How to change the address of a DART using an iWand

This article describes the procedure for changing the address of a DART acoustically in air, using an iWand and Sonardyne 6G Terminal Lite software.

RS232 communication to a PC is used to issue commands to the DART

Note: an alternative way to change parameters of a DART is to connect electrically to an Interface Test Box containing an RS485-to-USB Adaptor, with a PC running a suitable Terminal program.

Connecting the iWand

Note that it may be prudent to reset the iWand to default settings, in the event it has been used for any other non‑standard purpose.

Connect a USB lead from the iWand to a PC running a Terminal program (in this example 6G Terminal Lite).

Choose the correct port for the USB port (indicated by iWand shown below).

Click Connect (without changing the settings shown below).

The 6G Setup tab should populate with parameters from the iWand.

Select the Manual Commands tab and send the PORT command.

In this example, P0;BR115200;CF0;RS232 indicates that the RS232 port is set to 115,200 baud.

This should be changed this to 9600 baud by sending the following command: PORT:P0;BR9600

Click Disconnect.

RS232 Comms

To use RS232 comms you’ll need an RS232 cable with cross-over (i.e. a Null Modem).

Access the RS232 port.

Click Connect (without changing the settings shown below).

The 6G Setup tab should again populate with parameters from the iWand.

Select the Manual Commands tab and send a simple CS command to check electrically connectivity with the iWand.

Either, push the iWand’s acoustic antenna against the rubber boot of the DART…

…or wrap the test loop around it (if the iWand has one).

Send the following command (assume an address of 4912 in this example): FS:4912;W4

Anticipate a reply similar to that shown (Note the User ID – in this case 002EA9).

Changing the address

To change the Address to 4911, for example, send the following command: SC:4912;W4,U2EA9,AD4911 (Note that the User ID does not require leading zeros.)

The Address has now changed to 4911.

Check that the following parameters have been set by sending the command: CS:4911;W4

RXW10000
TPL187
NPL187
AT1
EC0

You can force the above parameters by sending a single command: CS:4911;W4,RXW10000,NPL187,TPL187,AT1,EC0

Storing the parameters

Finally, send the command: SC:4911;W4,U2EA9,STR;CS to store the parameters to the DART’s EEPROM so that in the event of a power failure or battery pack replacement, the DART will still hold the stored values.

The DART is now ready for deployment with the address 4911.