Grow | OHAUS Scale Setup for Windows (USB)

Overview

The Ohaus Ranger series of scales have an adapter port on the bottom for which you can order a USB adapter such as this one, USB Kit R31-RC31-V71.

 

This adapter can be installed into the scale and then with the enclosed USB cable used to communicate with your computer to send data into the fields in BLAZE for quicker harvests and recording of weights.

 

These USB connections allow the scale to transmit the weight information to the computer when the Print or Send button is pressed (depending on the model). 

 

The scale industry does not move very quickly, so this USB interface uses an older technology of communication called “serial” communication. As a result, the installation takes a few more steps than most USB devices and you will also need a piece of additional software called a “Wedge.” 

 

This piece of software will run in the background on your computer and listen for data sent by the scale. When it receives this data it will act like a keyboard and type the data directly into whatever field the cursor is currently in. For example, if you are in the Harvest page of Grow Operations and have the cursor in the weight field, you can hit print on the scale and the field will populate with the weight. 

 

As stated, the setup takes a bit, but once running on your computer there is very little maintenance. 

Table of Contents

Install USB Adapter into the Scale

Install USB Drivers

Install Serial Port Wedge Software

Using the Scale

Install the USB Adapter into the Scale

Once you have your scale and USB adapter, you will need to install the USB adapter into the scale. This should be done with your scale unplugged from power. 

For installation details, see the included instructions with your adapter as this can vary by scale models. Electronic versions are also available on the OHAUS web site.  

Install the USB Drivers

The USB adapter will not be automatically recognized by your computer so you will need to provide “drivers” to help the computer identify the USB connection and use it. 

Below is a link to the USB Drivers for the OHaus Ranger series USB Adapter:

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1yFZDTPpAjTBnsUunlwd3U86Vrjdlp5B5

1. Download the file above and run the file. 
2. When you click to run the file Windows will present you with the contents of this driver package. In your Windows screen you should have a button to “Extract” your files. Click this and choose a location such as your desktop or somewhere you will recall later to extract the files into. This step just prepares the files so we can use them later. 
3. Launch Device Manager - Click the Start Button and type Device Manager. Windows will automatically search and present you with the program Device Manager. Click to Launch it. 
4. Locate the First device to update - In Device Manager you will see a Heading named Other Drivers. Under Other Drivers you should see a device with an exclamation point named "FT230X Basic UART" or something very similar. 
5. Update the Driver
   • • Doubleclick the FT230X device and then click Update Drivers
     • Click "Browse My Computer For Drivers"
     • Browse to the folder of the files you extracted earlier in this process. 
     • Click OK and Next to install the driver.
     • Windows will install the driver for the "USB Serial Converter"
6. After the first driver is installed a new unknown device will be shown named "USB Serial Port." We will repeat similar steps to install those drivers as well.
   • Doubleclick the "USB Serial Port" under unknown devices and then click Update Drivers
   • Click "Browse My Computer For Drivers"
   • The correct folder should already be listed, click  Next to install the driver.
   • Windows will install the driver for the "USB Serial Converter"
7. Now the drivers should be fully installed for the scale. 

Install Serial Port Wedge Software

Since the USB adapter for the OHAUS scales is based on an older Serial technology and not the newer HID technology, it requires a piece of software to translate the serial data and drop it into the form fields on the web or any other program. 

In this guide we will walk through the use of the software called 232key, but you can use most any Serial Wedge software if you choose. 

1. Download 232key here.
2. Run the installer to install it, accepting default options.
3. The program is now installed.

Using the Scale

 Now that everything is installed, we simply need to follow a couple steps to start using the scale and sending weights directly to BLAZE!

1. Ensure your scale is plugged into your computer an powered on. 
2. Launch the 232key application from your start menu.
   • • Hint: You can right click on the icon in your start menu and 'pin' it to the start menu so it is more easily accessible in the future.
3. Click the big START button in the middle of the RS232 application
4. Weigh your plants or products and click the Print button to have the program send data into the fields you choose.