SerialMagic In The Field: Terminal Lite for equipment setup and monitoring using Windows Mobile

SerialMagic Professional for Windows Mobile Terminal Lite feature provides powerful setup and monitoring tool

More ways to use SerialMagic

This page outlines how SerialMagic is used to setup and monitor Bottom Stationed Ocean Profiler (BSOP) project at the University of South Florida.

From the beginning, communication between the operator and the BSOP unit was restricted to by the use of a stationary personal computer and serial cable connection.

BSOD comm using PC

The Sharp SL-5600 Zaurus PDA improved that restriction by offering a mobile version of the personal computer. This afforded BSOP operators the ability to change parameters and settings while outside of the lab which, was beneficial for offshore missions. The Zaurus still required a connection to the unit via serial cable. The Zaurus used the ZThinCable from Serialio.com. This solution worked well for a number of years, however had limited the range of communication to the max length of the serial cable and had unwanted cable clutter. The Zaurus was discontinued by Sharp, so when the Zaurus units failed a replacement solutions was needed.

BSOD communication with Zaurus using JavaTerm Lite

The HP iPAQ hx2490c running Windows Mobile platform with a BlueSnapXP™ Bluetooth RS-232 dongle was selected as replacement for the Sharp Zaurus. With the Bluetooth wireless connection, the mobility, ease of use, and range of communication was greatly increased.

BSOD using BlueSnapXP

The HP iPAQ hx2490c has a class 2 Bluetooth radio. However due to the powerful class 1 Bluetooth radio in the BlueSnap XP, we ’ve determined that in a nearly obstruction free area, the range we can expect is ~180 ft.

Note: The standard 1/2 inch BlueSnap XP antenna is used with BSOD.
The BlueSnap XP with an alternate antenna can provide much increased range.
Serialio.com has tested 2 BlueSnap XP units connected using the optional 4 inch antenna and have been able to get connections to 500 ft.

long range Bluetooth class 2 BlueSnap XP class 1

The Software

           

Each BSOP unit is equipped with an internal microcontroller which determines the amount and type of data sent through an exterior 4-pin or 5-pin serial port. The HP iPAQ hx2490c which, uses a Windows Mobile platform and runs SerialMagic Professional. Within SerialMagic Pro we use Terminal Lite™ which, was written and configured by Serialio.com. We connect to our BlueSnapXP™ Mobile Bluetooth RS-232 dongle on COM1 using a 19,200 BitRate with an 8 DataBits setting (Fig 1). After adjusting the connection settings on the dongle, we are able to run Terminal Lite and receive information from the BSOP unit (1st row below). We are also able to send commands and change the parameters of the actual unit (2nd row below).

Terminal Lite Terminal Lite command vew Terminal Lite BSOP

Terminal Lite BSOP Terminal Lite BSOP Terminal Lite BSOP

For more information on BSOP please click here.