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Parani, yet another thread
Posted by norm-larson on May 10, 2015 at 9:53 pmI am trying to convert my old data collection to Parani before they are semi mothballed. That way they are more usable in a pinch. The wiring I found is as follows:
I 3D printed a small box to slide onto a battery or the slot on a pair of legs. With the O ring in place at the base of the antenna and the gland in place, I held it in a stream of water from several angles and no leaks. The printed plastic has been soaked in acrylic sealer. The box can be had at Shapeways http://shpws.me/HmFb and is thick and tough, I learned from my battery cases what is needed:
I have also been told “Survey Controller” does not work if the connection is broken between the Parani and the instrument, so, I ended up wiring the box with two connections. Both connections are separate from the other. When I use these with other data collection, I will use a different wire gland that isn’t hogged out for two wires and get rid of that serial connector.
The TSC2 gets a wiring loom so that the wires can go from both ends of the device underneath where you touch. It fits perfect, but, I have thickened the print for more rigidity. The stock rod holder still works with this loom:
The TSC2 hat fits great and uses the stock screw and needs two O-rings for sealing. I erred on how the cap slides on forcing a complete reprint. Yes, I know that the null modem does not belong here
Mainly, I wanted to get the wiring diagram posted for anyone else going through this.
Since the Parani’s are paired with each other, my idea is that I will print each set a different color. I will post the some other collectors as I do what else we need.
MrBeliew replied 1 year, 6 months ago 16 Members · 45 Replies- 45 Replies
Since the Parani needs a power source, why not print in battery holders?
Paul in PA
Every instrument that I have dealt with is 12 volts and the Parani will work off of 12 volts. The Parani has a step down regulator built in. I place this on top of my battery and run communication and current through the battery. I guess what I am saying is why have another battery? The Parani uses so little juice. I do have one of the screw on Parani batteries as a test, are you looking for a case enlarged to hold it as well, if so that is a fairly easy modification I can do.
This is the step down regulator that I had wired in prior to the realization that the Parani had a built in one
I was thinking that not in every case would you have access to power. Mine have battery packs and when I hook them to my computer I use a USB connection for power.
I should add my data collector is an HP 48, essentially no power to share.
Paul in PA
OK, that’s actually very cool that we can in this day and age add Bluetooth to a 48.
So I did a quick second design. A little more complicated than I originally thought. I made a second port in case a charging port was desired, as I would not want to unscrew this every couple of days. I also have included a plug so that one of them can be blocked. I made the mount so that it will fit with or without the battery. http://shpws.me/HIOL
I received the other prints today. I don’t have time for a full session of play, but, I did screw the new hat and its cap on. These fit very well. Using the stock center Trimble screw is difficult because of the o-ring that comes with it, since it is no longer an outer seal I removed and it screwed down fine. The very thick 3.5mm large O-ring forced that issue, but, I want a seal. I printed the wiring loom with the pegs not turned on, but, other than that it is perfect now. I have fixed the model (those of you that ordered the loom, may want to cancel and re-order, sorry, I didn’t realize it was for sale).
I will wire it up this weekend or sooner
Power can come into the Parani via the com connector or through the teeny power port hole.
Easiest battery cover would be a slide in, no screws.
The Parani does not necessarily have to be encased.
Paul in PA
Yes, I have powered it both ways and both go through an internal regulator. I live where it rains and is kind of known for it and a slide would be to problematic, screws are better. Just use a the Parani USB to their tiny tiny plug and a SR-F41 strain relief with a light coat of silicone and it is sealed and you have a USB cable hanging out to charge with.
Finally got around to wiring this stuff up. Been very busy lately! I feel good about mothballing these TSC2’s now and that they will operate our instruments if we need them too. We have full functionality including search which, I read we would not have with Survey Controller to a Geod 600. I was very confident it would work, so, I have already purchased a Mini 2 as the topo controller and like it so much it may just be our only style.
I do need to correct a statement I made above though, my wiring loom sleeve does not work with the stock SECO part 5200-050. It does fit part number 5200-073 (the Mini 2 bracket). I had also intended to get power from the USB-B port, but, found it to be un-powered on the TSC2, so, I made a quick adjustment to use the USB-A port. I really don’t like the way that all works so I am going to reprint the serial plug to be a pass through with a stub to pick up power from the USB-A port and that way only one wire going up to the hat.
You do not need the positive connection from the instrument assembly to the controller either, kind of think it mucks it up
Aloha, Norm:
You are really good at this! I am truly impressed with your 3D modeling ability. What software you use for modeling?
Very slick looking TSC2 with the attachment. If print them in yellow or black it would as if it was manufactured that way. Nice work!!:beer:Thank you for the kind words. I use Autodesk Inventor Professional, which is Autodesk’s competitor to Solidworks. It doesn’t really feel like an Autodesk product so I have always assumed they bought someone out, but, I don’t know if that is true. It is the feel and how it trees and not just that it doesn’t piss me off every two seconds like their other products do.
It is a new world out there as I didn’t model the Hirose or the serial stuff, I just downloaded the models in Solidworks format and converted them.
Does anyone want to try the TSC2 printed parts? All of our TSC2’s are now dead from a spike and will not be used for backup, so, I have my set that I printed staring at me everyday. We use the Parani’s and the Parani boxes, so, I am not including them. If you want to just try them $120 deposit, as I want my stuff back eventually, plus shipping. You don’t like them, return them, then I return your deposit, like them, order your own and if you need a model of the wiring, it will be right in front of you.
Test kit:
TSC2 hat http://shpws.me/JTmK Shapeways $80.51
TSC2 wire loom http://shpws.me/HmHR Shapeways $23.15 (there are two included and neither is the correct part you would order from this link)
TSC2 180å¡ serial http://shpws.me/Hu3t Shapeways $12.84
The large base of the hat O-ring 91mm
The O-ring at the base of the Parani antenna
The cables that I made
Five screws for the top of the hatYou just need to add Parani and a null modem adapter. You will of course need a Bluetooth instrument or a Parani there as well. They are blue and I am including both wire looms as one is the prototype, which I consider to thin and the other is the wire loom as stated above that was printed from the wrong model, now fixed on the site (it is missing the alignment pins, but is thick and solid.)
Wendell, if this is too ad like, please remove
Does anyone want the bluetooth TSC2 printed parts? All of our TSC2’s are now dead from a spike and will not be used for backup, so, I have my set that I printed staring at me everyday. We use the Parani’s and the Parani boxes, so, I am not including them. I am looking for $120, plus shipping. You don’t like them, return them, then I return your money, like them, keep them or order your own and return these.
TSC2 hat http://shpws.me/JTmK Shapeways $80.51
TSC2 wire loom http://shpws.me/HmHR Shapeways $23.15 (there are two included and neither is the correct part you would order from this link)
TSC2 180å¡ serial http://shpws.me/Hu3t Shapeways $12.84
The large base of the hat O-ring 91mm
The O-ring at the base of the Parani antenna
The cables that I made
Five screws for the top of the hatYou just need to add a Parani. You will of course need a Bluetooth instrument or a Parani and a null modem there as well. They are blue and I am including both wire looms as one is the prototype, which I consider to thin and the other is the wire loom as stated above that was printed from the wrong model, now fixed on the site (it is missing the alignment pins, but is thick and solid.)
After switching to the Parani’s we need to terminate the RF on the instruments if we want to keep the stock instrument radios from burning up. From what I can tell the GeoRadio’s are either female BNC (2.4GHz 0.1 watts) or female RP-TNC (UHF 450 – 470 MHz 0.5 watts). Interesting point I read, when Trimble switched to the 2.4GHz they switched to a spread spectrum radio, which, is why I suspect that they could reduce the power so much. The interesting part is Geodimeter 2.4GHz is spread spectrum and so is Bluetooth, as it is also a 2.4GHz spread spectrum. Male BNC terminators are fairly easy to find, but, not so the male RP-TNC terminator. Anyone found a good source for the RP-TNC terminators?
Hi, this is very impressive ! just print what you want and that is it.
My prints were very expensive back than I paid 800$ for all parts to get printed, so after I received my part I finished them and made a mold for each part and than I casted many copies- it was like 12$ for a set of parts.
Do you own the printer or you order somewhere else ? I printed my parts at http://www.agile-manufacturing.com they always bid http://www.finelineprototyping.com
I modeled everything in AutoCAD in 3d solids and than exported stl files and sent the files to 3d printing company
Are your parts printed in ABS plastic ?Best regards,
YuriyThanks for your kind words. Printing has certainly changed. I have cast a couple of printed items, but, I have never been that successful with it and printing is kind of cheap these days. I do need to go back and learn to be good with casting though. For the most part, I tend to design without regard for casting as that adds so much unnecessary complexity unless needed. I use a CNC for larger projects as the printing costs tend to rise astronomically.
As far as printing services, I find their prices are worse than asking three surveyors, they are all over the board with no consistency. Shapeways or Sculpteo are always the cheapest and each has their issues, although they both share the same most irritating issue, when they screw up it is hard to get them to own up and re-print. I just had one with Sculpteo where they obviously screwed up and their response was to just stop communicating. Because of that I don’t use them any longer. Shapeways biggest issue is their growth, they keep getting newbs for model review and they are very inconsistent. I do tend to use Shapeways the most though, but, you wait. I am on the clock for this piece right now https://surveyorconnect.com/threads/mobile-hotspot-antennas.323379/
I have always found ACad not to be the best solution for any problem, so, I tend to use my copies just for conversion. Yeah, I am an anti AutoCad curmudgeon. I do model in a ACad product though, Inventor Professional. The file format hasn’t changed though, printing companies all want stl watertight meshes.
The plastic is rarely ABS as I have found it to be a little on the expensive side, although on the homeowner side they are cheaper. For most of my stuff is spec’d for laser sintered nylon, cheap, very strong and resilient. Too resilient actually as your can’t color it well
Thank you for your input !
I wish you good luck, I believe customers can be 100% sure in your parts because you are the one who is using what he designs, it almost never happens to be like that. That is why we swear at jurry cans (nozzle leaking gas) when we fill in our chainsaws etc 🙂Nice looking set-up; how’s it holding up in all this rain? LOL
I LOL because the other option is to cry….LOL
WEATHER ITEM OBSERVED TIME RECORD YEAR NORMAL DEPARTURE LAST
YESTERDAY 2.13R 1.61 1971 0.18 1.95 0.36
MONTH TO DATE 5.43 1.53 3.90 0.80
SINCE OCT 1 18.61 11.58 7.03 12.39
SINCE JAN 1 39.05 33.67 5.38 44.51I hope everyone has a great day; I know I will!We had an instrument go down in the rain yesterday, the Parani’s were still working. It is drying now and I will re-seal it at the end of the day. It has been a torrent
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