to the application’s needs. Once the parameters are changed, the user can write/store the new values to the sensor.

In addition, the user can save these settings to a file and can then load them from that same file to the screen for subsequent sensors that require the same configuration.

To make it easier for users to calculate or convert values, the 3-0250 software provides a combination of unit selections for all sensors, specific gravity for 2250 and 2450 for level applications, and pipe dimensions and K-Factors selections for the 2551 and 2552 Magmeters.

Note: This tech tip will focus on the configuration portion of the sensor. Diagnostic and troubleshooting will be addressed during Part 2 of this series. S³L versions of the 2250, 2350, 2450, 2750, 2551 and 2552 can also be used with the diagnostic features.