How to Connect an Electronic Balance or Scale to a PC and Read Weight Values Directly into Excel Most electronic scales and laboratory balances have an RS232 (Serial) or a USB port however no instructions are normally provided to show you how to correctly connect it to your PC or how to input weight values directly into programs like Excel or Access. The steps below will show you how to connect your scale to a PC and identify what port the scale is connected to and also how to input weight readings directly into Microsoft Excel.

1. How to Connect an Electronic Balance or
Scale to a PC and Read Weight Values
Directly into Excel
Most electronic scales and laboratory balances have an RS232 (Serial)
or a USB port however no instructions
are normally provided to show you
how to correctly connect it to your PC
or how to input weight values directly
into programs like Excel or Access. The
steps below will show you how to
connect your scale to a PC and identify
what port the scale is connected to and
also how to input weight readings
directly into Microsoft Excel.
The only things that you will need are an appropriate cable that
connects from the scale to your PC and a Windows program called a
"Software Wedge". In this example, we will use a product called BC-
Wedge from TAL Technologies, Inc..
Note: This tutorial assumes that your scale or balance has a "Print"
button that will transmit weight values to a PC. Most scales and
balances do have one although it may not be marked clearly. You may
need to read the users manual for the scale or contact its manufacturer
to learn exactly how it works. If your scale does not have a Print button,
it does not necessarily mean that you cannot send weight data to a PC.
It means that you probably need a more advanced software wedge like
the WinWedge product from TAL Technologies.

2. Step 1: Identifying USB Cable Connectors
If your scale has a USB
connection then you would need
to determine what connector is
on the scale. The USB ports on a
PC are always Type A USB ports
therefore if your scale has a Type
B USB port, you would need to
get a USB cable that has a Type A
connector on one end and a Type
B connector on the other. Shown
above are the most common USB
ports found on most scales and
balances along with pictures of the connectors that fit the ports.
Important Note: If your scale has a USB connector then it should come
with a device driver that you will need to install in Windows in order for
the scale to show up as a standard COM port in Windows. Sometimes
this device driver is supplied on a CD that comes with the scale and
sometime you need to download the driver from the manufacturer's
web site. If your scale has a USB connection but does not come with a
driver or if you fail to install the driver, then it will not be possible to
read in data from the scale using off-the-shelf software tools (like the
BC-Wedge software wedge) and you will need to contact the scale's
manufacturer to find out what software tools they have that you can
use.

3. Step 2: Identifying RS232 Cable Connectors
If your scale has a RS232 port, it will
usually be located on the back of the
Weighing scale Indicator and it should
look like one of the ports shown above.
It is more common for a scale to have
either a 9-Pin male connector or a 25-
Pin female connector. Serial ports found
on the back of a PC will always be
either 9-Pin Male or 25-Pin female.
Almost all PCs built in the past 10 years
that have serial ports will have 9-Pin
male ports and usually only very old
PCs will have 25-Pin serial ports. If you
need to connect a 9-Pin cable to a 25-
Pin port or if you need to connect a 25-
Pin cable to a 9-Pin port, you can purchase 9 to 25 pin adapters at most
computer or office supply stores or on Amazon.com for under $10.00.
Just make sure that you match male and female connections correctly.
RS232 cables come in two varieties called "Modem Cables" and "Null
Modem Cables". Modem cables have the wires in the cable running
straight through and Null Modem cables have the transmit and receive
lines crossed in the cable. Most scales will typically connect to a PC
using a Null Modem cable however there are exceptions. One way to
make sure that you have all your options covered is to purchase a "Null
Modem Adapter". A Null Modem Adapter is a small connector that slips
in line with the cable and crosses the transmit and receive lines. A Null
Modem Adapter will convert a Null Modem Cable to a Modem Cable
and a Modem Cable to a Null Modem cable. They are also available on
Amazon.com or at any office supply store for under $10.00.

4. Step 3: RS232 To USB Converter Cables
If your scale has a RS232 port but your PC only has USB ports, you can
purchase a RS232 to USB converter cable at any computer or office
supply store for under $25.00. The best ones use either FTDI or Prolific
chipsets. Amazon.com also sells them for around $10.
All RS232 to USB converter cables require a driver to be installed in
Windows in order for the cable to work. Typically the driver is provided
on a CD with the cable and you normally install the driver first before
you connect the cable to your PC for the first time.

5. Step 4: Determining the COM Port Number

6. On most PCs that have a single built in COM port,
the port will appear to Windows as COM1 however
this is not always the case. If your scale uses a USB
connection or if you are using a RS232 to USB
converter, you will need to determine the COM port
number that the device is connected to. The best
way to do this is to look in the Windows Device
Manager in the section labeled "Ports (COM &
LPT)". This section will contain a list of all COM ports
that are installed on your PC.
Note: If your scale connects directly to a USB port or
if you are using a RS232 to USB converter, make
sure that the scale or the converter is connected to
the PC and that it's device driver is installed before
looking in the Device Manager.

7. Step 5: Download and Run the BC-Wedge Software
Once you know the COM port that the scale is connected to, you can download the BC-Wedge
software Setup program from the TALtech.com web site using the following URL:
www.taltech.com/files/demos/BC-Wedge.zip
The file is a ZIP file so you will need to save it to a folder on your PC and then extract its
contents using the Windows File Explorer and then run the Setup.exe program that was
extracted from the ZIP file. After you install BC-Wedge, run it and select the COM port for your
scale from the COM Port drop down list in the main BC-Wedge window.
The BC-Wedge software was primarily designed to input data from a bar code scanner however
it can also be used with most scales and balances. TALtech has a full line of Software Wedge
products that have much more advanced features than what are available in the BC-Wedge
program. You can learn more at: www.taltech.com/winwedge
For the purpose of this tutorial, BC-Wedge should work just fine.

8. Step 6: Running the BC-Wedge Software and Selecting the Communications
Settings
Now that you have your scale connected to your PC, the next step is to determine
the serial communications parameters that the scale uses. The very best way to
do this is to either look in the scale's user's manual or contact it's manufacturer.
You will need to know the Baud Rate, the Parity setting, the number of Data Bits,
and the number of Stop Bits. In order for your PC to communicate with your
scale, the settings that you select in the BC-Wedge software must exactly match
the settings that your scale uses. (The "Flow Control" option and the "Scanner
Beep String" can be ignored.)
To enter the serial communications settings in BC-Wedge, you would click on the
"Settings" option in the BC-Wedge main menu. This will display the window
shown above where you would enter the communications settings.
Note: You do not have to change any serial communications parameters in the
Windows Device Manager. The parameters that you select in the BC-Wedge
software (or any other software) will always override any parameters set in the
Device Manager.

9. Step 7: Testing the Connection to the Scale
If you have the correct communications parameters set in the BC-Wedge
software, you should be able to see a weight reading in the text box labeled
"Input Data From Scanner" when you press the Print button on your scale. The
image above shows typical data from a scale. If no data appears after you press
the print button then you may have the wrong COM port selected. If data appears
but is garbled or completely unreadable then you have the right COM port but the
wrong serial communications parameters selected. You may need to experiment
with different settings until you see data that looks correct. Try setting the
Number Of Data Bits to "7", and the Parity to "Even" and then try each different
Baud Rate until you see data that contains weight values that match what is on
the scale's display.

10. Step 8: Inputting Weight Values to Cells in Excel
Once you are able to see data appear correctly in BC-
Wedge, leave it running in the background and launch
Microsoft Excel and put the cursor in a cell where you
want your weight values to go and press the Print button
on the scale. If everything is working correctly, you

11. should see the weight value appear in Excel. BC-Wedge
works by tricking your PC into behaving as if the data
coming in the COM port is coming in from a keyboard.
Because of this, you should be able to send weight values
directly into any program that you can type data into -
including database programs, shipping software, or just
about any other Windows program.
Note: If you want just the weight values (without leading
spaces or the units) to be stacked in a column in Excel
automatically each time you press the Print button,
check the checkbox labeled "Filter Out Non Numeric
Characters" and select the word "{DOWN}" from the
"Postamble Keystrokes" dropdown list in the BC-Wedge
window. You can learn about other features available in
the BC-Wedge program by selecting Help - Index from
the BC-Wedge main menu.

12. Resources by :
Umatech Scales Tirupur
about.me/umatechscales.tirupur
39,K.P.N Colony,5th Street,
Tirupur - 641 601,Tamil Nadu,India.
Call : +91- 82205 72205, 0421-6052205
Email : info@umatech.in, umatechscales@gmail.com
Web : www.umatech.in
www.industrialweighingmachines-manufacturer.com
Great Job! Finally You Got it !! Great Chance to Contact RIGHT Weighing
Company...
As we are the Real Fabricators & Manufacturer of Weighing Scales, we supply
Weighing Scales & Fabrications at Any Size, Any Capacity & Any Design with
International Standard of Quality @ Best Prices in Industry.
http://umatech.in/about.html