WLS Series

The WLS Series includes the following hardware:

WLS-IFC
WLS-TEMP
WLS-TC

These devices support the following UL and UL for .NET features.

Refer to the Notes on Python Support for information about using these boards with the UL Python API for Windows.

Temperature input (WLS-TEMP and WLS-TC)

Functions

UL: cbTIn(), cbTInScan()

UL for .NET: TIn(), TInScan()

Scale

CELSIUS, FAHRENHEIT, KELVIN, NOSCALE*

*Refer to NOSCALE in the Hardware considerations section below for more information on this option.

HighChan

0 to 7

Digital I/O (WLS-TEMP and WLS-TC)

Configuration

UL: cbDConfigBit(), cbDConfigPort()

UL for .NET: DConfigBit(), DConfigPort()

PortNum

AUXPORT

PortType

AUXPORT

Port I/O Functions

UL: cbDIn(), cbDOut()

UL for .NET: DIn(), DOut()

PortNum

AUXPORT

DataValue

0 to 255 on AUXPORT

Bit I/O

UL: cbDBitIn(), cbDBitOut()

UL for .NET: DBitIn(), DBitOut()

PortType

AUXPORT

BitNum

0 to 7 on AUXPORT

Configuration

Functions

UL: cbGetConfig(), cbSetConfig(), cbGetConfigString(), cbSetConfigString()

UL for .NET: GetDeviceNotes(), SetDeviceNotes(), GetDeviceId(), SetDeviceId(), GetPANID(), SetPANID(), GetRFChannel(), SetRFChannel(), GetRSS()

ConfigItem

BIRFCHANNEL, BIPANID, BINODEID, BIDEVNOTES

BIRSS is also valid for the WLS-TEMP and WLS-TC when they are operating as remote devices

Miscellaneous

Functions

UL: cbFlashLED()

UL for .NET: FlashLED()

Causes the LED on a USB device to blink.

When you have several devices connected to the computer, use this function/method to identify a particular device by making its LED blink.

Hardware considerations

You can operate the WLS-TEMP and WLS-TC as remote devices that communicate with the computer through a USB-to-wireless interface device, such as the WLS-IFC. The interface device can communicate with multiple remote WLS Series devices over a wireless link.

Network parameters (wireless operation)

Use InstaCal to configure the network parameters required for wireless communication. Configuration options are stored in non-volatile memory in EEPROM, and are loaded on power up.

Network parameters can only be modified when the device is connected locally to the computer through the USB port. After configuring the network settings for a remote device, unplug from the computer and move the device to its remote location.

The following network parameters are programmable with InstaCal:

Identifier: Text that identifies the WLS Series device. This value is optional, and is not set by default. You can enter up to 20 alpha-numeric characters to identify the device.

You can set the text identifier value using the ConfigItem option BINODEID with cbSetConfigString() or SetDeviceId() while the device is connected locally to the computer through the USB port, or when the device is operating remotely. BINODEID reads up to maxConfigLen character/bytes from the device.
PAN: The personal area network ID assigned to the device. This value is set to 1000 hex by default (4096 decimal). Most users do not need to change this value. However, you may want to change the PAN value in the following situations:

You have multiple WLS Series devices and do not want to allow communication between all of them. Set the PAN ID to the same value on each device that you want to communicate.
If other WLS Series devices are operating in the vicinity, you can avoid accidental changes to your device settings by changing the default PAN value.
To change the PAN ID, enter a 16-bit hexadecimal value between 0 and FFFE. (Hexadecimal values consist of numbers between 0 and 9 and letters between A and F. In this case, up to four characters could be entered.)
You can set the PAN value using the ConfigItem option BIPANID with cbSetConfig() when the device is connected locally to the computer through the USB port.

RF channel: The IEEE 802.15.4 RF (radio frequency) channel number used to transmit/receive data over the wireless link. Select a channel number between 12 and 23.
The table below lists each channel available along with its corresponding transmission frequency.

RF Channel	Transmission Frequency (GHz)	RF Channel	Transmission Frequency (GHz)
12	2.410	18	2.440
13	2.415	19	2.445
14	2.420	20	2.450
15	2.425	21	2.455
16	2.430	22	2.460
17	2.435	23	2.465

You can set the RF channel using the ConfigItem option BIRFCHANNEL with cbSetConfig() while the device is connected locally to the computer through the USB port.
AES Key: The value used to encrypt a message (optional). Click the AES Key button and enter up to 16 alpha-numeric characters to enable encryption. This value is write-only; it cannot be read back.
Only devices with matching parameter settings for PAN ID, RF channel, and AES encryption (if set) can communicate with each other.

Device Notes: Use the Device Notes tab to enter up to 239 ASCII characters of additional text – for example, what the device is measuring, and which device it is communicating with. You should also enter the AES key on this tab, since that value cannot be read back by the device.
Use the ConfigItem option BIDEVNOTES with cbSetConfigString() to set the text to store in the device memory. BIDEVNOTES reads up to maxConfigLen characters/bytes from the device notes memory, starting at the location defined by DevNum.

The InstaCal configuration page also lists the unique 64-bit address assigned to the device. You cannot change this address.

Received Signal Strength (wireless operations)

When a WLS Series device is operating remotely, the InstaCal configuration page includes a bar graph. The bar graph indicates the strength of the signal received by the remote device from the wireless interface module, and the fade margin of signals received by a device (refer to the following table.)

Active bars	Fade margin	RSS (dBm)
0 - Weak signal	< 10 dBm	–82 dBm > rss
1 - Moderate signal	≥ 10 dBm	–72 dBm > rss ≥ –82 dBm
2 - Strong signal	≥ 20 dBm	–62 dBm > rss ≥ –72 dBm
3 - Very strong signal	≥ 30 dBm	rss > –62 dBm

The number of bars corresponds to the number of LEDs that are lit on the remote device. The bar graph display updates every two seconds on the InstaCal form.

If the signal is not strong enough for communication between the interface device and the remote device, no bars or LEDs show, and a NOREMOTEACK error is returned. If this occurs, try moving or re-orienting the device to increase the strength of the signal.

You can retrieve the value in dBm of the signal strength received by a remote device using the ConfigItem option BIRSS with cbGetConfig().

External power required for wireless operations

An external power supply is required to power remote devices. For wireless operations, connect the device USB cable to the AC-to-USB power adapter that shipped with the device.

Always connect an external hub to its power supply

If you are using a hybrid hub – one that can operate in either self-powered or bus-powered mode – always connect it to its external power supply.

If you use a hub of this type without connecting to external power, communication errors may occur that could result in corrupt configuration information on the wireless device. You can restore the factory default configuration settings with InstaCal.

Factory default reset

To restore factory default configuration settings, click on the Reset Defaults button on the InstaCal configuration page. The device must be locally connected to the computer USB port to restore default settings.

Configuring the DIO channels to generate alarms (WLS-TEMP and WLS-TC)

The WLS-TEMP and WLS-TC both provide eight independent temperature alarms. Each alarm controls an associated digital I/O channel as an alarm output. The input to each alarm is one of the temperature input channels. Use InstaCal to set up the temperature conditions to activate an alarm, and the output state of the channel (active high or low) when activated.

Digital channels that are configured as alarms will power up in an output state. When an alarm is activated, the associated DIO channel is driven to the output state defined by the alarm configuration. The alarms function both in wireless mode and while attached to the USB port on a computer. The alarm configurations are stored in non-volatile memory on the device and are loaded on power up.

Alarm settings can be configured when the device is connected locally to the computer through the USB port, or when the device is operated remotely through a wireless interface.

Pacing temperature readings

The internal update rate for temperature measurement is a fixed-value for these devices. If the UL reads the device faster than the internal update rate, temperature readings "repeat." For example, if using cbTIn()/TIn() in a loop to measure a rapidly changing temperature, readings do not change for several iterations of the loop, then "jump" when the update occurs internally.

Using single sensors with cbTInScan()

When using single sensors for RTD or thermistor sensors, you should ignore the data for channels that do not have sensors attached. It is best to use cbTIn()/TIn() for these configurations, since you can select which channels to read. If you use cbTInScan()/TInScan(), however, data for all channels over the entire range of channels are returned. Since some channels are not populated in this configuration, you should filter out the data for channels without sensors.

NOSCALE

Specify the NOSCALE option to retrieve raw data in volts or resistance from the device. When NOSCALE is specified, calibrated data is returned, although a cold junction compensation (CJC) correction factor is not applied to the returned values.

Saving configuration settings (WLS-TEMP and WLS-TC)

InstaCal allows you to save WLS-TEMP and WLS-TC configuration settings to a file or load a configuration from a previously saved file.

Each WLS-TEMP channel can be configured to measure temperature data collected by one of five categories of temperature sensors: thermistors, thermocouples, RTDs, semiconductors, and Disabled.

Each WLS-TC channel can be configured to measure temperature data collected by one of eight types of thermocouples.

Recommended warm-up time

Allow the WLS-TEMP and WLS-TC to warm-up for 30 minutes before taking measurements. This warm-up time minimizes thermal drift and achieves the specified rated accuracy of measurements.

For RTD or thermistor measurements, this warm-up time is also required to stabilize the internal current reference.

Calibration

Any time the sensor category is changed in the configuration for the WLS-TEMP, a calibration is automatically performed by InstaCal. If the device has not been warmed up when this occurs, you should re-calibrate after the specified warm-up time.

Error codes

The UL returns -9999 when a value is out of range or an open connection is detected.

The UL returns -9000 when the device is not ready. This usually occurs right after the device is powered up and calibration factors are being loaded.

With wireless operations, the UL returns NOREMOTEACK when the signal is not strong enough for communication between the interface device and the remote device.