LabVIEW software for EKM-OmniMeter I v.3

General questions and discussions focused around the EKM Metering System. Discuss your meters, installations, and meter communications here.
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alejandroandreatta
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Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:49 pm

LabVIEW software for EKM-OmniMeter I v.3

Post by alejandroandreatta »

Hi All,
I have developed vis to read data directly from the Omnimeter I. Perhaps it also works with other models.
I took on the project because the OmniMeter is part of a system to get electricity from a modified diesel engine that runs on syngas (Hydrogen and Carbon monoxide). The system automation involves collection engine parameters and power output to optimize the amount of syngas going into the engine and add diesel if necessary. It also collects data from several other sensors to automate the entire system from biomass input, gasification control, char output and engine control. It is a complex automation program I did in LabVIEW thus the need to get and process the OmniMeter data in real time.

Here is a screen shot:
EKM powermeter LabVIEW.PNG
EKM powermeter LabVIEW.PNG (59.67 KiB) Viewed 38081 times
The software is located here: http://documents.ekmmetering.com/LabVIE ... eter_I.zip

The vis were created using LabVIEW 2011

Perhaps someone else can find this useful.
Alejandro Andreatta
Jameson
Posts: 860
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:42 pm
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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Re: LabVIEW software for EKM-OmniMeter I v.3

Post by Jameson »

Hello Alejandro,

Thank you very much for sharing this with our customers, I have already let a few customers know about this that had inquired about integrating our meters with LabVIEW.

And thank you too, for sharing what you are using the meter data for, it sounds like a very cool project. Please do keep us posted with your progress.

If anyone uses this, please chime in and let us know how it works for you.

Regards,
Jameson
EKM METERING
http://www.ekmmetering.com
831.425.7371
json2040
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 7:47 pm

Re: LabVIEW software for EKM-OmniMeter I v.3

Post by json2040 »

Jameson,

I really appreciate you remembering and reaching out to me to notify me of this development. I'm surprised you remembered! Thanks!

Alejandro,

thanks a LOT for developing this VI and sharing it with us. I too have an experimental setup that requires simultaneous DAq from several instrument, the OmniMeter being one. I was breaking my head trying to figure out how to read the data via LabVIEW and your VI came to the rescue!

Anyways, I tried running the VI, albeit I had to save it to a previous version (2009) as that's what we have in the lab. The code runs without error but doesn't output any data. It even writes the data files with the headers, but that's that, no actual numbers. Any clue as to what might be going on? Do I have to specify the meter number in LabVIEW for the code to be able to recognize the meter and read data?

Would really, really appreciate any inputs/suggestions you can provide.

Again, thanks a bunch for sharing this!
Jignesh
Daniel_Ch
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Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:02 pm

Re: LabVIEW software for EKM-OmniMeter I v.3

Post by Daniel_Ch »

Hi,

I want to receive data to this labview interface , but I'm not sure how to get it, in the interface, the meter communicates with rs485 protocol, do I need any converter to a rs232 or usb ?
Jameson
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:42 pm
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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Re: LabVIEW software for EKM-OmniMeter I v.3

Post by Jameson »

Hello Daniel,

Welcome to the forum.

I have never used this software, but yes I imagine that you will need either a USB to RS485 converter, or an RS232 to RS485 converter if you have an older computer with a DB9 port (we have these converters for sale on our website). They create a COM Port on your computer, so that your computer is able to interface with the meters over RS485.

Thanks,
Jameson
EKM METERING
http://www.ekmmetering.com
831.425.7371
paulms
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2021 7:31 am

Re: LabVIEW software for EKM-OmniMeter I v.3

Post by paulms »

Hello,

Has anyone used this LabVIEW driver on a v.4?



Regards,

Paul
Jameson
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Re: LabVIEW software for EKM-OmniMeter I v.3

Post by Jameson »

Hi, I just realized that the link that Alejandro posted a while back to the v3 version of LabVIEW was not working properly, so here it is in a couple formats:

documents.ekmmetering.com/LabVIEW_EKM_OmniMeter_I.zip

http://documents.ekmmetering.com/LabVIE ... eter_I.zip

Sorry, I am still not familiar with LabVIEW, but the protocol for the v3 is very similar to the v4, so I see no reason why a v4 would not work (if you coded it to work on the v4 protocol instead)

Here is a link to the v4 protocol if you are keen to give it a go: https://documents.ekmmetering.com/api-d ... y-requests

I hope this helps.
Jameson
EKM METERING
http://www.ekmmetering.com
831.425.7371
paulms
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2021 7:31 am

Re: LabVIEW software for EKM-OmniMeter I v.3

Post by paulms »

Thanks for the quick response. I am looking to purchase a kWh meter that I can easily integrate into an existing data acquisition system written in LabVIEW. The OmniMeter along with this driver fits my needs. The resettable kWh feature of the v.4 is the ideal choice. My availability for this enhancement is low so I am looking for a solution requiring a small learning curve. I'll take a look at the driver and protocol differences that you've provided. Thanks for the help and correcting the link.


Regards,

Paul
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