Sensus Ultra Arrived!

[dherbman]

BTW all, for the USB to Serial interface convertor, I got one of those working on another serial item this past weekend. Works great. So I'm sure it will work fine with your product. (for those who had concerns about those convertors).

I wouldn't make that bet if I were you. I use an adapter to interface with my Cobra and a plotter. It works fine with both of those devices, but not with the Ultra. I'll likely buy the adapter Reefnet offers to use the cradle with my notebook.

 

[mike_s]

which one do they offer?

the one I used this past weekend was a Belkin model/brand. My only compliant about it was that it didn't come with much documentation or software to control the port settings. (on the Belkin model). you were pretty much stuck with whatever port it used. Comm 4. Fortuenately this worke for us w/o a conflict.

 

[dherbman]

I'm not sure which model they offer, but mine is a Belkin. I hade to play with the timing settings to get it to function with my Cobra, but never had success with the Ultra.

 

[rainman_02]

If possible, I would like to get a copy of that Excel spreadsheet, when you have it completed. I would like to download my Ultra logs to see how it goes. Thanks.

The Excel was just a demonstration of conecpt. But it turns out it's pretty neat to see as static data. I'll tweak it some more, but for now here are some screen caps. Data is from an actual dive I did on 32%.

Here's the dive as recorded by the Ultra [1 sec sampling]:

Here's the tissue model:

This is with the 1960's Workman nine compartment model and M-values.

 

[reefnet]

which one do they offer?

We sell an unbranded/generic adapter based on the Prolific PL-2303 chipset. About 80% of all USB-Serial adapters have the exact same innards. Unfortunately, some manufacturers (repackagers, really) don't include the latest drivers. We get our drivers direct from the chipset supplier (Prolific).

the one I used this past weekend was a Belkin model/brand. My only compliant about it was that it didn't come with much documentation or software to control the port settings. (on the Belkin model). you were pretty much stuck with whatever port it used. Comm 4. Fortuenately this worke for us w/o a conflict.

Belkin is one of the 20% who uses custom electronics. In our experience, their adapters are very hit-or-miss. Certainly worth trying if you already have one, but don't be surprised if it fails. Either their hardware is flaky, or their drivers, or both. But the net result is definitely NOT a standards-compliant serial port, which our device expects.

As for "port settings", the only thing you might ever have to change is the port number, which you can usually set from the Windows Device Manager. All the other settings you might see (baud, flow control, etc.) are overridden by the software you're using.

 

[maractwin]

The problem in using many USB-serial adapters with the Sensus is that the Sensus does communications at 115kbps. Many adapters do not run that fast.

-Mark

 

[reefnet]

The problem in using many USB-serial adapters with the Sensus is that the Sensus does communications at 115kbps. Many adapters do not run that fast.

Yes, that's definitely a factor...thanks for mentioning it.

Kris Wilk
ReefNet Inc.
www.reefnet.ca

 

[rainman_02]

Update: I've got a basic level (haha pun, since I'm writing this in VB.NET) program running.

It connects, gets the handshake data, and the sense routine (voltage, temperature, pressure). It lets you update the four user configurable settings. *Much later* I'll add in the ability to read/write the User Segment. So, pretty much in a day, I've written the routines that cover the "Sensus Ultra Configuration / Diagnostics" screen of the Sensus Manager from ReefNet. Strangely enough...it looks a lot like their layout! I wanted to keep the interface familiar.

I have at my disposal my primary development computer with a ReefNet Serial-USB adapter and an older computer (my webserver) with a real live serial port. So far I've found no differences between the way the program and hardware behave using either method of hookup.

After dinner, I plan to get started on the dive data download portion, which I estimate will take me significantly longer as there are many things to do with the data.


And then I'll add in the deco stuff.

 

[mike_s]

As for "port settings", the only thing you might ever have to change is the port number, which you can usually set from the Windows Device Manager. All the other settings you might see (baud, flow control, etc.) are overridden by the software you're using.

Opps... I was referring to the Belkin USB adapter that didn't seem to give me those choices and would only let me set it to port 4. not the Sensus software or the USB adapter you sell. FYI .

 

[crestgel]

Rainman any news on your software or excel worksheet?