Does any one here knows how to setup sena parani sd100 bluetooth serial adapter with Topcon APL1A in lieu of Satel Radios?
"350rocketmike" is probably the authority on such things around here.
I've only used the Parani SD1000 and SD1000U which I believe are a newer version. When I was doing a lot of reading to figure out how to do it, it looked like it was very specific based on which Parani's you were running, what instrument, etc.?ÿ?ÿ
It will probably take a lot of research and most of the information you find will be pretty old. Sorry I couldn't be much help.?ÿ
@norman-oklahoma Thanks Norman, for your endorsement of "350rocketmike".
@350rocketmike Hi mike for your quick reply. I know that SD1000/U are newer versions yet there are plenty of available SD100 which are 1/3 of the cost. And so, I am wondering if I can interface it with a much older APL1A TS. I am sure that I will have to study more on this, but your experiences/mis-experiences will surely surely help in any way.
June
Connecting Parani bluetooth adaptor is understood to be connected to the serial port of the data collector. May I ask if the second Parani bluetooth adaptor is connected to the serial signal connector (port 1), so that no Satel Radio is necessary?
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I'd say yes - think of radios as just a cable-less system of transmitting serial signals to-from the DC and instrument. Radios need to be on the same frequency and talk the same data. I'd say Satel Radios are not bluetooth frequency, so they can't talk to a Parani bluetooth.
@richard-imrie Thanks a lot Richard for confirming my guess that the Data Collector will communicate to the TS thru their serial ports by means of Parani bluetooth adapters. Now my problem will be on how to tap the 3 pin female connector serial port of Topcon APL1A where one of the Parani bluetooth will be attached. I hope those who have experienced using their Parani SD1000 can share their diagram on this.
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Jun?ÿ
The 3-pin is discussed here:
Unfortunately, since it's an old post, the images are no longer there.
@richard-imrie Thanks a lot for the link Richard. I have to guess now for a factorial of 3 for the pin combination if I cannot find a diagram of the signal port on a Topcon APL1A
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June
Sounds like that complicates things a bit more. Mine is 5 or 6 pin I believe and I was able to use the same standard cable one of the old school crews uses to connect their surveyor 2 to a Leica TCR805 conventional instrument.?ÿ
At that point you have to make sure the settings in the instrument match the settings you pick for the Parani's (baud rate) and settings in the data collector software.?ÿ
Then you have to pair the Parani's to each other. If all the settings match and the stars align it should work.?ÿ
@350rocketmike Because I can't find a picture of the diagram of the cable they did almost a decade ago (with Scott McLain, Bow Tie Surveyor and djames)?ÿI have to try all combinations together with all setting matching between the instrument and parani.
I will post any significant updates in the near future.
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June ?ÿ
My experience with this is that the instrument must be configured to communicate the data stream through the serial port.?ÿ To set it up initially, the instrument must be on and ready to measure in robotic mode.?ÿ The serial cable must be connected to both the instrument and the SD-1000.?ÿ (you will want to match the baud rate with the dip switch settings on the Parani before attempting to pair.)?ÿ Only when all that is complete can you successfully attempt to bond the Parani with the data collector.?ÿ Once paired, the Parani will not connect to anything else unless it has had a hard reset.?ÿ If you are using a similar Parani device on the DC that adds a wrinkle I have not had to iron out.
@jerrys?ÿ
Go to vendors website and download the Windows setup app and instructions.?ÿ Can make all settings changes with the app and pairing. Easier than dip switches.
The dip switches only have to be done once. My instrument could be set to any baud rate but it was 115200 so I set both the Parani's to that and didn't touch again (except to experiment since the range was less than expected sometimes). My experience was that the baud rate didn't make a difference other than maybe a slight speed difference so I went back to 115200. Probably the highest your instrument supports is a good choice.?ÿ
It sounds like the biggest obstacle to the OP is trying to wire up something by hand because he doesn't have the 3 pin cable? I never had to deal with that since I had a cable that worked fine out of the box and made things relatively easy.?ÿ
Don't quote me on this but I suspect the 3 pin thing makes things easy and I suspect the pins are Tx-out, T-xin and Ground (-ve).
The Ground probably needs to be on a common ground with the Parani so that would be to pin 5 on the RS232.
There usually needs to be a "null modem" in the scheme, which effectively swaps Tx lines, so you could achieve that with trial and error - swap the lines and suddenly you'll get that euphoria of seeing data flow.
Just an update, I discovered that my old Topcon Ranger 200T had a damaged screen, and so I am still waiting for another data collector as well as the parani SD1000, both from eBay.
The SD1000 should be a lot easier to get setup than the sd100.?ÿ
@350rocketmike Thanks for that favorable info.