Introduction

Difficulty Easy Steps 4 Time Required 5 minutes

This guide will show how to connect to a HD Multi SeaCam configured with Coax or FleXlink and a serial control interface. We will also cover how to use the serial interface and our SeaSense protocol to access and operate the On-Screen Display (OSD) menu of these cameras.

Here, the free terminal emulator application RealTerm will be used to demonstrate serial communications. Other terminal software solutions can be used as well, but we recommend following this guide using RealTerm in a Windows 11 PC environment.

NOTE: Once the On-Screen Display menu is open, it will close after 30 seconds of inactivity. If this happens, you may need to power cycle the camera to restore connection to the camera. 

Step 1 Connect the camera

Check the pinout label on the camera and make sure the the correct mating whip is available. If you do not see a pinout list on the camera or are otherwise unsure of the camera pinout, consult the documentation provided with your camera or contact us at support@deepsea.com  Connect the camera to power and the host serial interface. The HD Multi SeaCam can be configured with either a RS-232 or RS-485 interface. Check your camera configuration and use an appropriate adapter. Always verify that a common ground connection between the power supply and RS-232 or RS-485 adapter is present.  Provide DC power between 10V and 36V

Step 2 Configure the host serial port

	Identify the system COM port number assigned to the adapter connected to the camera. If you do not know the COM port assigned to your adapter you can often find out by opening Windows Device Manager, disconnecting the port adapter and looking for the new COM port assigned when it is reconnected.
	Open RealTerm and configure the port settings on the Port tab as shown. Baud: default value = 9600 Flow Control: none Pairity: none Data bits: 8 Stop bits: 1 Click the open button to apply settings and connect to the serial port.

Step 3 Test communications

On the Send tab, type the following and send as ASCII !001:INFO?\r\n The camera should respond with the device info string showing the various configuration settings.

Step 4 Access and navigate the OSD menu

	Use the following commands to open (OSDS) and navigate the on-screen display menu of the camera: Select/Open: !001:OSDS\r\n Move Up: !001:OSDU\r\n Move Down: !001:OSDD\r\n Move Left: !001:OSDL\r\n Move Right: !001:OSDR\r\n
	When finished making changes to the camera settings, navigate back to the root menu and send a "OSDS" select command with the cursor over "EXIT SAVE"