Trimble 5603 and Parani SD1000 setup

I use the Parani as a replacement for the cord that goes from DC to Gun. The instrument thinks it is plugged into the DC, not the radios that it came with.
Look at it like this: If you have DC with a cord to the instrument, you can cut the cord in half and put a Parani at each cut and it works. If you look at some of the pics I posted you will see that the Parani at my Gun is hanging on a cut cord. So yes it will work with any combination of DC and Gun if they work plugged into each other. You may have to do some investigating to get the wiring correct.
Hope this helped and not confused more. Email or call me if you need.

What type of range do you get out of it? They say 100 meters, that's not a very far if you're trying to use this as a radio replacement in a robotic setup.

> What type of range do you get out of it? They say 100 meters, that's not a very far if you're trying to use this as a radio replacement in a robotic setup.

I've gotten 1,900 feet with 5-1/2" antennas on both ends. With a directional antenna at the gun I've gone 2,400 feet and still had a good signal. Both figures are with a clear line of sight.

I am using an older SD100 and get 500 to 600 feet. Like Jim said, you need the 5 1/2 antenna. They will get the range they advertise with each antenna configuration listed.
http://www.sena.com/download/datasheet/ds_parani_sd1000.pdf
- Working distance (in open field)
SAT-G01R - SAT-G01R 100 meters
SAT-G01R - DAT-G01R 150 meters
DAT-G01R - DAT-G01R 200 meters
DAT-G01R - DAT5-G01R 300 meters
DAT-G01R - PAT-G01R 500 meters
DAT5-G01R - DAT5-G01R 400 meters
DAT5-G01R - PAT-G01R 600 meters
PAT-G01R - PAT-G01R 1,000 meters
[Antennas]
SAT-G01R: +1dBi Stub Antenna
DAT-G01R: +3dBi Dipole Antenna
DAT5-G01R: +5dBi Dipole Antenna
PAT-G01R: +9dBi Patch Antenna

> > What type of range do you get out of it? They say 100 meters, that's not a very far if you're trying to use this as a radio replacement in a robotic setup.
>
> I've gotten 1,900 feet with 5-1/2" antennas on both ends. With a directional antenna at the gun I've gone 2,400 feet and still had a good signal. Both figures are with a clear line of sight.

So this sort of setup would eliminate the whole issue of the "narrow banding" need for newer radios?? I have an older Geodimeter 650 robot. I assume this would work for it as well..

Aloha, Scott:
Thank you so much for responding! I am not too confused yet...;-)

My 5603 has one data connector that comes with it. I believe it is a 4 pin Hirose. Right now I have the battery connected to this connector. But if what you are saying works then all I need to do is get a "Y" splitter to connect the DC (i.e. SD1000) and the external battery to the gun. Did I get this right?

Do I need to install any software on the DC? I use Survey Pro.

Thank you for your offer to contact you directly via email or phone. That is one thing I noticed about this forum, everyone treating everyone else like a family. I don't recall seeing this in any other forums! It is much appreciated!!

Aloha, Andy:
I use to have Geodimeter 610. I assume Geodimeter 650 is similar unit. My 5603 looks exactly the same and 610 robotic. I posted a reply to Scott's reply. Since we have similar unit...does my reply to Scott make sense to you? How do you see making this setup work for you?
Thanks

Which battery are you using at the gun? The original Geo/Trimble "3-pack" battery was designed so that you could connect the power and DC to the gun at the same time. Of course, most people don't use it this way since it is robotic.

The standard Geodimeter/Trimble Battery (the 3-pack) has 4 ports (two on each side). If you are using this battery, you can plug a DC into the Geodimter/Trimble gun directly by using the the 9-pin to Hirose cable (same cable that connects the DC to the Radio at the prism pole) plugged into a battery port, then the DC signal gets to the gun via the battery to gun cable. Just make sure your DC to battery cable, and the battery to gun cable, are connected on the same side of the battery pack.

Sounds like you could use this Parani set-up but plugging into a battery port, just like it's a DC cable.

I have the same problem with my Geo600 (it's not narrow band compliant) ... so this sounds interesting.

Aloha, The Pseudo Ranger:
I actually use a motorcycle battery. So looks like I have to use a "Y"
It appears like we have a workable solution on the Gun side of the connection.

The next question is on DC side..do I need to install any special software.

Just wanted to make sure it will work before I spent the money and time. Shipping to Hawaii not cheap either even for small items. :-/ Price you pay for living in the paradise.

Thanks!!

Aloha, yswami

If you can run the robot from the DC with it plugged in directly, than No you do not need any software to insert the Parani. There is a little bit of set up to make the two SD1000 talk to each other, but only the first time you use them. After that they find each other automatically. They come with instructions that where easy to follow.

PS. Spent 10 days honeymooning in Hawaii 20 years ago. You do live in paradise.:-D

Aloha, Scott:
Thank you for patiently answering my questions.

I had two surveyors that mentored me in the past few years, they both used robotic instrument (one pretty much retired and another in transition of changing his profession). I never had the need to connect the DC directly to the gun. My amateur brains seems to think from rod to instrument...as I only used instrument in robotic mode. All of my use are within the monastery and doing things that doesn't involved legal stuff. They were licensed surveyor and do most of our legal survey and documentation etc. for us. When they do came to do any job for the monastery they have one enthusiastic helper to tag along to help them.

I think my next step is to buy a "Y" splitter. Then connect the DC to the gun to see if it works. Once that is known to function then I'll move to SD1000. I will post the results as I noticed at least couple others had interest doing similar setup.

20 years are too long to be away from paradise!! You and anyone part of this very helpful and supportive forum have an open invitation to visit our monastery on the island of Kauai if you visit the islands. I will personally give you a tour of the monastery 372 acres land!

You might get a traditional South Indian rice and curry lunch if you are able to locate couple missing property corners for me while you are here !:-D 😀

Yogi

Can you explain how these work with a battery? Do they have their own battery or drain off the data collector? What's battery life like and is it cumbersome?

These sound like a great solution.

> Can you explain how these work with a battery? Do they have their own battery or drain off the data collector? What's battery life like and is it cumbersome?

You can run them with their own attachable battery, or via an external power source. The attachable battery is available in two sizes (as I recall); the smaller one doesn't add much to the physical profile, and the larger one only a little.

I opted to use external power, tapping into the data collector and the gun battery to avoid having yet another thing to charge, so I don't know how long they'll run on a charge.

I'm using the original geodimeter setup with the cradle for the orange CU data collector. Sorry, I have no idea how this bluetooth stuff would actually work.

Maybe someone could post a picture of their bluetooth setup??

Sounds delicious! and of course, if anyone makes it to my little island, I'll be happy to help find a cold drink and some food. 😉

I noticed there is a USB to Parani "power cable" for sale on their website which will draw power from a USB port. With the Ranger 300, which has a USB port, I'd assume you can draw power to the Parani using this cable. Is that what you are doing? Seems like a cleaner setup than using an external battery at the rod.

Aloha, Andy: Once I got mine setup I'll post the pictures.

> I noticed there is a USB to Parani "power cable" for sale on their website which will draw power from a USB port. With the Ranger 300, which has a USB port, I'd assume you can draw power to the Parani using this cable. Is that what you are doing? Seems like a cleaner setup than using an external battery at the rod.

Aloha, this is the setup I'm thinking. My Ranger500 has a USB port, use this port to power the Parani. You are right, it is very clean setup.

I ordered my setup over the weekend:

Item Sku Qty Subtotal
Dipole Antenna - RP-SMA Right-Hand Thread, 3dBi DAT-G01R 2 $12.00
DC Power Cable DPA-G01 1 $2.00
Parani-SD1000 Bluetooth Serial Adapter (No power adapter, No Antenna) SD1000-A1 2 $172.00
USB Power Cable UPA-G01 1 $3.00
Subtotal $189.00
Shipping & Handling $6.95
Grand Total $195.95

I expect to take delivery by the end of the week and will report back.