COM Port Assignments

The computer COM ports for the X150 Topside Beacon and the GPS receiver are assigned when these devices are plugged into the computer. The PinPoint and SeaTrac Tools software need to be configured to match the COM port assignments. The X010 ROV Beacon requires power only, so there are no COM port configuration requirements for it.

It is recommended that you use the same USB ports for the X150 Topside Beacon and GPS receiver so that you will not have to configure the communications setup each time you run PinPoint or SeaTrac Tools.

Follow these steps to determine the computer assigned COM port numbers:

Set Up the Topside Hardware:

1. Power on the computer.
2. Connect the X150 Topside Beacon to the X150 Topside Beacon Cable
3. Connect the X150 Topside Beacon Cable to the Computer Interface / Power Cable.
4. Connect the Computer Interface / Power Cable to the power supply.
5. Plug the USBL power supply into a power source.
6. Connect the X150 Topside Beacon USB into the desired USB port.
7. Connect the GPS receiver into the desired USB port.
8. Open Device Manager (click the Windows start icon from the taskbar and type "Device Manager" and then enter.)
9. Click on the ">" to the left of Ports to expand the list of ports.
10. Note the COM Port numbers for the following devices:
    1. Serial Device (the USBL topside Beacon)
    2. Prolific Serial Device (the GPS)
11. If you do not see one or both of these devices, or they have a yellow "?," a driver may be required. Contact VideoRay Support for additional assistance.
12. Close Device Manager.

Follow these steps to configure the PinPoint Software for these devices and port assignments:

1. Open PinPoint (Double click the PinPoint program icon or select it from the start menu.)
2. Open the settings using Gear icon in lower left.
3. Click on the Wrench icon tab.
4. If you do not see the X150 Topside Beacon or the GPS receiver, you will need to add each. To add a device follow these steps:
   1. Click on the Plus (+) icon.
   2. To add the X150 Topside Beacon, select SeaTrac and click on the check mark at the bottom of the window.
   3. Enter the COM Port number determined from Device Manager and click on the check mark at the bottom of the window to apply and save the change.
   4. To add the GPS receiver, select NMEA and click on the check mark at the bottom of the window.
   5. Enter the COM Port number determined from Device Manager.
   6. Enter the Baud Rate specified by the manufacturer of your GPS receiver and click on the check mark at the bottom of the window to apply and save the change.
5. If the devices are present, check that the COM port numbers match those determined from Device Manager and the baud rate for the GPS receiver matches the manufacturer's specification.
   1. If the COM port numbers do not match what was determined in Device Manager, or the baud rate does not match the information from the manufacturer, change the values by double clicking on the device, selecting the appropriate COM port number or baud rate for that device and clicking the check mark at the bottom of the window to apply and save the change.
6. Close Pinpoint.

SeaTrac Tools COM Port Setup.

The SeaTrac Tools program tries to use the COM port from the last time the program was executed. If the COM port assigned is not the same as the last time, the program will display an error message. Dismiss the error message and select the COM port from the pull-down list at the bottom of the window, the click the Open button.