Bluerobotics Ping360 Sonar and Waveshare ETH/RS485 Connection Issue

Hello,

I’m trying to connect my Bluerobotics Ping360 sonar using a Waveshare ETH/RS485 converter, but I’m experiencing serious issues. I cannot see any sonar data in Ping Viewer at all, and in terminal programs, I receive only corrupted data. Below, I’ll explain the problems and what I have tried so far. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Issues:

  1. No Data in Ping Viewer
  • Even though the connection is established, the Ping360 sonar does not scan.
  • No sonar data appears in Ping Viewer.
  1. Receiving Corrupted Data in Terminal Programs
  • Since Ping Viewer does not show any data, I tried using terminal programs (RealTerm, etc.).
  • In the terminal, I receive repeating, meaningless characters like this:
j6A Z5A J4A :3A *2A 1A 0A z7A 0D 00

What I Have Tried:

  1. Checked Baud Rate Settings
  • Initially set to 57600, then changed to 115200 baud, as required by the Ping360 sonar.
  • I configured both Ping Viewer and terminal programs to 115200 baud, but it didn’t solve the issue.
  1. Checked Waveshare ETH/RS485 Converter Settings
  • I tested both “Transparent Mode” and “TCP Client Mode”.
  • Ping Viewer still does not display any data.
  1. Verified RS485 Wiring
  • I suspected a wiring issue, so I swapped the A and B connections, but there was no change.
  1. Tried Different Modes in RealTerm
  • I switched RealTerm to “Hex + ASCII” mode, but I still receive only corrupted characters in the terminal.

Request for Help!

  • I cannot see any sonar data in Ping Viewer—it does not work at all!
  • I only receive corrupted data in the terminal.
  • I have checked the baud rate, RS485 configuration, and different modes, but nothing has worked.

What could be causing this? Does anyone have any suggestions?



Hi @omer_1 -
Did you convert the Ping360 internal wiring to use the RS485 interface? If not, I hope that your tests have not damaged the default USB connection!