1. What do I need to allow me to download my Ouroboros dives to my PC? |
| a. PIN number for your Ouroboros to enable dive downloading. This is an option, and is purchased from VR Technology. |
| b. Hardware InfraRed interface. This is a USB to InfraRed device that can only be purchased directly from VR Technology. Other third party devices will probably not work, as they will use a specific protocol that is incompatible with the Ouroboros. |
| c. The Hardware InfraRed interface has to be installed properly according to the instructions supplied with the unit. There is a driver supplied on the installation disc that needs to be installed for the device to work properly. |
| d. Download and install the latest ProLink software from this web site. Steps to perform this are at the top of this page. (Backup any already downloaded dives from your C:\Program Files\CCR\PC_OurobRel1\old to another directory before uninstalling any existing ProLink software.) |
| e. The software will only run on PCs operating under the Windows XP operating system. |
| f. Once you have done all of the above, you have all the software and hardware needed to connect your Ouroboros to the PC. Check through the next FAQ to see all the steps required to put the Ouroboros into the correct mode for downloading. |
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| 2. How do I put the Ouroboros into the correct mode for downloading, and where do I place the InfraRed Hardware interface? |
| a. The Ouroboros must be in PCLink mode. This is selected from the Options screen in the Ouroboros. It is the 6th option down. |
| b. Once in PCLink on the Ouroboros, there are 3 options as to which port to connect to. You need to choose IR. This is done by doing a long press of both switches until the Port=IR state is shown. |
| c. Once this is done, position the InfraRed Hardware interface so that it is pointing at the rim of the bottom clear section of the electronics pod at the base of the Ouroboros. |
| d. If running, close the ProLink PC software. Then, if not already done so, connect the USB connector of the Hardware InfraRed interface to the PC. |
| e. Run the ProLink software now. Follow the on screen tips that appear at startup to ensure all steps have been completed. |
| f. The ProLink PC software will then scan for which port it detects the signature from the Ouroboros. As you can see, all stages in the above processes must have been performed correctly to achieve a connection. This can initially be a complicated process if unfamiliar with USB interface devices, but once done, is easily repeatable. |
| g. Once connected, the word Connected appears in the PCLink screen of the ProLink PC software. A list of dives in the Ouroboros will then automatically be shown. See the next section for downloading dives. See the last section for trouble shooting connection problems. |
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| 3. How do I download dives? |
| a. Once all the above steps have been completed, the dives can then be downloaded from the Ouroboros to the PC. Three options are available from the PC Link screen on the ProLink software. Download Latest dives only, Download All dives, and Download selected dives. To select a dive click it in the dive list. |
| b. Download All Dives. This gets all dives from the Ouroboros, even if you have already downloaded them, and adds them all to the dives. Thus you will get dives repeated in the dive list. However, it is an easy way to put all dives into the dive list when using the link for the first time. |
| c. Download Latest dives only. This option only downloads dives that are not already in the dive list database. The software checks the start time of each dive in the Ouroboros against dives in the database. If that start time already exists, then it marks the dive yellow meaning it is already in the database and does not need downloading. The Download Latest dives only downloads dives with start times not in the database. This is normally the easiest way to add dives to the dive list database. |
| d. Download Selected dives. This allows individual dives to be selected, whether old or new dives, and puts them into the dive list database. Dives already in the database will not be overwritten.All dives will be added to the end of the database. |
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| 4. How can I name dives? |
| a. Prior to downloading dives, the Dive name can be typed in on the PC Link screen in the Dive Name text box. It is advisable to use a name that relates to where that dive was done. The number of the dive will be appended to the dive name. Dive 1 in the list is the latest dive. |
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| 5. How do I find the com port number of the USB hardware interface in Windows? |
| a. Click the Windows Start button at the bottom left of the screen. |
| b. Click the Control Panel option, normally on the right side of the Start screen. If not, click run, and type "control" into the open command box. |
| c. From Windows Control Panel, click the System icon. From the System screen, choose the Hardware Tab. From the Hardware Tab, click Device manager. From Device Manager, double click the Ports section. When Ports is opened out, if the hardware is installed and plugged in correctly, it will show a device with the name CP2101. This is the Hardware InfraRed interface device for the Ouroboros. The comport number is shown in the description. |
| d. The com port number has to be within 1 to 16. If not, it can be changed: double click the CP2101 port name. A properties screen is now shown. Click on the "Port Settings" Tab. Click the Advanced button. The com port number is shown at the bottom left, and can be changed by choosing a different com number from the pull down list. If all the com numbers bellow 16 have "(in use) against them, it means they have already been allocated. This has probably occurred due to multiple plugging in and out of hardware interface adaptors, and Windows allocating a new number each time. If you are sure that a number being shown as "in use", is actually not in use, then you can reallocate the device to that number. WARNING, this can upset other software and devices, so be careful and knowledgeable before performing this change. If in doubt, read Windows operating system reference books to fully understand what you are doing. |
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| 6. I have set up my PC and Ouroboros as above, and still can not connect. What should I do? |
You can send an email to the technical support department, giving the following information:
Brand of Computer:
Operating System:
All hardware connected to your computer, eg printer, screen, networks..:
Computer specification, including processor speed, hard disk drive size, RAM etc..:
Other download devices connected to computer, eg other dive computers:
Stages of configuration completed successfully:
Stage at which problem occurred:
Nature of problem and any Error code at time of problem:
Has the Ouroboros ever been connected successfully to your computer, if so, what has anything changed since the last time it worked?
Send this information and the rb.mdb file from your c:\Program Files\CCR\PC_OurobRel1b\ directory to tech support.
Please send any recent or problem dives from the \new, \old or \corrupt directories from the installation directory of the software
We will try and respond within 2 working days
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| 7. I get an error message "System cannot open Dive - Dive contains errors" |
| This occurs if the downloaded dive data has got corrupt data in it. This can happen most commonly if the InfaRed link was on the border line of receiving good signals data from the Ouroboros. In this situation, sometimes the data is good, and sometimes corrupt. So the downloading will be activated ok, but data inside the dive is corrupt. The easiest way though this, is to delete the corrupt dive from the dive list database. Then re-download the dive again from the Ouroboros. Adjust the position of the InfraRed receiver so that it is slightly nearer or better positioned to aim at the clear rim on the electronics pod at the base of the Ouroboros. |
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| 8. I get a "Run Time"error message |
| Write down the number of the message. |
| Write down exactly what was happening when the error message popped up. eg opening a dive. |
Send this information and the rb.mdb file from your c:\Program Files\CCR\PC_OurobRel1b\ directory to tech support. |
| Please send any recent or problem dives from the \new, \old or \corrupt directories from the installation directory of the software |
| We will try and fix or respond to the problem within 2 working days or less |
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| 9. I have trouble installing the software on my PC |
| Write down at what stage you get a problem. |
| Write down the nature or error number of the problem. |
Send this information to tech support. |
| We will try and fix or respond to the problem within 2 working days or less |
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| 10. Why are there so many screens activated when I run the ProLink software? |
| When the ProLink software is started, it checks connections to the Ouroboros, and opens the dive list database. It also opens the Ouroboros remote configuration software, and the help file. Because these screens are inter-related, the software opens them all at the same time. |
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| 11. I can not upload all the configuration data using the remote Gas Blend screen |
| At present, only the Gas list data can be uploaded to the Ouroboros. |
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| tech support email |
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