First setup today everything worked normally, moved the gun (GeoMax Zoom 80) to the next point and couldn't get the DC (Carlson Surveyor+ running SurvCE v5 through a Parani SD1000) to connect.?ÿ This configuration has been rock-solid for 6 years.?ÿ I've been pulling my hair out trying to figure out what's wrong (let alone how it happened).?ÿ I've rebooted everything multiple times, checked COM port settings, and made sure the connection type is set to CABLE on the DC.?ÿ The radio handle on the GeoMax indicates that it has radio connection, and when the DC tries to execute a search the radio handle TX/RX light flashes every second or two indicating data transfer, but the DC just says "Connection Lost" and does nothing.
It's entirely possible that I messed up a setting somewhere.?ÿ I did do something unusual at the first setup by pointing the gun in the general direction of the backsight and setting zero because I knew I'd need a high rod and wanted to be able to turn back in that direction in case the search didn't initially find me at the backsight.?ÿ But other than that it was all SOP.
I haven't yet tried connecting by actual wire to see if that works -- I've never actually done that with this gun, so I'll have to dig out the cable from my Leica TCRA1102plus in order to make that test.
If anyone can think of other things I should check, I'd be grateful.?ÿ I've already lost half a day's field work to this glitch, and it's not looking good for tomorrow.
Thanks!
I'm not sure about the connection settings but we have a spare SD1000 I could ship you if it ends up being the problem.?ÿ
This is terrible news. ?ÿSo frustrating when our tech tools suddenly fail to do what they always have done well for us in the past. ?ÿSorry I have no helpful comments. ?ÿI am sure you have already reached out to your dealer (even though it has been six years)??
edit: ?ÿI see you have rebooted everything multiple times. ?ÿHave you removed the main battery at the gun? ?ÿDisconnected and reconnected all the bluetooth radio connections? ?ÿI wonder if there is some internal battery inside the bluetooth handle that needs repair shop attention???
Some guesses. Delete bluetooth connections then try to reconnect. The data collector may have picked up a different bluetooth connection. Baud rates may have gotten changed. If there is an index ID, perhaps they aren't matching.
You might try unseating the LR BT handle on the instrument and re-attach it.
You might try unseating the LR BT handle on the instrument and re-attach it.
Good idea; unfortunately it didn't help.?ÿ The contacts were all shiny and clean, and the reseat didn't alter the behavior.
I had a dream last night that the GeoCOM license had an expiration date, and that all I had to do was backdate the Zoom 80 to reactivate the license.?ÿ As silly as that sounds, I looked this morning but didn't see a date, only a time, in the Zoom 80.?ÿ And I couldn't even find a way to reset that.
Next steps:?ÿ I'll try unpairing and repairing the BT radios.?ÿ If that doesn't work I'll dig out the hardware cable and see if it's a non-BT comms problem.
Troubleshooting is a lot more fun when it's not in the workload critical path...
My 2016 PC crashed 11.27.2021. ?ÿBought a new one that night at Best Buy. ?ÿAfter two weeks of installing new ??apps? etc, have just finally gotten back up and running. ?ÿThen today, during a routine update restart Windows decided to reinstall clean. ?ÿNext two weeks are fuller now.
Feeling your pain.
I had a dream last night that the GeoCOM license had an expiration date, and that all I had to do was backdate the Zoom 80 to reactivate the license.?ÿ As silly as that sounds, I looked this morning but didn't see a date, only a time, in the Zoom 80.?ÿ And I couldn't even find a way to reset that.
I'd be surprised if that is/was the culprit. However, to set the date/time of the robot, exit from any applications running on the robot. Then, tap Start -- Settings -- Control Panel -- Date/Time. As a Windows Mobile operating system, you should be able to set the Date and/or Time to whatever you want.
I've cleaned the connections on a usb thumb drive a few times to get a connection.?ÿ Not sure what your Parani connections look like. It's a simple quick check though.
I decided to try the wire connection before the BT unpair-repair effort, and the system worked fine over a wired connection.?ÿ Hooking up the wire meant unplugging the Parani, as I used the same COM port on the Surveyor+.
Next I started reconfiguring the Zoom 80 for another stab at a BT connection.?ÿ ?ÿI noticed that the default radio handle was set to ZRT81.?ÿ I wasn't sure which one I had, so I looked it up on the sales receipt:?ÿ mine is a ZRT82.?ÿ (It's probably written on the bottom of the handle, but I neglected to look when I had it off the gun and I had already reinstalled the theft-resistant covers over the release buttons.)?ÿ I don't know if there's any difference between the two models in the comms setup, but I specified ZRT82 just in case.?ÿ
An initial try at connecting failed as before, so next I took the back off my Parani enclosure (not the Parani case itself, but the enclosure I have mounted on the Surveyor+) and saw that the TX/RX lights were flashing as expected.?ÿ I then went into the SurvCE comms setup and changed the baud rate from 19200 to 115200, matching the default Zoom 80 rate.?ÿ I don't recall when SurvCE got set up at 19200, but I've monkeyed around with so many settings in this process that it could have been yesterday or it could have been 6 years ago.?ÿ Too many variables, not enough process documentation!
Suddenly all was working fine again.?ÿ Maybe disconnecting the Parani from the COM port and then reconnecting it dislodged a bad comms state, or maybe the baud rate mismatch was the problem (though I thought that a well-written serial interface will search at lower baud rates if the initial rate fails), or maybe the radio handle model setting got switched somehow, or maybe I was just fated to spend a day and a half trying to fix something that had been working flawlessly for six years.?ÿ I'm just grateful that it's working again!
Thanks for all the input, it was helpful just knowing that other folks were commiserating with me.
I'm just grateful that it's working again!
Hallelujah!
?ÿ
@jim-frame I am glad that you got as many responses as you did, I have posted about my Leica Captivate software on my CS20 crashing on every job now after about two hours when driving my Leica TS16.?ÿ It does not matter what I am doing, I can walk away and come back and it has crashed and is only a paperweight until I set it back up again.
I am using what I think is the latest version of Leica Captivate, 6.50, and that is when I started having trouble, like yours, it has worked flawless for years.?ÿ I am thinking that it maybe the long range bluetooth driver because I have not had any trouble when using the GS18T GPS unit with it.?ÿ It maybe a simple matter of checking a box in the settings.
When I called my dealer, I was told that someone from Leica would be calling me about it, but I have yet to get that call, it is getting very frustrating and time consuming and I am starting to look for another option for running my Leica TS16.
Is anyone having the same kind of trouble??ÿ I know of one other local surveyor that his unit has started crashing when the latest update was installed.
@jim-frame I am glad that you got as many responses as you did, I have posted about my Leica Captivate software on my CS20 crashing on every job now after about two hours when driving my Leica TS16.?ÿ It does not matter what I am doing, I can walk away and come back and it has crashed and is only a paperweight until I set it back up again.
I am using what I think is the latest version of Leica Captivate, 6.50, and that is when I started having trouble, like yours, it has worked flawless for years.?ÿ I am thinking that it maybe the long range bluetooth driver because I have not had any trouble when using the GS18T GPS unit with it.?ÿ It maybe a simple matter of checking a box in the settings.
When I called my dealer, I was told that someone from Leica would be calling me about it, but I have yet to get that call, it is getting very frustrating and time consuming and I am starting to look for another option for running my Leica TS16.
Is anyone having the same kind of trouble??ÿ I know of one other local surveyor that his unit has started crashing when the latest update was installed.
This is a new branch from the original thread, I would suggest you start a new post to get more response.
Having said that, I have not had any issues like you describe with CS20/TS16 since installing the 6.50 version of Captivate a few months ago. Recently I did have one strange thing happen, lost radio connection to TS16 after walking around to the back of a block and could not re-connect. Eventually figured out that the connection type had been set to "Cable" instead of "RH Handle" or whatever it is called. No idea why or how that happened but certainly not done by the user, or at least not intentionally. There was a message about firmware on the screen (which I ignored) when I got to the back of the block and was looking through the small window where I could set a control point. The firmware message was about checking that firmware versions were compatible but I knew for a fact that CS20 and TS16 were the same version 6.50 which is why I ignored it and closed the message box. In hindsight I'm curious about the exact wording of that message but haven't seen it since.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that has silly dreams like that. Lol.
Nothing worse than equipment not working when you need it. Our office has an extra Sokkia iX robot sitting on the shelf if the old Leica drops dead on me, but I really don't want to use it. Nothing is more frustrating than constantly losing lock, or failing to track, when you're swamped with work.?ÿ
@ekillo I have had new versions of firmware do crazy stuff on our Captivate DCs.?ÿ Usually a Leica Rep can walk you through redplving the issues but sometimes a reinstall of the firmware in needed to fix the issues.
