Electromagnetic flowmeter and method of using same

A magnetic flowmeter has a transmitter module that generates a drive signal for driving a magnetic field in a flowing fluid. A flowtube module samples a voltage induced in the fluid by the magnetic field and generates a measurement signal. A single communication path carries the drive signal from the transmitter module to the flowtube module and the measurement signal from the flowtube module to the transmitter module. The flowtube module generates a digital measurement signal. The flowtube module can include a processor for bundling the measurement signal with other information such as calibration data for the flowtube. In addition, the processor can control the timing of flowtube module operations so that the flowtube module samples the induced voltage and transmits the measurement signal to the transmitter module at different times.