Oceanic Geo 2.0 with Tusa USB Cable?

[zhenshi]

greetings. Does anyone ever used a Tusa Zen IQ-900/950 USB cable with Oceanic Geo 2.0 dive computer (or an Oceanic Geo/Atom cable with the Tusa computers), and does it work properly? The Oceanic & Tusa cables look pretty similar to me, so i'm wondering whether they will work across brands. I'm asking because the Tusa cable can be found for a cheaper price online, but i can't actually try them physically first. So asking to see if anyone had tried this before. I'm using a Geo 2.0.

Thanks.

 

[MrChen]

I recently overpaid for my geo cable. I work in IT (3 years as a tech, 6 as a network admin, and 5 as a software developer) and getting that stupid cable to work with my Geo 2 was frustrating to say the least. The cable itself is detected as hardware (a com port I believe) and then communicates with the computer. So the computer never detects the Geo2 as a device. With that said, there's a good chance they aren't compatible, but then again, why reinvent the wheel if you can license the technology from someone else? Maybe contact oceanic or tusa and see what they say?

 

[zhenshi]

ah.. interesting. if it is a USB to COM bridge inside the cable, that means the 3 pins on the Geo 2.0 are actually Tx, Rx & Gnd? do you happen to be able to find out the model of the Com device from the device/driver info in Windows - does it says FTDI or FT**** anywhere?

Thanks..

 

[Divenomad]

The way the connection is designed, your personal computer will never " see" the Geo 2 as a device. It will never show up as hardware on your computer. The TUSA cable should work, but it will not look like any connection you typically see when you connect via a USB cable. It does not show as a device.

If the drivers are properly installed, they will show as 2002 design... in the Device Manager. The Geo will not be seen as a distinctive device. This might help somewhat..

FAQ - Directions for how to Install USB drivers and OceanLog Software

I can get you through this if you have specific questions.

 

[MrChen]

zhenshi,

We are in luck. I'm remotely logged into my laptop and it looks like the cable isn't plugged in, but I enabled hidden devices and it's in there.

HardwareID: FTDIBUS\COMPORT&VID_0403&PID_F460

As long as there's no custom hardware checking in the module, it could work.

The driver is labled "2002 Design, Inc. Usb Download Interface".

Good luck, hopefully you can save the money I didn't.

 

[zhenshi]

Thanks MrChen & Divenomad. Just took a look at the driver provided by Oceanic, and it matches the D2XX Driver provided by FTDI. So i guess any FTDI USB-UART devices can be used, no need to use the same exact device in the official cable. Just need to change the device descriptor strings in the driver inf files so that OceanLog can find the correct COM port to use.

Off to eBay then to find a cheap USB-UART adapter (and a plastic peg large enough to clip onto the computer, so that i can push some heated pins through to hold the contacts, lol). Update in a few weeks once i received the necessary parts to experiment with...

 

[DiveNav]

..... The Oceanic & Tusa cables look pretty similar to me, .....

They are the same cable

 

[MrChen]

There's the answer!

Where are you finding it cheaper? A quick google search resulted in higher prices than the oceanic.

 

[zhenshi]

They are the same cable

Thanks. That's what I suspected, but will like a second opinion so as not to end up with an expensive lemon. I'd assume the Aeris Manta cable is also the same thing then.

There's the answer!

Where are you finding it cheaper? A quick google search resulted in higher prices than the oceanic.

Scuba.com has it at $66 (TUSA IQ-900/IQ-950 Zen Download Kit IQ900PC.030 with reviews at scuba.com) vs. $90 for the Oceanic cable.

Still very expensive for what is essentially a USB-UART cable with a custom clip connector. I'll hold off the purchase until I've attempted (and fail) to DIY the cable for <$10 first...

 

[Divenomad]

It IS the same cable, as is the Aeris version. Trust me. The only I had was the driver.