Help with Galileo Sol and Mac infrared interface

[Dadvocate]

I am the proud owner of a new Galileo Sol, a wedding present of a kind. I went to set up the computer and interface it with my Mac only to find that the CD UWATEC provides with the Galileo (the SmartTrak system) does not work with Macs.

After poking around on the Internet last night, I found an alternative shareware product called “Jtrack” which apparently works for Macs. I downloaded this and can access the infrared interface option with little hassle from this software.

The problem is that the connection run through Jtrack is failing when I have my
Galileo Sol turned on. I’m familiar enough with infrared file sharing from my cell phone, but something is not quite right in this case because I don’t have an obvious point on the Mac that should act as a lead to the Galileo. The picture offered in the I have the infrared option turned on, but perhaps My Mac allows for wireless Internet signals to work without a USB connection, but this does not seem to be the case with the Galileo; either the connection from the Mac fails or the Galileo times out and shuts off.

Can anyone out there help me solve this problem? Is this a hardware issue or am I not doing something else that I need to be doing in order to make this marriage of data work?

Cheers for any help ahead of time!

 

[Riger]

Hi there,

I know this is a little after the fact, but here you go anyway.

This was probably the biggest disappointment regarding the Uwatec Galileo Sol. It only uses IRDA to transmit/receive data. The problem is there is no IRDA support in Mac anymore (apparently due to security issues and supposed outdated technology).

The only solution I can found (and I have given up trying to find the best solution), is to install windows on your mac (using either fusion by vmware [my pref], parrallels or bootcamp) and then to use the SmartTrak software extract your data from the dive computer.

Something I have no tried, but it may be possible, it to export the data from the SmartTrak (Windows) and import that data into JTrak (Mac).

Please let me know if this is not clear or if you have any other questions that I may be able to help with.

Best Regards

Richard

 

[Dadvocate]

Thanks, Richard!

I am actually flying into the US tomorrow morning and was going to take this up with Scuba Pro. I'm pretty ticked off about this and hope that they have come up with a solution.

Using an old technology like this and then leaving no way to fix it is terrible. I was told in Australia they were coming up with a hardware solution back in July.

The issue with installing a Windows side is that it takes up space and that is troublesome. I'm hoping they have another option. I'll be sure to let you know if I hear something.

Thanks again for taking the trouble to PM me.

Phil

 

[Riger]

Phil,

I'll be happy to hear of any info you can find out from them.

Safe trip, good luck.

Best Regards

Richard

 

[Matt S.]

I actually love the IR interface... No stupid special cables to buy. Most Windows laptops have IR ports built in, and if they don't, you can get a working IR USB thingy for $5.

But if you are on a Mac... yeah, you are kind of screwed. And once you get the data in, you will be doubly screwed because Jtrack sucks badly compared to Uwatec's Windows software.

I use my Powerbook for most non-game computer stuff, so I just used one of the other computers for the Sol.

Maybe this is a good excuse to buy one of those dinky Costco sub $300 laptops? I did that for my last tropical vacation, I was able to do dive computer stuff and basic photo processing without risking my much nicer computer.

 

[alien]

Make sure the IR reader (Scubapro) is right up against the Galileo when you are downloading. I used the JTrak last night no problems. The Mac has no inbuilt IR reader buy cheapie off eBay or buy the expensive Scubapro.
I have just had some emails from Scubapro. The new Mac software is coming out at the end of this month with the new Meridian watch/computer. They are then writing it to then support the Galileos

 

[paula paz]

Make sure the IR reader (Scubapro) is right up against the Galileo when you are downloading. I used the JTrak last night no problems. The Mac has no inbuilt IR reader buy cheapie off eBay or buy the expensive Scubapro.
I have just had some emails from Scubapro. The new Mac software is coming out at the end of this month with the new Meridian watch/computer. They are then writing it to then support the Galileos

That's great!! I have an Uwatec Aladin Prime, and have the same problem. I'm a Mac user and cant download my computer info because there is no driver for IrDA on MacOS system. Please let us know if you have any news. In the email that I receive from Scubapro, they just told me “We do not have drivers for the Mac.”...

 

[MSltr]

I have a Mac Book Pro with OS X (Lion) and a SCUBAPRO Aladin 2G and UWATEC Aladin. To establish a connection between your UWATEC/SCUBAPRO dive computer and your computer you need an infrared device (IrDA). I interface using the UWATEC (Silver edition-USB 2.0) IrDA dongle and JTrak (ver 1.2.3). I don't need any device drivers. JTrak has limitations for the Galileo and Luna --Do you support Galileo?
Yes, but you can not edit the preferences from the Galileo via JTrak. The simulated UI in the profile view will be supported in the next release.

 

[alien]

Should make an interface to work with iPads. There were so many of them on our last trip to Komodo.