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I was interested in a download cable for my Atmos 2, and after looking around I was just curious if the cable is just a USB cable. $50-100 USD is INSANE for a simple USB cable in comparison to the replacement cost of the one for my camera or mp3 player...
If it's a special type of cable that's fine, but I was just curious.
It is a USB to Serial converter with a standard USB connector
that plugs into your hub or PC on one end and a very special connector
that plugs into the Dive computer on the other end.
Making the cable will be the easy part. As Bill mentioned, it's just a USB to RS232 Serial cable with a custom connector for the dive computer (the RS232 serial side of the link). I have a Genesis ReAct Pro and it has three contacts that mate to the RS232 side - Tx, Rx and ground - odds are you have the same setup. Grab a break-out box and you can map the pinout of these connectors.
But then what do you DO with the cable? If you don't buy the "kit" you don't have the software from the vendor to download the data to your PC. Are you going to use a 3'rd party product? Are you going to develop your own? If the latter, you're going to need something like this www.aggsoft.com/serial-port-monitor to reverse engineer the API - not a trivial task.
Making the cable will be the easy part. As Bill mentioned, it's just a USB to RS232 Serial cable with a custom connector for the dive computer (the RS232 serial side of the link). I have a Genesis ReAct Pro and it has three contacts that mate to the RS232 side - Tx, Rx and ground - odds are you have the same setup. Grab a break-out box and you can map the pinout of these connectors.
But then what do you DO with the cable? If you don't buy the "kit" you don't have the software from the vendor to download the data to your PC. Are you going to use a 3'rd party product? Are you going to develop your own? If the latter, you're going to need something like this www.aggsoft.com/serial-port-monitor to reverse engineer the API - not a trivial task.
Actually, you wouldn't need to reverse engineer the serial
serial data message interface or write your own s/w.
Aeris/Oceanic give away their s/w for free. A version
comes with your dive computer on CD and you
can download the latest versions from their websites.
One challenge would be to figure out what their s/w looks
for to find the COM interface. Assuming, you could figure that
one out, then you could make your own cable and "trick" the
s/w into using it.
Another challenge would be to figure out the voltage levels
used by the dive computer on its serial port pins. I haven't
measured it but I'd bet its not your typical +12/-12v "standard"
electrical level serial interface.
The third and perhaps one of the most difficult challenges would
be to figure out how to make a connector that would mechanically
attach to the dive computer. The Aeris/Oceanic connector
is pretty complex. It loosely snaps into the dive computer
and three spring loaded prongs push against 3 small rods
that are perpendicular to the spring loaded prongs.
While not impossible, this seems very difficult to come up with
something that would work.
So given enough time and access to a factory Aeris/Oceanic
cable you could probabaly do it.
But for $49, I sure wouldn't mess with trying to figure all
this out and make one.
That's a big plus for these vendors - Genesis doesn't even have updates on their website (PO2 is not downloading from a Nitrox dive for me). Grrrr....
One challenge would be to figure out what their s/w looks for to find the COM interface
Plug in the cable and look at your "Devices" (Control Panel|System) - it'll show up as a COM port. If you use the same USB port each time, the COM port number won't change.
I haven't measured it but I'd bet its not your typical +12/-12v "standard" electrical level serial interface.
The cable is a USB to RS232 cable - by definition the RS232 side will conform to current standards.
The Aeris/Oceanic connector is pretty complex. It loosely snaps into the dive computer and three spring loaded prongs push against 3 small rods that are perpendicular to the spring loaded prongs.
Yea - mine is exactly the same. Different vendor, same plug. Which is why I think the part can be sourced...
Yup. That's why I bought a Uwatec. Software for free (on their website), and since it uses IR to communicate instead of cables, you either need a cheap $20 adapter (most desktop towers) or a laptop or even a Palm/Treo that has one built in. If you think about it, it knocks quite a bit of money off the overall purchase price when comparing Uwatec to those sold by other companies that require properietary cables. Oh, and no cable to lose, either. Or pack. Or forget.
Not a vendor, the manufacturer, both computers and cables...
Originally Posted by AstroDad
Aeris/Oceanic give away their s/w for free.
That's a big plus for these vendors - Genesis doesn't even have updates on their website (PO2 is not downloading from a Nitrox dive for me). Grrrr....
One challenge would be to figure out what their s/w looks for to find the COM interface
Plug in the cable and look at your "Devices" (Control Panel|System) - it'll show up as a COM port. If you use the same USB port each time, the COM port number won't change.
I haven't measured it but I'd bet its not your typical +12/-12v "standard" electrical level serial interface.
The cable is a USB to RS232 cable - by definition the RS232 side will conform to current standards.
The Aeris/Oceanic connector is pretty complex. It loosely snaps into the dive computer and three spring loaded prongs push against 3 small rods that are perpendicular to the spring loaded prongs.
Yea - mine is exactly the same. Different vendor, same plug. Which is why I think the part can be sourced...
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Originally Posted by AstroDad
