the stargazer i have purchased doesn’t have a serial port in it? please advice??
Hi all,
I’m a student and I’m having StarGazer Localization Sensor Model : HSG-A-02. Please suggest how to power it up as I’m new to this.
Thanks.
Hi ahtiram2725 and msiostream,
The RB-Hag-01 Hagisonic StarGazer Robot Localization System includes cable tails that make it easy to integrate into embedded systems. If you are planning to use with a computer, and haven’t already made your purchase, the complete kit version.
Page 6 of the manual explains the pinouts for RB-Hag-01. First, connect power to the 3-pin connector: black is ground and yellow is 12V. Then connect the serial: ground to the black wire, RX to SDOUT (the white between the red and black), and TX to SDIN (the white between the blacks).
The module’s serial is 5V tolerant, but it only outputs 3.3V so not all devices will receive the signal. If connecting to a computer, we recommend a 3.3V FTDI cable like this one:
If connecting to a 5V microcontroller, like an Arduino, we recommend to use this logic level converter:
I have bought the stargazer but it doesn’t have a serial port on it. Do I need to purchase something additional to add serial to the stargazer¿
hi,
Just want to confirm apart from the complete kit, is there any way to connect the stargazer to a pc? The pinouts from RB-HAg-01 could be soldered to a serial wire as per page 6 of the manual? Are there any pics for this?
Also i could robotshop.com/en/ftdi-usb-to … RB-Spa-432 but which wire from the RB-HAG-01 pinouts goes where in the 6 pin connector?
Hi Jarcand Sir,
Thanks for your detailed reply. Please advise that do I need only one 12V power supply for powering it up , with the instructions you provided i.e “connect power to the 3-pin connector: black is ground and yellow is 12V.”?
Yes, you can connect the RB-Hag-01 to your computer with the RB-Spa-432 serial cable. The pinout for the cable is RTS, RX, TX, 5V, CTS, GND (RTS is the green cable and GND is black).
For the serial connector of the RB-Hag-01 connect: black to the black, RX of RB-Spa-432 to SDOUT of RB-Hag-01 (the white between the red and black), and TX to SDIN (the white between the blacks).
We unfortunately don’t have any pictures of this setup.
This probably should be in a new thread, but I couldn’t find the button to start a new one.
Should all the lights on the top of the StarGazer be lit up? That is, the lights that form a circle on the top of the StarGazer as seen here:
robotshop.com/en/hagisonic-stargazer-rs-localization-system.htmlThree of my StarGazer’s lights, the lights that form a circle on the top of module, do not light up. Should they all light up? Can the Stargazer still perform without all of the lights being lit up? Can I replace these lights myself, or do I need to send it back to the factory?
-Dexter
That’s doesn’t seem normal. We haven’t used the Stargazer much ourselves, so we’re not entirely sure. We’d recommend contacting Hagisonic directly and seeing what they say. You can reach Sean at this address: [email protected]
Let us know how it goes!
I did contact Hagisonic and they said I should send it back to them, which I will do.
Also, I believe Sean is no longer with the company…the new contact is:
The new name is Ho-Jeong Song. The email address is [email protected]
Ok, thanks for the info and the update!
I got mine figured out, I connected it with a serial to usb cable. Now I am trying to use python to control the stargazer and get a output. But I am not sure how to go about it with programming. Does anyone know about this?
Are you looking for the communication protocol? It is documented in section 6 of the manual:
There also sample code available in the Useful Links section:
It’s in C, but can be used as a reference for other languages. I’d recommend paying attention to the “CSerial” object instance in the StarGazerSampleVCDlg.cpp file, to see what it does when it reads and writes to the serial port.
Hello,
I recently bought a stargazer localization system. It comes with an inbuilt serial port. I am using a serial to usb cable to receive data.
I am able to receive the data from the stargazer on a hyperterminal like putty and CuteCom in linux. (However I am not able to receive the data on the serial monitor provided by stargazer).
The problem I have been facing is that when I send ~#CalcStop command to stargazer through hyperterminal. The data stops and then when I send commands to read data like ~@BaudRate I receive data which is unreadable. I am using a serial to usb cable.
I have set the parameters as mentioned in the manual, like
- baud rate to 115,200.
- Parity to none.
- Flow control to none.
- Data Bits to 8
- Stop Bits to 1
I am not sure whether there is a problem with my serial to usb cable, because I can receive the other data like Marker ID, Heading angle, x and y position, marker height in the same format as specified by Hagisonic. (For example: ~^I534|+175.16|-3.66|-33.58|200.33).
Only when I send ~#CalcStop to stop the data and then read the current parameter settings on stargazer using commands like ~@BaudRate I get data which unreadable.
Could you suggest some way whereby I can send and receive data which is readable. Or is this some issue with the stargazer itself.
Thank you for your time.
Reagards,
srik
Hi Srik,
Unfortunately, we do not have more information then what is already provided on the product pages, under “Useful Links”. For more complex issues with the protocol or use of the product, we recommend that you contact the manufacturer directly for faster support. You can reach them here: [email protected] or [email protected]. Please let us know if you are unable to reach them.
Sincerely,
Hi srik,
I bought a Stargazer localization system a while ago, and the only way I found I was able to get my laptop to receive data from the Stargazer was to use a 9-pin to 9-pin connection (that is RS232 to RS232). I hooked one end of the 9-pin cable to the Stargazer and the other end to a 9-pin port on the laptop, and I started receiving data in the Serial Monitor program. Many newer computers don’t have a 9-pin RS232 port on them. I went to a used computer store and bought a ~10-year old laptop that had an RS232 port on it. There may be other ways of solving the problem, but this is what worked for me.
You only need to use the old computer to program the landmarks into the Stargazer. Once the landmarks are loaded, you can switch to using a newer computer (for Arduino, or something like that).
– Dexter
Hi Dexter,
Thank you for the reply.
In my case, I am using a Silicon labs UART-TTL bridge as a serial to usb cable. I am able to obtain the values on the Stargazer serial monitor. However, when I try to stop the stargazer using the CalcStop button the stargazer does not stop.
I was using the HLD2 type markers and hence I wanted to change the marker type. Do you have any idea why this could be happening.
By the way I am looking for an old laptop with DB-9 serial port. Will see if I can find one.
Thanks.
srik
Hi srik,
I don’t know if you can really “stop” the Stargazer, you can just reprogram it. What I did was set up four landmarks on the ceiling in a square pattern, with each landmark being 56 inches from the other (the landmarks should be spaced apart about 80% of the distance from the Stargazer to the celing). Then I just moved the Stargazer under each landmark, until they showed up in the “Map Info” field. Now I have the 4 landmarks programmed into the Stargazer. This is where I am right now, and I am stuck. I can’t get the Arduino to read the landmarks. Does this answer your question?
– Dexter
Hi srik,
By the way, you don’t need to find an old laptop with a DB-9 port if you already can get the Stargazer to input data into the data fields of the Stargazer Monitor. The only reason I got an old laptop with a DB-9 port was that I was unable to get the Stargazer to put any data into the Serial Monitor program using a USB connection. If a USB connection works for you, just use the USB.
– Dexter
Hi Dexter,
I have solved the issue regarding reading data from the stargazer monitor.
First I had tried using a usb to TTL bridge to read data from the stargazer. The stargazer I am using, comes with a TTL out and a RS232 out. So I had tried using the TTL output directly. I used a Silicon labs CP2102 USB to TTL converter.
When I used the CP2102 USB to TTL converter I could read data on the stargazer monitor. But now the issue was I couldn’t communicate with the stargazer using the commands specified by Hagisonic ( For ex, ~#CalcStop , ~@BaudRate etc.).
Then I got to know that the stargazer only works with very specific USB to RS232 drivers. It works well with FTDI based serial to USB converters.
Then I bought a FTDI manufactured RS232 to USB cable. After using the FTDI cable with the proper drivers I was able to read as well as communicate with the stargazer.
Though, when I tried using the TTL out from the stargazer with the same FTDI chip I was again not able to communicate with the stargazer. So, I was able to narrow down the issue to the problem with the TTL pins on the Stargazer. Somehow the RxD pin of the TTL does not seem to work.
By the way I am not using Arduino for getting the data from the stargazer, I have written the code in C++ for reading data from the serial port.
Thanks,
srik