Sea-Bird Electronics SBE 45 MicroTSG, User Manual

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APPLICATION NOTE NO. 68
Revised
June 2009
Using USB Ports to Communicate with Sea-Bird Instruments
Most Sea-Bird instruments use the RS-232 protocol for transmitting setup commands to the instrument and receiving
data from the instrument. However, most newer PCs and laptop computers have USB port(s) instead of RS-232 serial
port(s).
USB serial adapters are available commercially. These adapters plug into the USB port, and allow one or more serial
devices to be connected through the adapter. Sea-Bird tested USB serial adapters from several manufacturers on
computers at Sea-Bird, and verified compatibility with our instruments. These manufacturers and the tested adapters
are:
•
FTDI (www.ftdichip.com) -
“ChiPi” USB-RS232 Converter (model # FTDI UC232R-10).
Note: This adapter can also be purchased from Sea-Bird, as Sea-Bird part # 20200.
Drivers for this adapter can be found at http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm.
•
IOGEAR (www.iogear.com) –
USB 1.1 to Serial Converter Cable (model # GUC232A).
Note: We have had several reports from customers that they could not communicate with their instrument using a
laptop computer and this adapter
.
•
Keyspan (www.keyspan.com) -
USB 4-Port Serial Adapter (part # USA-49WLC, replacing part # USA-49W)
Note: We have one report from a customer that he could not communicate with his instrument using a notebook
computer and this adapter. He was able to successfully communicate with the instrument using an XH8290 DSE
Serial USB Adapter (www.dse.co.nz).
•
Edgeport (www.ionetworks.com) -
Standard Serial Converter Edgeport/2 (part # 301-1000-02)
Other USB adapters from these manufacturers, and adapters from other manufacturers,
may also be compatible with
Sea-Bird instruments.
We recommend testing any adapters, including those listed above , with the instrument and the computer you will
use it with before deployment, to verify that there is no problem.
See Application Note 56: Interfacing to RS-485 Sensors for information on using a USB port to communicate with a
Sea-Bird instrument that communicates via RS-485 telemetry.
Sea-Bird Electronics, Inc.
13431 NE 20
th
Street
Bellevue, WA 98005
USA
Phone: (425) 643-9866
Fax: (425) 643-9954
E-mail: seabird@seabird.com
Web: www.seabird.com
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