ps8182
> I'm not sure the 5600 will do robotic through its serial port. I do know that when using a Trimble 5600/Geodimeter 600 robot with a DC50 data collector, you have to keep the brick radio, but you leave it at the gun and connect it to a BT adapter. Then you put another BT adapter at the data collector. (With the DC50, the BT adapter is built into the DC50 case.) You put the gun into robotic mode via the Trimble/Geodimeter faceplate, then control it remotely via the DC50. It's kind of a kludgy setup at the gun, but at least the brick radio isn't hanging on the prism pole.
>
Aloha, Jim: I tried various things to get mine to work but still with no luck. I want to try what you describe above. But I don't understand how do you get communication signal from trimble brick radio? Could please explain a bit more? Thank you much!
Trimble 5600
Seems the most likely thing would be the baud rate, if you haven't set this up yet. I have my Paranis set to 9600 baud and the "H/W Flow Control" tab set to off (top three switches are set to the right, bottom switch is set to the left). Check what rate your data collector/gun are set up for.
Other than that I'm not sure what it could be. Do the "RS232-Tx/Rx" light flicker on the Paranis once they are connected to the gun or data collector to indicate that data is being sent? Sometimes I will also lose my connection if I try to unplug and switch to the Paranis too quickly while the data collector is in the middle of sending a command to the instrument. You might want to try taking a couple of shots with the data collector hard wired first, and then switching to the Paranis.
Hope this fixes your problem!
Trimble 5600
Aloha, Justin:
Thank you for the reply!
1. I did not setup the baud rate and the flow control. I will try that and taking couple shots first before switching.
2. The Rs232-Tx/Rx light is not flickering.
3. Regarding finding out the the rate the data collector/gun are set...I am not sure how to find it.
SurveyPro have several instrument connection setup i.e for various brand. My DC currently connects with "Trimble Direct Connect" brand connection setup. This option does not give the baud rate, bit, parity etc. It by default choses "5600 Auto Detect" and tries to connect via COM 1 serial port. It doesn't give any option to choose what model gun I am trying to connect with etc. When I connect the DC wire directly to the gun it show "serial cable detected" and connect to the gun. If I connect using the standard Trimble remote Geo Radio it senses that and connects via the radio port.
I will post my result as soon as I do the experiment. Thanks again for your insights!
Trimble 5600
Aloha, Justin:
Tried exactly what you suggested. Still no luck. I even tried with another dc TSCe with Survey Controller. It didn't work. DC works fine directly connected or via Georadio with the gun.
The RS232-Tx/Rx only blinks green on the DC side about every five seconds or so. Nothing happens on the gun side of the Parani.
Thanks
Trimble 5600
I hope you don't mind me jumping in, but I have to ask if "Direct Connect" is the right setting to make this work. "Direct Connect" is looking for the signal through the on board radio, right? What you are really doing here is tricking the robot into thinking that the DC is connected to the gun, when it's really remotely connected vie BT. The Geodimeter equivalent of this would be using "AutoLock" rather than "Robotic". I'm not sure about Trimble.
Trimble 5600 Parani Setup Not working...yet
Aloha, not at all. At this point I am desperate for any help I can get.
I haven't tried the Geodimeter setting yet. I even tried the my TSCe with Survey Controller. Where I can setup the Baud rate and parity. Still no luck. Forum member Sonofa tried to help with the setup too. He has 5603 with TSCe and I followed the exact setup he has. Still not working for me. Not sure what is wrong. Emailed Sena the Parani manufacturer. They asked me to connect to two PCs. I use Mac...I asked them for alternate way to test the two paranis no respond yet.
That said, I will give the Geodimeter Autolock setting a shot...
I am still hopeful, not giving up yet...Hopefully, other on the Forum my have insights.
I may have post this already...I am posting again for continuity.
SurveyPro have several instrument connection setup i.e for various brand. My data collector currently connects with "Trimble Direct Connect" brand connection setup. This option does not give the baud rate, bit, parity etc. It by default choses "5600 Auto Detect" and tries to connect via COM 1 serial port. It doesn't give any option to choose what model gun I am trying to connect with etc. When I connect the DC wire directly to the gun it show "serial cable detected" and connect to the gun. If I connect using the standard Trimble remote Geo Radio it senses that and connects via the radio port.
Other brand options here are Nikon, Topcon, Leica etc. and there are two other options here for 5600 is to use which are Trimble (Legacy Models) and Geodimeter. I tried Trimble Legacy Model, then I do get an option for models to pick from. The options are 5600 Remote, 5600 with Servo, then it goes to 3600 models etc.
I choose 5600 Remote and now I get the following connection parameters:
Serial Port: COM 1
Baud rate:9600
Parity: None
I then tried to connect DC directly via cable to the gun with this setting. It made the connection and I had instrument do a search and it responded. However, when I touch Instrument settings on the screen SurveyPro gave me the following alert "Unsupported firmware detected. Please use the [Trimble Direct Connect] Brand for this total station. I dismissed the alert and was able to get to the settings. This also doesn't support digital level bubble!
Even with this alternate experiment Parani SD is still not making the connection. I am getting the following error when enter the SurveyPro remote control window "attempting to re-establish the radio connection. You may be out of radio range and may need to move closer to the instrument." I am about five feet away.
ps8182
Update: As of this past April, Carlson now offers a long-range BlueTooth handle for the Carlson robotic total station. When paired with the internal Class I Bluetooth radio of the Carlson Surveyor+, Parani radios are not needed in most situations.
For those project environments where the longer antennas of the Parani radios bring additional range (and value), a pair of Parani radios can be utilized or a single Parani radio at the controller can also be paired to the long-range Bluetooth handle.
Bluetooth Trimble 5600
I talked to Jason Ellerbusch in Cincinnati. Trimble 5600s query the radio in the instrument to make sure it is registered with the instrument. If it is not, it will not allow the robot to search. Therefor, you can run everything except "search" through the data port of the robot. This confirmed what John Evers told me a couple of years ago. Sorry John, I just couldn't believe that Trimble could be such jerks!
This can be spoofed by putting the radio on the tripod or close by and hooking a parani SD1000 or similar bluetooth to the radio.
I got frustrated with the expense of the Trimble batteries and bought a GPAC battery case with a 9 amp-hour battery. Two of these run my instrument all day, charge up in a few hours, maintain a charge for several weeks and are cheap to replace the battery. (didn't mean to sound like a sales pitch!)
I needed a replacement for the radio battery to get rid of the Trimble batteries. I found out (the hard way - I damaged the radio's battery contacts) that the radio can be powered through the hirose ports. I connected the GPAC battery to the hirose port, connected the Parani radio to the second hirose port (you can power the Parani through the 9 pin serial connector) and have a "one box" battery, Trimble radio and Parani radio that I hang from the tripod. Connect the GPAC to the instrument, turn on the radios and you are ready to go. When I have to swap batteries in the field, I transfer the radio and Parani to the second GPAC, plug the hirose cable into the GPAC and I'm ready to go.
I have the Parani velcrowed to the side of the radio and connected with a short hirose to DB9 cable. The cable is not hard to make.
The Parani SD1000s with the 7DBa antennas give me a reliable 900 foot range and usually gives me up to 2200 feet line of sight range. Except over soybeans. Don't know why.
Bluetooth Trimble 5600
Casey, you say "a short hirose to DB9 cable is not hard to make." Do you remember offhand which Hirose pin is connected to Tx on the DB9, and which to Rx? I have ordered a cable from Western States Cabling so I will know soon in any case and will post the info. I understand RS232 is supposed to be OK with Tx to Tx connections so you could use trial and error but I wanted to avoid that.
Bluetooth Trimble 5600
The Hirose connector pin 1 is Tx and pin 2 is Rx.
I also tested a Western States Cabling 2005a cable. It has 3 conductors connected as follows:
Hirose pin 1 to [DB-9[ pin 2
Hirose pin 2 to [DB-9] pin 3
Hirose pin 4 to [DB-9] pin 5
And an interesting bit from Wikipedia, what we commonly call a DB-9 connector is properly called a DE-9 connector. There is no such thing as a DB-9. There is a DB-25 connector which was followed by a smaller DE-9 connector. The second letter is the shell size and the number is the pin count.
Cheers. Mike
nothing....
:excruciating: :excruciating: :excruciating: 
I am in the middle of a cover design for the Parani stuff and I am wondering, do I need to touch the Parani once it is set up? Will I ever need access to the dip switches or the on-off button in the field? Do I need to be able to see the tiny little lights? I am assuming that I can just cover them up and if necessary place a push on / push off button in the power line. Does anyone know if the Parani uses all nine pins on the DB9 or can I grab two and run the power down them? I looked for an hour last night for a 180° DB9 connector and gave up and designed one I can print, though I will still have to buy a solder DB9 for the hardware.
> I am in the middle of a cover design for the Parani stuff and I am wondering, do I need to touch the Parani once it is set up?
Nope. You can program the radio to automatically reconnect with a particular radio whenever it powers up and to reconnect whenever a connection is lost.
I've had my robot's radio inside a Leica radio case for over 3 years now. I just connect power and I'm good to go.
I never touch the on/off or dip switches. It is nice to be able to look at the lights when you are pushing the distance limits and want to know if it is still connected.
BE SURE to pair them together before you inclose them.
I don't think it uses any of the 9 pins, it just relays what you have connected. In my case it is only using 3 of them.
Thank you both Jim and Scott
Hoping someone from this thread can help me out.
I recently pieced together a 5603 DR200 with Trimble Nomad. Trying to get the Nomad to communicate with the 5603 is proving impossible even with a wired (serial 9 pin connection).
The TS receives its power from a 12v marine battery via three way Hirose adapter with the second end going to the Nomad and the thrid to the 4 pin Hirose on the instrument (above the tribrach). I'm not using the onboard radio at all, but still not getting any communication with the nomad.
My Serial port has the following settings:
COM=1.8.0.9600
Table no = ENT
REG key? = ENT
I've tried SurvCE and Survey Pro but neither communicate with the TS. I get the code:
"Error communicating with instrument, check connections"
Mark, to confirm that connection is feasible, try starting with the instrument disconnected from power (to ensure that it is fully off) and remove the keyboard. Then connect the hirose onto the instrument and turn the instrument on by pressing the black button on the other side of the instrument. You will hear a beep, some internal noises, then a few seconds later two beeps. Note that as someone mentioned elsewhere, it may be the case that starting the instrument in this manner also starts its internal radio, so there could be a possibility of frying the radio if an antenna is not connected. The instrument is now on and you should be able to turn it using the servo drives. Next connect the Nomad to the T and start SurvCE and under equipment, total station, select Trimble station. Comm port should be cable 1, 9600, etc. Click the green tick then go to survey store points. It will probably default to station setup, but if you follow the set up you should find that SurvCE now has control of the instrument and you can at least take some shots. As I mentioned in your other post, I can't get SurvCE to control a 5600 while the keyboard is on the instrument, but I can with my "identical" Geodimeter 650, i.e. I can leave the keyboard on and running and still use SurvCE, which is great because the keyboard (Geodimeter CU) is needed for things like prism constant changes, and activating reflectorless, etc (SurvCE station mode does not control these) . I thought this was because my 5600 has a Trimble ACU controller - and if I had a Geodimeter CU on it, it would work (I did try the Geodimeter CU on it, but I can't remember the outcome!) - but maybe it is a "feature" of 5600's, i.e. the keyboard has to be removed regardless of what it is, in order for SurvCE to have control. Certainly for full robotic control using SurvCE the instrument does have to be put into robotic mode via the keyboard, suspended, then keyboard removed for both the Geodimeter and the 5600.
I didn't even think of that (removing the keyboard). I will try this out on Monday when I get back in the office. I appreciate the help Rich! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Mark, I see in the photo of your setup you have a Trimble Geodimeter CU, which I would have thought is identical to a Geodimeter CU, and therefore shoul behave the same, i.e. should be able to leave it on and use SurvCE in station mode. With the keyboard on, have you checked that serial data communication is on (menu 4, 1, 2), and when trying to connect to the Nomad also make sure youÛªre at your measure screen on your keyboard. The measure screen is where the HA and VA is displayed.
Mark, I've just been re-looking at your photo on the other post and I think you have the T connected up incorrectly. On my T, power goes in the base of the T (it has "PWR" marked on it). The other two cables go across the T ("COMM" I think, mine is covered with tape at the moment), to the instrument and the Nomad (although both "COMM" also carry power).
