Looking for some help please 😉
Recently sold some equipment and picked up a Trimble 5603 and Nomad 800 (I think) data collector. I got them physically connected by use of Hirose 4 pin connectors (via tee) to 12 volt battery for power and Hirose/Serial to Serial/USB dongle. The data collector is requesting a driver which I have failed to find. However, it may also be the physical connection (not sure if Hirose/Serial to Serial/USB dongle) is even capable of passing the data between the 5603 and DC.
See setup below:
Any help greatly appreciated!
I have exactly the same setup, except the connection to the Nomad is RS232 serial 9 pin, not USB. Assuming your USB is a com port then you probably do need a driver for the RS232 serial 9 pin - USB cable that you are using. I have obtained and loaded such drivers onto my Nomad and other data collectors for other applications - just can't remember offhand the exact procedure, but I think the start point is that you need to find out what driver is needed for your RS232 serial 9 pin - USB cable and connect the Nomad to a PC and load the driver to the Nomad.
From memory, most drivers are FTDI:
http://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm
And the operating system is probably WinCE or Win Mobile 5 or 6 so you can pick the driver for the appropriate processor on the Nomad.
I'm guessing I'm going to have to copy the appropriate files onto the Nomad, put in the correct directory structure (likely under Windows), possibly edit the registry. If this is the general procedure, it's really over my head... lol. I wish there was a cab file I could just copy and run.
No, from memory it is all pretty much automatic, something like a windows installer on the PC that automatically does the installation on the Nomad.
I'll do some more research, but my easier option may be to purchase a Serial boot:
https://store.trimble.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=265118§ion=49662&partNumber=ACCAA-151&minisite=11002
I tried removing the Geodimeter CU controller and booting up the gun with power being supplied via tee connector, but still no communication via the Nomad connected through same tee connection to the gun. The gun does boot up and goes through a boot sequence.
Did I mention I can get the instrument to work via the Geodimiter CU? I see other robotic setups with a blank yellow plate in place of the controller. Maybe that's my problem?
Mark, from my experience the blank faceplate (I have two - yellow and black) is not necessary for running the instrument. I presume they are there to put on to cover/protect the bare terminals of the instrument, but they do also have a button for turning the instrument on, like the black button on the other side. In some circumstances (often not repeatable) I can turn the 5600 on with the front faceplate button, and turn it off with back button. My advice is to keep trying and checking the comm setups in the software, it took me a lot of trials with SurvCE to get it running. One good thing about the Geodimeter is that when SurvCE does connect, the instrument makes an audible double-click, I haven't heard that on the 5600 (maybe one of the settings). With the keyboard on, you might want to check F79 and set it to 4 - I have seen some SurvCE guides that say to do this, but I don't know what it does.
Thanks Rich. I believe it's likely either a driver issue or maybe a bad cable. I'm going to try to fabricate my own cable if I can figure out the pinout on the serial cable end used for communication.
The (new) cable I purchased on ebay was defective. Local Trimble repair tech solved my issue. Cheap cable cost me in the end.
