My UNI-T UT61E multimeter has a data out port, which can be used for data logging on a PC. The meter comes with a data cable to connect it to a RS232 port. This has two problems. RS232 ports on computers are quite difficult to come by these days, and even if you have an RS232 port, you have to have a cable connecting the meter to the PC. UNI-T sells a USB cable to get around the first problem, but you still are limited by the cable length.
For my own solution I wanted to go wireless using Bluetooth. I had a spare Bluetooth serial port module laying around, which was suitable for the job. First thing to do was to check how to interface the UT61E. I found the schematic of the RS232 cable at http://blog.avrnoob.com/2014/03/uni-t-ut61e-rs232-serial-interface.html. I've recreated the schematic here. The author of that other blog modified the RS232 cable to interface it with a USB low level serial adapter. I however wanted to use the cable unmodified.
Schematic of the UT61E RS232 adapter. |
The bitrate at which the multimeter operates is rather slow at 19200 bps (actually 19230 bps to be exact). This allows a lower voltage than 12V to be used and still have the RxD swing quickly enough. In fact, connecting the -12V line (RTS) to GND and the +12V line (DTR) to 5V still produces good output.
Even if running at 5V, as described above, the RxD line still can't be directly fed into the Bluetooth module. Firstly, the module uses 3.3V logic and is not 5V tolerant. Secondly, the polarity is inverted to what the module is expecting. However, both of these problems can be solved using a simple level shifting inverter as shown in the schematic below.
Simple adapter to connect the UT61E serial cable to a Bluetooth module. |
I had already made a carrier board for the Bluetooth module I used. These can now be bought online for cheap, and I wouldn't bother to roll my own anymore. I've omitted any details related to that carrier board. The main point is that the Bluetooth module is still removable so that it can be configured using a USB low level serial adapter.
Bluetooth UT61E interface. Top side. |
Bluetooth UT61E interface. Bottom side. |
As a final note, the Bluetooth module I used didn't support the 7-O-1 framing that the UT61E uses. Luckily this frame is compatible with the more conventional 8-N-1 framing with the parity bit getting decoded as the last data bit. This extra bit can then be handled in software. The software I'm using to record data is a modified version of Steffen Vogel's dmmut61e. You can download my modified version here.