I seem to remember that there were some of the original Rangers that would not connect using the usb. I guess I was lucky with mine being ne of the ones that would.
I use the usb adapter for the Ranger, and usb cable, and exit out of the programs to the home screen that shows the icons for TDS Survey Pro, Carlson SurvCE, and whatever else is on there. You needto make sure that the device has been rebooted to make sure that the com port is not "busy".
You should not have to direct which com port is available on the Ranger. If the baud rate, parity, stop bits, etc., match the desktop/laptop, you should be in business.
If you can post a pic of the adapters, your ranger, etc. that you are using. I had much trouble trying to use a USB to serial adapter from ebay, and once I had the one from Hayes, it worked like a champ. I struggled with that for weeks because I was trying to save a few dollars. It was probably a driver issue, but I could never get the right driver for the adapter.
I really hate you are having trouble. I hate to say this, but take a look at the "other site" in the archives, and do a search for Ranger/Vista and see if you can find the posts that have alot of information regarding connecting these older Rangers to the newer pc's.
I'm on my way out the door, but will be back later this morning.
Jimmy
Yes, it is the At Work Computers version.
It works with the Active Sync on my XP computer. I just drag the files over. I had a key for the transfer program but no computer with a physical spot to plug it in.
That's what I do.
Exit out of TDS Survey Pro to the desktop.
Plug it in, the Ranger pops up asking me if I want to connect, I hit enter, it connects.
It works with my XP computer (Active Sync).
I always hold down the power button long enough for it to reboot after downloading. When it comes back to life I start TDS Survey Pro.
Gigaware fix
I don't know if you have tried this. I had the same problem downloading my TS2 into TBC on my new Win7 computer. I had an adaptor that went from a nine pin com connector to usb and it had worked before but not with all the new stuff. So I went to radio shack and bought a new Gigaware cable that has a nine pin which hooks up to the TS2 on one end and a usb on the opposite end of the cable and it works. Not sure why, but the data collector hooks right up. In TBC I'm using COM7 but no doubt you will have a different com port number. Com7 didn't show up until I plugged in the cable with the DC connected and went to "new device" in TBC.
Gigaware fix
i went to see a pc repair man today who had no clue what to do...he did tell me that he thought one of the problems is trying to take a 32bit dc to a 64 bit pc in windows 7.
He also mentioned that windows xp has home edition and professional addition and mentioned that might be why it connects on the older cpu with survey link.
i buy two new computers to get better production and mobility and now it seems i am going to have to just put my old computer back up from the early 2000s so that i can continue to use my data collector that works just fine.
I don't have survey link and was planning to just use the carlson software to send/recieve files cpu-dc. I will have to find buy surveylink or try to get activsync working and if I hook up my old cpu I will have to run network cable a long way. I was trying to go wireless. 🙁
You have all been a great resource and I appreciate every one of the comments. I will try talking with the guys at hayes about it maybe on monday before I set up the dinosaur.
Gigaware fix
Did you not have luck with Windows Mobile Device Center for Win7? It sounds like you have the same set-up as me:
Win7
64-bit O/S
Ranger 200C
USB to Serial converter ...
And it works fine for me.
Gigaware fix
If you plan to use older equipment for a few more years, you could get the computer folks to install a 9 pin serial port on your computer. That's what I have done with my new desktop with Windows 7 Pro. I still keep laptop with XP until 2014. Nice to have both. Good luck in finding a solution to your problem, it can be frustrating.
Gigaware fix
It seems we have the same setup...I have windows 7 home edition...maybe that's the problem.
I still feel like I just have a setting off that is not allowing the devices to communicate. I am going to try a few more things before I give up
I will try hayes and see if they can walk me through it. If not I might try the banner ad I've seen here for Data Collector doctors or whatever.
Most people that arent surveyors have little to no knowledge of how these things work together.
I wish I could find an old version of Survey Link as well. I'm sure none of you have one laying around you'd part with.