Mantracourt BroadWeigh User manual

BroadWeigh User Manual

mantracourt.com

BroadWeigh

Dynamic Wireless Load Monitoring

Mantracourt Electronics Limited BroadWeigh User Manual

Introduction / Overview ...................................................................................................... 5

Navigating This Manual ........................................................................................................ 5

Product Quick Locator ........................................................................................................ 5

Broadweigh Basic Principles ................................................................................................. 6

Transmitters & Receivers ................................................................................................... 6

Transmitters ................................................................................................................ 6

Receivers .................................................................................................................... 6

Radio Channel and Group Key .............................................................................................. 6

Radio Channel .............................................................................................................. 6

Group Key ................................................................................................................... 6

Configuring Multiple Modules to Use the Same Radio Settings ....................................................... 7

ID and Data Tags .............................................................................................................. 7

Transmitter Module Modes of Operation ................................................................................. 7

Normal ....................................................................................................................... 7

Configuration ............................................................................................................... 7

Sleep ......................................................................................................................... 7

Transmitter Module Sleep Delay Settings ................................................................................ 7

Pairing .......................................................................................................................... 8

Pairing From Broadweigh Toolkit ....................................................................................... 8

Pairing From a Receiver Module......................................................................................... 8

Soft Pairing .................................................................................................................... 8

Configuring an Attached Base Station..................................................................................... 8

Asynchronous Operation and Logging ..................................................................................... 9

Bandwidth...................................................................................................................... 9

Repeaters and Repeater Subgroups ....................................................................................... 9

Broadweigh Toolkit ...........................................................................................................10

Common Toolkit Pages .......................................................................................................10

Setup Base Station Communications ..................................................................................... 10

Analyser ....................................................................................................................... 11

Channel Monitor ............................................................................................................. 12

Home........................................................................................................................... 14

Connecting to a remote module........................................................................................ 14

Connecting to the attached base station module ................................................................... 15

Manual Connection ....................................................................................................... 15

Information ................................................................................................................... 16

Battery and Radio Levels ................................................................................................... 17

Battery and Radio Levels Advanced ...................................................................................... 18

Radio Settings ................................................................................................................ 19

Radio Settings Advanced ................................................................................................... 20

Save and Restore ............................................................................................................ 21

Transmitter Modules ..........................................................................................................22

BW-S325, BW-S475........................................................................................................... 22

Overview ................................................................................................................... 22

Order Codes................................................................................................................ 22

BW-S325.................................................................................................................. 22

BW-S475.................................................................................................................. 22

Orientation & Identification ............................................................................................ 23

Connections ................................................................................................................ 24

Connecting Power...................................................................................................... 24

Configuration .............................................................................................................. 25

Units ...................................................................................................................... 25

Zero Settings ............................................................................................................ 26

Data Rates and Quality................................................................................................ 27

Advanced Settings...................................................................................................... 29

Enclosure & Mounting .................................................................................................... 30

Dimensions .............................................................................................................. 30

BW-S325 BroadWeigh Shackle 3.25T dimensions............................................................... 30

BW-S475 BroadWeigh Shackle 4.75T dimensions............................................................... 30

Opening the Case....................................................................................................... 31

LED Indicator............................................................................................................ 31

Specification ............................................................................................................... 32

Radio Range ............................................................................................................. 32

BW-WSS........................................................................................................................ 33

Overview ................................................................................................................... 33

Mantracourt Electronics Limited BroadWeigh User Manual

Order Codes................................................................................................................ 33

BW-WSS .................................................................................................................. 33

Connections ................................................................................................................ 34

Power.................................................................................................................. 34

Configuration .............................................................................................................. 35

Data Rates and Quality................................................................................................ 35

Units ...................................................................................................................... 37

Advanced Settings...................................................................................................... 38

Enclosure & Mounting .................................................................................................... 39

Antennas.................................................................................................................... 39

Specification ............................................................................................................... 39

Radio Range ............................................................................................................. 40

Receiver Modules ..............................................................................................................41

BW-HR ......................................................................................................................... 41

Overview ................................................................................................................... 41

Order Codes................................................................................................................ 41

BW-HR.................................................................................................................... 41

Connections ................................................................................................................ 42

Power..................................................................................................................... 42

Operation................................................................................................................... 43

View readings ........................................................................................................... 43

Keys....................................................................................................................... 43

Indicators ................................................................................................................ 43

Errors ..................................................................................................................... 44

Special Modes ........................................................................................................... 44

Configuration .............................................................................................................. 45

Display Format.......................................................................................................... 45

Settings .................................................................................................................. 47

Enclosure & Mounting .................................................................................................... 48

Antennas.................................................................................................................... 48

Specification ............................................................................................................... 49

Radio Range ............................................................................................................. 49

BW-RM1........................................................................................................................ 50

Overview ................................................................................................................... 50

Order Codes................................................................................................................ 50

BW-RM1 .................................................................................................................. 50

Connections ................................................................................................................ 51

Power..................................................................................................................... 51

Connections & Indicators ............................................................................................. 51

LEDs....................................................................................................................... 51

Inputs..................................................................................................................... 51

Operation................................................................................................................... 52

Configuration .............................................................................................................. 53

Input Settings ........................................................................................................... 53

Relay Settings........................................................................................................... 54

Operation and Hysteresis Settings................................................................................ 55

Relay Settings Advanced .............................................................................................. 56

Alarm Settings .......................................................................................................... 57

Enclosure & Mounting .................................................................................................... 58

Antennas.................................................................................................................... 58

Specification ............................................................................................................... 59

Radio Range ............................................................................................................. 59

Base Stations & Repeater Modules.........................................................................................60

BW-BSue ....................................................................................................................... 60

Overview ................................................................................................................... 60

Order Codes................................................................................................................ 60

Connections ................................................................................................................ 60

Configuration .............................................................................................................. 61

Home ..................................................................................................................... 61

Radio Settings........................................................................................................... 62

Advanced Settings...................................................................................................... 63

Enclosure & Mounting .................................................................................................... 64

Antennas.................................................................................................................... 64

Specification ............................................................................................................... 65

Mantracourt Electronics Limited BroadWeigh User Manual

Radio Range ............................................................................................................. 65

BW-AR.......................................................................................................................... 66

Overview ................................................................................................................... 66

Order Codes................................................................................................................ 66

BW-AR .................................................................................................................... 66

Connections ................................................................................................................ 67

Power..................................................................................................................... 67

Power Options ....................................................................................................... 67

Permanently Powered ........................................................................................... 67

Battery Powered .................................................................................................. 67

Getting Started ......................................................................................................... 68

Increase Range....................................................................................................... 68

Span Obstacles....................................................................................................... 69

Combined Solutions ................................................................................................. 70

Considerations ....................................................................................................... 71

Configuration ........................................................................................................... 72

Settings................................................................................................................ 72

Enclosure & Mounting .................................................................................................... 73

Antennas.................................................................................................................... 73

Radio Range ............................................................................................................. 73

Specification ............................................................................................................... 74

Radio Range ............................................................................................................. 74

Power Supply Modules........................................................................................................75

PP1 & SP1 ..................................................................................................................... 75

Overview ................................................................................................................... 75

Order Codes................................................................................................................ 75

PP1........................................................................................................................ 75

SP1 ........................................................................................................................ 75

Getting Started............................................................................................................ 76

Power Pack 1 Connections............................................................................................ 76

Installation .............................................................................................................. 76

Connecting Power Pack 1 .......................................................................................... 76

Solar Panel Orientation ............................................................................................ 77

Operation ................................................................................................................ 78

Dimensions & Weight..................................................................................................... 78

Specifications.............................................................................................................. 79

Appendices......................................................................................................................80

Appendix A - Enclosures .................................................................................................... 80

ACM Type................................................................................................................... 80

Dimensions .............................................................................................................. 80

Opening the Case....................................................................................................... 80

Mounting Information.................................................................................................. 80

Antenna Position ....................................................................................................... 80

Environmental Protection ............................................................................................ 81

ACMi Type .................................................................................................................. 82

Dimensions .............................................................................................................. 82

Opening the Case....................................................................................................... 82

Mounting Information.................................................................................................. 82

Antenna Position ....................................................................................................... 82

Environmental Protection ............................................................................................ 82

Handheld Type ............................................................................................................ 84

Dimensions .............................................................................................................. 84

Opening the Case....................................................................................................... 84

Mounting Information.................................................................................................. 85

Antenna Position ....................................................................................................... 85

Environmental Protection ............................................................................................ 85

Appendix B –Radio Range .................................................................................................. 86

Overview ................................................................................................................... 86

Range........................................................................................................................ 86

Appendix C - Radio Specification ......................................................................................... 87

Appendix D –Intentionally Empty......................................................................................... 88

Appendix E –Approval Statements ....................................................................................... 89

CE............................................................................................................................ 89

IC............................................................................................................................. 90

Mantracourt Electronics Limited BroadWeigh User Manual

FCC .......................................................................................................................... 91

Appendix F - OEM / Reseller Marking and Documentation Requirements ......................................... 92

CE............................................................................................................................ 92

IC............................................................................................................................. 93

FCC .......................................................................................................................... 94

Appendix G - Worldwide Regional Approvals......................................................................... 95

Important Note ............................................................................................................ 95

Appendix H - Declaration of Conformity................................................................................. 96

Appendix I - Warranty....................................................................................................... 97

Mantracourt Electronics Limited BroadWeigh User Manual

Introduction / Overview

BroadWeigh is a portable modular wireless weighing system offering real-time load monitoring for a wide

variety of rigging applications without the need for cabling.

BroadWeigh enables users to know precise loads on any given point thereby ensuring structures and rigging

points are balanced and within safe working loads.

A user-friendly wireless Handheld Telemetry Display provides load monitoring of any BroadWeigh Shackle.

In addition a PC interface can be used to view and log multiple inputs on a single screen via the use of the

Broadweigh Log100 Software and USB Base Station.

Navigating This Manual

When viewing this PDF manual the following tips will help you navigate.

Viewing bookmarks ( or ) to the left of the page, in the PDF viewer, will allow easy navigation to the

relevant chapters of this manual. Alt-left arrow is a useful shortcut back to the last page viewed after a

hyperlink is clicked. Hyperlinks are coloured orange and are underlined.

Product Quick Locator

This section allows you to locate your product quickly to navigate to the correct section of the manual.

Shackles

BW-S325

BW-S475

Base Station

BW-BSue

Handheld Display

BW-HR

Relay Output

BW-RM1

Active Repeater

BW-AR

Wind Speed Sensor

BW-WSS

Power Supplies

SP1

PP1

Mantracourt Electronics Limited BroadWeigh User Manual

Broadweigh Basic Principles

There are some basic radio settings and concepts that should be understood to effectively configure, deploy,

optimise and troubleshoot Broadweigh telemetry systems.

Transmitters & Receivers

Although all of the Broadweigh modules are in fact transceivers and transmit as well as receive, they tend to

mainly operate as either a transmitter or receiver so we will choose to describe them as Transmitters and

Receivers.

The Broadweigh system was designed so that Transmitters are configured to send out messages at a user

defined rate. Receivers can then use this data to analyse, display or perform other actions depending on their

function.

A PC and base station are only required to configure the modules although they may be part of a data

collection system. Once configured the Broadweigh modules operate autonomously and only minimal control

over the Transmitter modules is usually required, by Receiver modules, such as sleeping or waking.

Transmitters

These are the sensor modules that measure weight or wind speed etc and send messages containing the value

and status information at regular intervals for use by Receiver modules or for delivering to a PC via a base

station.

Because these modules need to be very power efficient to operate on batteries they operate in three distinct

modes. See Transmitter Module Modes of Operation later.

Receivers

These modules use messages provided by Transmitters and have functionality such as handheld displays or

relay modules. These modules may also offer control over Transmitter modules such as sleeping or waking.

Radio Channel and Group Key

To be able to communicate, two radio modules must share some basic settings. There are ways to learn these

and to recover unknown settings and these are discussed later in the pairing section.

Radio Channel

This is the frequency that the radio operates on. Broadweigh radio bandwidth is divided into 15 channels.

Modules must be on the same channel to be able to transfer messages.

Group Key

Group keys are a way of isolating groups of modules even if they are operating on the same radio channel. This

can improve efficiency and also offer security because no radio module can affect another or see their

messages unless they share the same group key.

A group key is defined by the user and is up to 15 alphanumeric characters.

Group keys were introduced in v3.0 radio firmware in June 2015. New radio modules will work with older radio

modules but group keys cannot be used.

Mantracourt Electronics Limited BroadWeigh User Manual

Configuring Multiple Modules to Use the Same Radio

Settings

Please note that when you pair to a remote module the base station adopts the radio channel and group key of

the remote module.

To set the group key for a set of remote modules you can either:

Pair to each one in turn and set their radio channel and group key

Configure the base station by holding the shift key and clicking the Pair button on the Home page.

Then configure the base station to the required radio settings. Next use the tool on the radio settings

advanced page to pair to each module in the set to configure their radio settings to match the base

station.

ID and Data Tags

To configure a module its ID is used in communications. This is a unique 6 character identifier, such as

FF1234, which is allocated at the factory. This ID is hexadecimal so can consist of numbers 0-9 and letters A-

If a module is a Transmitter it sends messages without broadcasting its ID. It identifies messages by using a

Data Tag. This tag is a 4 character hexadecimal number and can be configured by the user. When modules

leave the factory this data tag is set to the last 4 characters of its ID.

When Receiver modules or software want to use messages sent by Transmitter modules they identify the

message they want by this Data Tag.

The reason Transmitter module messages are identified by a Data Tag rather than the unique ID is that this

allows replacement of a Transmitter module without having to reconfigure the many Receiver modules that

may be using its messages. It is only necessary to configure the replacement Transmitter module with the

same data tag, radio channel and group key and the rest of the system will not notice the difference.

Transmitter Module Modes of Operation

Normal

Normal mode involves taking a reading and sending a message then entering into a very low power state

before taking the next reading to maximise battery life.

Because it is not possible to communicate with the Transmitter module during this low power state a

‘configuration’ mode is required.

Configuration

Configuration mode forces the modules to pause in sending their messages and to disable their low power state

to enable configuration to take place. This is easily achieved by ‘Pairing’ when using the Broadweigh Toolkit

software. Once configuration is complete the modules will resume their ‘normal’ mode operation.

Sleep

The last mode is sleep. Modules can be sent to sleep by other modules or they can go to sleep themselves

when their messages are no longer being used. See Sleep Delay Settings later.

When sleeping, the modules can be awakened on demand by other modules or software via the base station.

Transmitter Module Sleep Delay Settings

Transmitter modules have a Sleep Delay setting (set in seconds) which allows the modules to go into Sleep

mode when their data messages are no longer required. This allows much longer battery life to be achieved.

Setting Sleep Delay to zero disables this function in the Transmitter modules and they will only go into Sleep

mode when told to do so.

Mantracourt Electronics Limited BroadWeigh User Manual

Most Receiver modules and Broadweigh software send Stay Awake messages when they see messages arrive

from Transmitter modules. In the Transmitter modules, if the Sleep Delay time period has elapsed without a

Stay Awake message arriving then the module will enter Sleep mode.

Usually the Stay Awake messages are sent every 5 seconds so Sleep Delays should be set to at least 10 seconds

but can be set to anything up to an hour for situations where the Receiver is likely to be out of range for

periods of time but where the Transmitter module is required to stay awake and in normal operational mode

during that time. It is usual that Sleep Delays are set somewhere between 30 and 300 seconds when required.

Pairing

Because you need to know the radio settings configured in a module to be able to configure it, and there are

no visible clues to what those settings may be, there is a feature used by Broadweigh modules that enable the

radio settings (i.e. the radio channel and the group key) to be determined and matched between two

Broadweigh modules.

Pairing is only required to determine and match radio settings and optionally to put Broadweigh Transmitter

modules in configuration mode. Because in some installations the Broadweigh modules can be buried deep

inside other equipment there had to be a way of indicating that a module has been selected to pair with

without having physical access to that module. Pairing was therefore designed to be activated by removing and

re-applying the module’s power. In some cases this is not practical so another possible solution is Soft Pairing.

Pairing From Broadweigh Toolkit

When using the Broadweigh Toolkit and a base station, pairing is used to connect to a module without having

to know anything about it beforehand. To pair, remove power from the required module, click a ‘Pair’ button

in the software and re-apply power to the module. The base station and module negotiate settings and the

base station is automatically configured to match the radio settings from the module and places the

module into configuration mode. Now the module can be configured and when complete it will return to

normal operational mode.

Pairing From a Receiver Module

Some Receiver modules allow pairing to a Transmitter module without requiring the Broadweigh Toolkit. For

example, the BW-HR handheld display offers this feature by turning it on while holding a certain key after

which the power is applied to the Transmitter module. The radio settings are then negotiated and the

Transmitter module is automatically configured to match the handheld radio settings. The handheld learns

the ID and data tags required to be able to use messages from the Transmitter module. In this case no

configuration mode is required so the Transmitter module simply continues to operate in normal mode but

with altered radio settings.

Soft Pairing

Pairing by power cycling is absolute and will work under all circumstances. However, sometimes access to the

power supply of a module that you want to pair to can be restricted, a module 20 meters up a tower for

example, so the Broadweigh Toolkit offers a way to soft pair.

To achieve this you need to know the radio channel and group key of the remote module and configure

the base station to match this. You must also know the unique ID of the module and armed with this you

can soft pair to the module. This works quite well with Receiver modules as they are not operating in low

power modes but the software does need to try and change Transmitter modules from their normal operation

mode into configuration mode.

This may not always work reliably in high traffic or high noise environments because there are a lot of

messages that need to be sent between the base station and the remote module which can be upset by the

presence of too many other messages on the same radio channel.

Configuring an Attached Base Station

Because a base station is attached to our computer when you are using the Broadweigh Toolkit you do not pair

to it the same way as with other Broadweigh modules. To configure the base station using the Toolkit hold the

shift key and click the Pair button on the Home page.

Mantracourt Electronics Limited BroadWeigh User Manual

Asynchronous Operation and Logging

Transmitters send their messages at a fixed user defined interval regardless of whether anything is listening.

This message interval is timed from when the Transmitter has been woken or powered on so there is no

synchronisation of when the actual measurement is taken between different transmitters.

If you are logging information from multiple Transmitters using multiple channel logging software you should

be aware of how the software will store and record values.

The software stores the message values as they arrive from each Transmitter and when a log is to be recorded

it is the last value received by each Transmitter that is used.

This means that the values that are recorded could have been measured at any point during the Transmitter

message interval.

For example, if there are 10 Transmitters operating at 1000ms message interval then when the values are

recorded to the log file you can only be sure that those values had been recorded within 1000ms of each

other.

So if there is a requirement that recorded sets of readings are within a certain time of each other, then that

time is the maximum message interval that should be set for the Transmitters regardless of the actual log

interval of the software (Which should always be greater than the Transmitter message interval).

Bandwidth

Each radio channel (1-15) has a finite ability to carry information. When modules do not need to communicate

with each other they can be configured on separate radio channels and do not affect each other.

However, when multiple modules are on the same radio channel, even if they use different group keys, they

are all contributing to filling the available bandwidth.

Each message transmitted takes up around 3 milliseconds so if everything worked perfectly and all modules

transmitted at just the right time and with no gaps between then there could only ever be 300 messages per

second being transmitted on any one radio channel.

In reality there are factors that reduce this capacity.

Each module uses a technique to detect whether anyone else is transmitting before it transmits itself and this

takes a finite time. There can also be interference from other sources that can delay module transmissions.

Because of the transmission rate flexibility of the Broadweigh modules there could be a few modules

transmitting messages at fast rates or many modules transmitting messages at slow rates or any combination of

these.

Practically there is a limit of around 200 messages per second available per radio channel.

It should be noted that as the number of Transmitter modules increases there is more chance of message

collisions and so more messages are lost (remember that the Transmitter modules are sending their messages

out at regular intervals) thus reducing the average number of messages per second arriving per module.

So, for example, 2 modules may transmit at 100 times per second or 100 modules at a rate of 1 per second.

Repeaters and Repeater Subgroups

Repeaters are able to retransmit messages so that the repeated signal is stronger than the original and so can

increase the range of systems or can bypass obstacles.

The repeater must be configured to operate on the same radio channel and use the same group keys as those

modules it is repeating.

Because the radio traffic is effectively doubled by a repeater there is a mechanism to reduce unnecessary

repetition of messages.

Sometimes a repeater will still see messages from modules that do not need to be repeated (Thus filling up

available bandwidth) so both repeaters and all other Broadweigh modules have a setting called the repeater

subgroup.

By default all subgroup settings are set to zero. A repeater will repeat a message from all modules whose

subgroup is either zero or matches its own subgroup. If a repeater subgroup is zero it will repeat messages

from all modules.

This is a simple way to break down modules into smaller groups and control what messages get repeated.

Changing the repeater subgroup is not normally necessary unless the bandwidth is very full due to either many

Transmitter modules being present or very fast transmissions from modules.

Other manuals for BroadWeigh

Table of contents

Other Mantracourt Measuring Instrument manuals

Mantracourt

Mantracourt Broadweigh Bluetooth Series User manual

Mantracourt

Mantracourt X24 User manual

Mantracourt

Mantracourt PSDS-HSBK User manual

Mantracourt

Mantracourt BroadWeigh User manual

Mantracourt

Mantracourt PSD User manual

Mantracourt

Mantracourt B24 User manual

Popular Measuring Instrument manuals by other brands

Suaoki

Suaoki D40 user manual

Elster

Elster BK-G1.6 operating instructions

Endress+Hauser

Endress+Hauser Deltabar FMD71 technical information

Duratool

Duratool D03128 manual

Vega

Vega VEGAPULS 65 Quick setup guide

Tonghui

Tonghui TH2618B Operation manual

Tenmars

Tenmars TM-801 user manual

MSR

MSR 145 user manual

TPS

TPS WP-82 manual

ELMETRON

ELMETRON CP-511 user manual

PCB Piezotronics

PCB Piezotronics 003C30 Installation and operating manual

Tenma

Tenma 72-10465 manual

Endress+Hauser

Endress+Hauser Proline Promag 50 Brief operating instructions

Siemens

Siemens SITRANS F Coriolis FCT030 Function manual

KLINGER

KLINGER CMF V Series instruction manual

EXFO

EXFO FTB-2 Notice

Keysight

Keysight M8290A Getting started guide

ADTEK

ADTEK MW-5 operating manual