Uniden Remote Head Project

alabamarailfan

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 6, 2009
Messages
232
I would certainly select the charge port and when prompted select "." for serial. Without the serial data flowing, there is nothing for the Pi to decode to display at the head.
Hope that helps!
 

ra7850

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 30, 2003
Messages
719
Location
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Does anyone know proper way to hook up the Touch Scanner?

I have one that I bought and forgot how it hooks up. I have usb-c power source to the Pi unit to power it.
But on the SDS-100 side to I connect to the CHARGE port or to the port above it? If I connect to the CHARGE port it asks "." serial or "E" for mass storage...neither seem to work. Ideas?


Hello,

The USB port marked USB 2, this is marked on the dust cover on the side of the scanner, unde rthe dust cover it als says charge port. This is how you connect the scanner to any of the Raspberry PI USB ports. The USB C port on top of the Raspberry PI goes to however your powering the Raspberry PI unit.

1. Plug your USB cable in to the port marked USB 2 on the scanner, to the raspberry PI, any of the USB ports on PI will work. The blue ports are USB 3.0, these ports are faster although its not necesary to use them for connectivity to make it work.
2. Power on the Raspberry PI using the USB C cable on top of the Raspberry PI to your power source, once it boots up the screen will start to flash, this is the how/when the Raspberry PI is detected, you will then see the prompt on the scanner, or it will automatically connect to the Raspberry PI and your scanner screen will be displayed.

If this does not work, you may have a bad cable going to the Raspberry PI from the scanner. There are problems when using cheap USB cables, get a good quality cable if you're having connection issues withe Raspberry PI. Let me know if you need further assistance.

Robert
 
Last edited:

ra7850

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 30, 2003
Messages
719
Location
Northeastern Pennsylvania
I just got a new truck and am planning out how to incorporate my SDS200. A remote head seems to be the only practical option, so I'm hoping these are still available. I reached out via the contact form at Touch Scanner | Home

Unfortunately, the Raspberry PI units to build them have become almost impossible to find in stock anywhere. Ususally you can only purchase one. I'm constantly looking and they are back-ordered everywhere.

Robert
 

rvacs

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jul 3, 2003
Messages
420
Location
Tulsa, OK
Hello,

The USB port marked USB 2, this is marked on the dust cover on the side of the scanner, unde rthe dust cover it als says charge port. This is how you connect the scanner to any of the Raspberry PI USB ports. The USB C port on top of the Raspberry PI goes to however your powering the Raspberry PI unit.

1. Plug your USB cable in to the port marked USB 2 on the scanner, to the raspberry PI, any of the USB ports on PI will work. The blue ports are USB 3.0, these ports are faster although its not necesary to use them for connectivity to make it work.
2. Power on the Raspberry PI using the USB C cable on top of the Raspberry PI to your power source, once it boots up the screen will start to flash, this is the how/when the Raspberry PI is detected, you will then see the prompt on the scanner, or it will automatically connect to the Raspberry PI and your scanner screen will be displayed.

If this does not work, you may have a bad cable going to the Raspberry PI from the scanner. There are problems when using cheap USB cables, get a good quality cable if you're having connection issues withe Raspberry PI. Let me know if you need further assistance.

Robert
Robert,

Have tried 3 cables now. All do the same thing. The Scanner has a Charge light on so I know the scanner is getting power from the Pi. And I am in USB 2 Port on SDS100. The Pi keeps rebooting and the Scanner keeps coming up with message Press "E" for mass Storage or "." for Serial Connectivity. Any other ideas... Before I hook up the scanner I get that static screen - Warning do not operate while driving.. Again Pi keeps rebooting. I know this worked well for a while but haven't used in 6 months.
 

mancow

Member
Database Admin
Joined
Feb 19, 2003
Messages
6,906
Location
N.E. Kansas
Try leaving it all connected then turn the radio off and back on again. Sometimes the radios will present what appears to be a valid port but it stops providing data. Power cycling the radio while connected clears it.
 

rvacs

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jul 3, 2003
Messages
420
Location
Tulsa, OK
Try leaving it all connected then turn the radio off and back on again. Sometimes the radios will present what appears to be a valid port but it stops providing data. Power cycling the radio while connected clears it.

Thanks @mancow - still not working seems the Pi is in a auto reboot loop...loads up then reboots...its not hot and the fan is spinning...who knows... Wish I could re-load the software on it...
 

mancow

Member
Database Admin
Joined
Feb 19, 2003
Messages
6,906
Location
N.E. Kansas
Thanks @mancow - still not working seems the Pi is in a auto reboot loop...loads up then reboots...its not hot and the fan is spinning...who knows... Wish I could re-load the software on it...


He me up with a message and you can send it to me. I'll send you another if it's not working.
 

ra7850

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 30, 2003
Messages
719
Location
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Thanks @mancow - still not working seems the Pi is in a auto reboot loop...loads up then reboots...its not hot and the fan is spinning...who knows... Wish I could re-load the software on it...

If you'd like we can do a remote session and I can reload it for you. If that doesn't fix, mancow can coordinate a return/repair replace or whatever is necessary.

Email me at rayers@touch-scanner.com
 

RMW1010

Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
48
Location
Germany, EU
Unfortunately, the Raspberry PI units to build them have become almost impossible to find in stock anywhere. Ususally you can only purchase one. I'm constantly looking and they are back-ordered everywhere.

Robert

Consider selling the kit without the Pi.
Easier for an individual to obtain one Pi than for a company who needs several.
Some may even already have a Pi collecting dust, as have I.
 

ra7850

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 30, 2003
Messages
719
Location
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Consider selling the kit without the Pi.
Easier for an individual to obtain one Pi than for a company who needs several.
Some may even already have a Pi collecting dust, as have I.

This is something that has been discussed. Would you want all of the hardware in the kit with the exception of the Raspberry PI? Its not a terribly difficult build, there is some soldering required.

Robert
 

RMW1010

Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
48
Location
Germany, EU
This is something that has been discussed. Would you want all of the hardware in the kit with the exception of the Raspberry PI? Its not a terribly difficult build, there is some soldering required.

Robert
Yes, that would work for me. Some soldering isn't an issue.
 

letarotor

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
1,053
Location
Arlington, TX
Couldn't hold out any longer for a remote head! So for my 2019 Ford Edge ST, I purchased a Ram Mounts RAM-B-316-1U Pod I Vehicle Mounts w/18" road and socket arm and a RAM-B238U Diamond Ball Base w/B Size 1" Ball. I mounted the radio bracket to the ball mount and attached the bracket to the front of the passenger seat rail next to the console. I drilled two small holes into the center console for zip ties to keep it stable. It is firmly in place and stable, sits high enough in the car to be out of the way of the passenger, and the radio controls are easily accessible to the me, the driver. My only complaint with the radio is the screen isn't bright enough, but hey, can't have everything!!!
 

Attachments

  • 20220602_160809.jpg
    20220602_160809.jpg
    187.1 KB · Views: 163
  • 20220602_160741.jpg
    20220602_160741.jpg
    115.7 KB · Views: 161

donc13

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
1,483
Location
Grand Junction, CO
You should pray that you are NEVER in an accident that sets off the passenger air bag. If not properly installed outside the "air bag deployment zone" your scanner can become a 200mph missile when an airbag deploys.

Just saying
 

garys

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jun 13, 2002
Messages
6,246
Location
Texas
I found early on that my brightness problem was that I forgot to check and make sure that the high setting was on 100%. If it is and it's still not bright enough on high in color mode, UPMan mentioned that they found that using Black text on a White background worked well.

I wish that they had made high brighter, especially since the SDS200 doesn't run on battery like the SDS100, so battery drain isn't a consideration.

If intensity is controlled by firmware, I'd add that to my wish list. Which seems like it's going to be a wish list forever. But I digress.
 

RRR

OFFLINE
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
2,037
Location
USA
.....it's still not bright enough on high in color mode, UPMan mentioned that they found that using Black text on a White background worked well....

Pretty bad when you have a nice full color screen, and when it isn't bright enough to see during normal daylight conditions (like all my other scanners and radios can do just fine) instead of addressing the problem, they suggest you change it to black and white.
 

donc13

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
1,483
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Pretty bad when you have a nice full color screen, and when it isn't bright enough to see during normal daylight conditions (like all my other scanners and radios can do just fine) instead of addressing the problem, they suggest you change it to black and white.
Like all things in life, there is a trade-off. If Uniden had put in a full color AMOLED you'd probably pay at least $100 more at retail. If they'd of gone to a plain black and white, you'd of maybe paid about $25 less.

I don't believe I have ever see a Uniden ad or web description saying the sds200 had a screen fully readable in direct sunlight.
 

RRR

OFFLINE
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
2,037
Location
USA
Shouldn't have to. That's a basic feature. Should they have advertised the thing will hum, unless you modify it? It was advertised as a scanner that would evolve, with the ability to have new features and improvements coming. We all know that stopped years ago.

Regardless, the SDS100 can be easily seen, full color, in daylight, SDS200, not so much. But I should have known that, since it wasn't advertised, right?
 
Top