SDR Download

The Diagram Program has the ability to download and import data from Sokkia total stations that use an SDR data collector. The data is downloaded from the SDR data collector using a utility called COMMS, which has been provided by Sokkia.

Sokkia’s COMMS utility has been integrated into The Diagram Program, which allows you to receive data directly from your data collector. This utility also converts the total station data into an ASCII coordinate format, which can then be imported into The Diagram Program.

The first time you use the COMMS utility, you must use the Select Device command on the File pull-down menu to select the particular data collector you are using. Click on the name of your data collector, and then click the Setup button to set your COM port, Baud rate, Parity, Data Bits and Stop Bitsto match your instrument settings. Click OK to save this information.

Important Notes:

SDR 33 and SDR 31 Data Collectors: To properly perform a download from one of these data collectors, the download communication settings on the device must have POS (Position) set to ON. (See your SDR data collector manual for more instructions on how to do this.)

Sokkia ON-BOARD Data Collectors:

Before you shoot any points, be sure that your instrument is set to Coordinate Mode for both recording and downloading data. To download the data into The Diagram Program, use the SDR Download command on the File pull-down menu. Once the COMMS utility starts, select the File pull down menu, choose Select Device, then select the SDR 33/31 as the device.

Downloading from an SDR 33 Data Collector

Follow these instructions to download your measurement data from the data collector and store it in the .sdr format. Then the integrated COMMS utility can be used to convert the data into an ASCII format, which is ready to be imported into The Diagram Program.

Connect the data collector to your desktop computer.

Reboot your PC, if necessary, to establish a new COM port connection. Some Windows operating systems may require you to restart your computer in order to identify the new hardware connection that you have just created.

On the Data Collector, verify that POS (Position) is set to ON. If it is not set to ON, you may not be able to download the data.

From the Functions Menu on the SDR data collector select “Communications” and Press OK.

Repeatedly Press the Right Arrow Button Until the Data Format is “SDR”.

Press the SEND Button.

Press “OK” to Select Jobs.

Scroll until you see the scene you want to download. Use the Right Arrow Key to select it (Yes).

DO NOT PRESS THE OK BUTTON YET; you must first prepare the software to receive the Data.

Select SDR Download from the File pull-down menu in the Diagram Program.

Select the File pull-down menu, then choose Select Device and make sure the correct data collector is selected.

Click the “Receive From Device” icon in the upper-left of the COMMS utility, or select Receive from the File pull-down menu.

On the SDR Data Collector Press OK.

Your Data is Now Being Transferred to the desktop Diagram Program.

Converting SDR Data to ASCII

Once the data is downloaded from the SDR data collector, it must be converted to a format that The Diagram Program can interpret. This is also performed by the COMMS utility, as follows:

The first time you convert a file, you must set the working directory – the location for your data files. Select the Convert pull-down menu (in the COMMS utility) and then select Working Directory.

Browse to the location of your .SDR files. The data files are normally stored in the folder: \Crash Zone 7\Wcomms\dat

Double-click on the desired folder name to select it. Make sure the correct folder name is shown typed out above the folder “tree”. Click OK to finish.

Once back at the COMMS dialog, select the Convert pull-down menu and select SDR to ASCII.

The SDR to ASCII dialog appears, prompting you to select your file. If the proper folder is not displayed, click Cancel and use the Working Directory command (discussed above) to select a different folder.

Click on the SDR file you wish to process as the Input file name on the left side of the dialog box. This utility only displays the first 8 characters of a file name. If the filename is longer than 8 characters, it will show a ~ in place of the other characters.

Enter the desired Output file name on the right side of the dialog box and click the OK button.

You will be shown “Conversion in Progress,” then the ASCII Conversion dialog appears. Select “Comma Delimited” to convert the ASCII data into a format The Diagram Program can interpret.

Once the conversion is complete it will tell you the number of POS records (Positions) that were processed. Click OK and close out of the COMMS dialog.