Synscan V.4 Cable Needed for Firmware

[TangoCharlie]

I have not updated my firmware from 4.3.7.  My pc and laptop do not have the serial pin connection.  I only have usb.  What type of cable do I need to connect from controller to pc or laptop then?

TC

[Cornelius Varley]

The Synscan mounts are usually supplied with this cable . }To connect this to your pc you will also need a  usb-serial adapter.

[Adrian_P]

I've just been updating the firmware on my V3 handset this afternoon. The one I used, purchased several years ago, is very much like this one.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-USB-Serial-Adapter-Prolific/dp/B00GRP8EZU?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2

Edited October 5, 2019 by Adrian_P
Working link

[TangoCharlie]

Thanks.  So the serial connection is going into the mount?  Not into the handcontroller?  I was thinking the serial connector was for the pc and the phone jack end to go into the controller.  My laptop and pc do not have connections for a serial port.  

TC

[Adrian_P]

Ok, so the USB end of the USB to serial cable goes into the PC. Connect the serial end of that cable to the serial end of the serial to RJ45* cable. The RJ45 end of that cable goes into the middle socket in the bottom of the hand controller. Don't plug anything into the mount. Does that help?

*The Synscan instructions call it a RJ45 port but I have read discussion that it does not meet the RJ45 standards. I've used the term here generically. 

[Cornelius Varley]

2 minutes ago, Adrian_P said:

Ok, so the USB end of the USB to serial cable goes into the PC. Connect the serial end of that cable to the serial end of the serial to RJ45* cable. The RJ45 end of that cable goes into the middle socket in the bottom of the hand controller. Don't plug anything into the mount. Does that help?

*The Synscan instructions call it a RJ45 port but I have read discussion that it does not meet the RJ45 standards. I've used the term here generically. 

The V4 handset doesn't have a power socket, so the handset has to be powered from the mount. The connection sequence should be this:

USB port on pc > usb-serial adapter> serial data cable > handset serial port (the serial port on the handset is the smaller of the two, RJ12) 
Handset RJ45 socket > mount through handset to mount cable.

[Adrian_P]

Ah, I stand corrected. I was thinking the V4 was the same as the V3.