Determining PPS transmitter serial number

[scubadada]

I had a friend ask me a question today that I couldn't answer. He has an older PPS transmitter from a computer that is long gone. The embedded serial number is illegible due to wear and tear. Is there a way he can figure out the serial number so that he can use the transmitter?

Thanks very much for any information.

 

[ATJ]

I have three Oceanic branded PPS transmitters. They have the serial number twice on the transmitter. There's a white sticker with it printed but it is also etched into the body as well. Even if the sticker is gone the etching should still be visible.

If the etching can't be read, I think you have little chance of working it out short of going through every combination.

 

[Belzelbub]

If you can't read it, there is probably not a whole lot most people can do.

In theory, it should be possible to find the serial number. My understanding in how the pairing is done is that it's simply telling the computer to look for the serial number string, and listen for the information that follows. Other PPS transmitters in the area will be broadcasting as well, and if in range could be picked up by the computer. So, if you have a means to receive the transmission, it might be possible to pick out what the ID is in that string of information.

For most of us, though, we probably don't have equipment to do that lying around that can pick up 38kHz and display the info.

This thread did prompt me to go into my notepad where I track some of my dive stuff to make sure I had this written down.