The VR3 end is pretty simple
1. You must have the comms pin entered
2. You must have PCLink=0
3. The battery needs to be in good condition

The prodive application is a little more complicated, but straightforward.
1. You must have a working serial port addressable as a com port. The poprt number is set by selecting Tools\Options from the main Prodive menu and selecting the com port that your VR3 IR adapter is connected to in the VR3 Communications group. In theory the app can use com ports 1 to 8. In practice it is best to stick to a standard port (com1 to com4).

2. The VRFirm.dat file which is located in your Prodive folder must contain the correct VR3 Firmware version to file version mapping. A corrupt or missing VRFirm will not stop communication, but the download will be displayed incorrectly - usually a flat line.

The VRFirm file is a simple text file which can be edited in Notepad. The format is; The vr-firmware version can be read off the bottom of the startup screen of the VR3. It is case sensitive. The file-version is either 1 or 2. For current models it is almost always 2. So the VRFirm.dat for a VR3 version 2.1CXr looks like this That is pretty much it for the application.

Prodive has a function called the VR-Wizard. This will attempt to set Prodive up for you. You need to have a real dive on the VR3 (not the factory tests). You also need to know what Com number your IR adapter is attached to. Start the VR-Wizard, set the com number follow the prompts. If it completes successfully you are ready to rock. We are aware that certain USB to serial adapters are not compatible with the VR-Wizard and no Com ports show up in the list. In this case set it up manually as described above.

Now the most problematic bit is what lies between Prodive and your VR3.
1. Your PC
2. Your Operating System configuration
3. The serial port driver
4. Any additional leads
5. The IR adapter

Take a bog standard PC. Install a default Windows 98 or XP. Connect the DeltaP IR adapter to the serial port marked com1. Check the VR3, Check the VRFirm. Robert's your father's brother - it works.

Now let's assume that you are not prepared to buy a new PC just to use Prodive and it is refusing to work. How should you go about fault finding.

1. Use the correct IR hardware
Yes the approved IR adaptor looks expensive next to the gadgets sold in PC World. Does that mean DeltaP are ripping you off, no. The reason the adaptor costs a lot is because it works and DeltaP gets charged a lot by the supplier (50 quid last time I checked).

2. If at all possible use a serial port built into your PC. And if you are buying a laptop which you intend to use for downloading dives, try to buy one with a built in serial port.

3. Lets say your laptop does not have a serial port. You are going to have to use a USB to serial adaptor. The one on my desk is a Belkin FSU109. It was the first one we bought and it works fine with Prodive. USB drivers can be a bit awkward to install and the Belkin was no exception. So make sure you follow the driver installation instructions to the letter. Once the drivers are installed you should be able to find the USB adapter in Device Manager and select the virtual com port number that it will use to communicate. How you set the Com number varies by adapter so read the documentation carefully, hopefully it is not a verbatim Chinese translation.

Here is a screen shot of Device manager showing my Belkin adapter on com4


Right click, select Properties\Port Settings\Advanced brings up this dialog where the COM number can be set.


4. Test the serial port
The best way to test the serial port involves a null modem cable and a second PC. But lets see what we can do with what is easily to hand. You have the VR3 IR adapter so with a suitable IR source we can use that to replace the 2nd PC and null modem. Hopefully you have or know some one with an IR capable mobile phone or PDA.

4.1 Connect the IR adapter to the USB adapter.
4.2 Open Hyperterminal on your PC (start\accessories\communications\hyperterminal).
4.3 Type in a name (test), and click OK
4.4 Set 'Connect using' to the Com port that your USB adapter is using, click OK
4.5 Set the port settings as follows; 9600 bits per second, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, no flow control and click OK

 Hyperterminal port settings

4.6 Open the com port from the menu, select Call\Call. If call is greyed out don't worry the port has auto-opened.
4.7 Enable the mobile phones IR function, point it at the VR3 IR adapter and try to send a contact - this generates IR 'traffic'. The phone will fail to connect or send but that does not matter.*
4.8 You can put the phone away but leave Hyperterminal open and connected .

* PDAs actively broadcast their presence so you normally just need to bring it in range of the IR adapter and Hyperterminal will start to spew junk.

4.8 Results
You should see some garbage displayed in the Hyperterminal window. Possibly you can see the model of your phone in there somewhere.
If you did not get anything at all on the screen then you have a problem with your USB adapter and you MUST fix that before Prodive will work. Theoretically the VR3 IR adapter could be faulty but they are VERY reliable so it is HIGHLY unlikely. I can't recall having come across a faulty IR adapter yet.

Yep thats an Ericsson T610 saying hello


5. Test the VR3 IR transmit
You still have hyperterminal open and it is still showing connected in the status bar right. If not go do steps 4.1 to 4.6

5.1 Move the PC keyboard well away. It is very important that you do not press a key during this test, it could seriously upset your VR3.
5.1 Start the VR3
5.2 push both buttons to put it into Dive Now mode. This gives us a few extra minutes to play before the VR3 times out.
5.3 Select PCLink from the VR3 menu
5.4 Activate the PCLink function and the screen goes blank.
5.5 Align the VR3 with the IR adapter.
5.6 You should see a series of P characters repeating every second(ish).
5.7 Eventually the Ps stop when the VR3 times out.

5.8 Results
If you saw the Ps everything is working fine. Close Hyperterminal and now try to download a dive from Prodive (having checked the com number in tools\options)
If you saw some Ps and some garbage, your VR3 may be faulty but it is more likely that a light source or IR source is interfereing with the transmission. It may also be your USB adapter that is corrupting the data it recieves.
If you got nothing at all your VR3 probably is faulty and you should contact DeltaP.

The VR3 says hi to Hyperterminal



6. Probability
It is worth knowing what the usual suspect are when fault finding. In order of reliable to unreliable.
6.1 The IR adapter is very reliable and the least likely cause of problems.
6.2 Serial ports built into the PC are also pretty reliable.
6.3 The IR on the VR3 is tested prior to the VR3 shipping. The nature of courier vans and diving, the odd one turns up to have a fault.
6.4 If you use a serial lead between the PC and the IR adapter it must be wired correctly. You need the sort of cable used to connect to an external modem. A NULL modem or laplink cable used to connect two PCs will not work. This has caused problems on a couple occassions
6.5 USB adpaters. We have had reports of a couple of models that just refused to work with Prodive. The Belkin FSU109 definitely works.
6.6 BUY THE DELTAP IR ADAPTER IT WORKS. The cheap adapters do not work. We know they do not work. We keep telling people they do not work. Why the heck does anyone expect Prodive to work with anything other than the approved hardware? (Wasting my time trying to help people that neglect to mention they were too tight to buy the DeltaP adapter gets right up my nose). <rant over>
6.7 USB drivers. The third most common cause of problems. They must be capable of emulating a Com number 1 through 8 (some do not). The drivers must be installed and configured correctly.
6.8 PC configuration. The second most common cause of problems. The more software that has been installed/uninstalled since the PC was first commissioned, the more likely it is that there is an underlying fault which is causing the comms problems. No one wants to re-install Windows but it may be the most straight-forward way to fix things.
6.9 By far the most common cause of communication failure is operator error. Unfortunately my psychic ability is not too good so you may have to relent and read the manual and help files. By far the most common operator errors are lack of patience and not working logically and progressively - the VR3 comms will not work if your PC comms does not work and no amount of fiddling will change that.

Some additional information is available at my website
http://www.mssystems.co.uk/prodive/support
and on the forums at the VR3 web site
http://www.vr3.co.uk


If you are not familiar with serial communications and PCs it would be a good idea to find a techie and ply them with beer...after they have got your VR3 and Prodive talking of course.

HTH