I’ve been scanning around here and there trying to find some information on this but it might be just as easy to ask the experts on this forum.
It’s looking like we might need to get a data cable to connect to some external sensors through the RS232 DB9 connector. Is the cable that’s on the store 1) proprietary to Emlid and there aren’t any other options and/or 2) available at a US-based retailer? It may well be that the Emlid Store and shipping from Asia are my only options. Just trying to make sure.
Nothing against the Emlid store. I’m trying to make sure that such a cable is in my hands as quickly as possible so purchasing stateside would be preferred.
I did see the bare-wire connector version on Minn Tech Prods, but I don’t think that’ll work for us.
Personally instead of getting bare wire, might as well get one with the connector, as if need be you can cut that off (leave extra as in case u need to rewire back).
I paid the extra for expedited shipping and got like a couple of days from china… yeah. Huge waste of shipping money, but if u need it, u need it!
Just make sure get the correct male or female…look at your end you have now so you dont mix them up.
You may find these cables somehow elsewhere with correct wiring pinouts that match. But doesnt sound like u have the time? Then say it was incorrect, you wasted even more time and the possibility of burning your Emlid product up?
Prob best to order as much as u need at once since the shipping cost well exceeds the product cost.
Out of curiosity, you don’t like the bare wire version? It seems that lets you wire up your connector exactly the way you need it. The DB9 male or female connectors are pretty readily available, on Ebay or Amazon for a couple bucks.
In my experience, standard RS232 connectors were never right, have always had to wire my own, or play around with gender changers, and null modems.
Is it that you don’t want to do the soldering? And did you need the male or female DB9? What are you connecting to?
Even easier than ordering the connector, there has got to be hundreds laying around in computer repair shops or on old computer equipment at the thrift or surplus store. Or your local electronic component store (if there is one near you) will certainly have them in stock.
Once pro of getting the cable with connector installed it that it would be more weather-resistant because the shell is molded plastic. One con of getting that same cable it that it only allows for the RS232/serial communication and no other function (charging, event, PPS), whereas the bare wire cable has all those options (just adding to @tejones777’s comment)
Thank you for the suggestions… I’m thinking my schedule may bear standard shipping. I was more concerned that I may be overlooking a stateside option to purchase this particular part. And for that matter is the cable connection to the Reach unit proprietary or is it some standard configuration that I could find elsewhere.
It isn’t necessarily that I don’t like the bare wire version. It’s just that this is all venturing into new territory (data stream connections to external devices) and the least number of variables I can throw at the setup, the better.
I’m an archeologist and not an electrical engineer (or even a hobbyist for that matter) so if it isn’t working, I wouldn’t be able to identify if it’s a setting that’s off or if it’s bad soldering or both.
I hope that makes sense. Maybe as I get a little more adept at using the system, that’s a way to make it work.
Yeah. As I mentioned in another reply above, going with a fully-assembled unit removes an unknown from the mix, which would help me out as I figure things out.
The connector is quasi-standard in that it is similar to Lemo brand, but not all are made equal. See this recent thread by @tejones777, especially this post:
just buy the official one from Emlid so you’re safe since you don’t want to trouble with it if the wiring pinouts are not the same etc etc…and pose the risk of frying your RS? take bide’s advice about the cut-off version if you need power to it etc.
I did just get the official one. It works fine, though in retrospect, I should’ve gotten the female version as I now have to get a gender converter to make it plug into stuff. Lesson learned.
