Knowledge base › Survey guide

Survey guide

How do I connect the CEE-LINE™ to a Trimble TSC7?

The TSC7 runs full Windows, so the CEE-LINE™ connects by cable and is powered from the TSC7 battery, using either the “Smart” USB cable or the USB-power combo RS-232 cable. Configure the CEE-LINE™ with CEE-LINE CONNECT on the TSC7 itself, then set the Trimble Access survey style’s echo sounder to NMEA SDDBT on the matching COM port and baud rate.

By CEE HydroSystems

Updated Oct 2026

Download PDF ↓

3cable options

COM1TSC7 DB9 RS-232 port

9600default baud rate

NMEA SDDBTecho sounder type

Why use the TSC7 with the CEE-LINE™?

The Trimble TSC7 is an ideal data collector for the CEE-LINE™, which is designed for basic acquisition projects using GNSS collection hardware and software. Because the TSC7 runs a full Windows operating system, it gives you a convenient USB data / power connection, and it can run the CEE-LINE CONNECT utility to configure the echo sounder.

This guide covers the cabling, driver and software set-up needed for the CEE-LINE™ to work with both the Survey Controller and Trimble Access programs on the TSC7. Using a TSC5 instead? See connecting the CEE-LINE™ to a TSC5 over Bluetooth.

**Figure 1.** Trimble TSC7 data collector.

Which cable should I use?

There are three ways to connect the CEE-LINE™ to the TSC7. All of them use the CEE-LINE™ 12-pin LEMO connector at the echo sounder end.

Cable	TSC7 end	Power	COM port
“Smart” USB cable	USB Type A	From the TSC7 battery, through the USB port. Powers the CEE-LINE™ and transducer.	A USB serial port. Needs the FTDI device driver, which should already be installed on the TSC7.
USB power “combo” RS-232 cable	DB9 RS-232 plus USB Type A	From the TSC7 battery, through the USB port.	The TSC7’s own COM1. No FTDI driver needed.
External power RS-232 cable	DB9 RS-232 plus black / red power leads	A separate 4.5–24 VDC supply.	COM1. This cable is not normally supplied with the CEE-LINE™.

**Figure 2.** “Smart” USB cable plugged into the TSC7.

**Figure 3.** USB power “combo” RS-232 cable on the TSC7.

**Figure 4.** TSC7 connectors: USB connector (1), charging port (2), audio jack (3), device mount hook (4) and DB9 / RS-232 serial connector (5).

An alternate TSC7 boot is also available with two USB ports instead of one USB port and one serial port.

How do I install CEE-LINE CONNECT?

The CEE-LINE™ is configured with the CEE-LINE CONNECT software. The TSC7 is a Windows computer, so CEE-LINE CONNECT runs on it directly. If it isn’t already installed, download the installer from the CEE HydroSystems website. Once installed, a CEE-LINE CONNECT shortcut appears on the TSC7 desktop.

**Figure 5.** The CEE-LINE CONNECT utility.

Which COM port is the CEE-LINE™ on?

The CEE-LINE™ talks to the TSC7 through one of its COM (serial) ports. As on any Windows computer, open Device Manager and expand Ports (COM & LPT) to see the full list. The right port depends on the cable:

DB9 RS-232 port: always COM1.
“Smart” USB cable: Windows assigns an arbitrary COM port number when it’s plugged in, for example COM26. The number stays the same every time you connect with the same cable. A different “Smart” USB cable gets a new number, even for the same CEE-LINE™. When the cable is unplugged, the port disappears from the list.

**Figure 6.** Device Manager with the TSC7 RS-232 port (COM1) highlighted.

**Figure 7.** Device Manager with the “Smart” USB cable (COM26) highlighted.

How do I configure the CEE-LINE™?

One program at a time. CEE-LINE CONNECT and Trimble Access can’t share the COM port. Disconnect in CEE-LINE CONNECT before Trimble Access (or any other software) can talk to the CEE-LINE™, and vice versa.

Connect to the CEE-LINE™ in CEE-LINE CONNECT and set:

Setting	Set to	Why
Output format	NMEA DBT (default) or CEESTAR	Trimble Access needs one of these to receive depth data. CEESTAR carries both channels (high and low frequency); NMEA DBT carries only the channel that’s enabled.
Baud rate	9600 bps (default)	You can change it, but it must match the baud rate in the TSC7 survey style.
Maximum depth	Expected survey depth + 25–50%	It’s a hard limit: deeper than this and no data is received. Don’t enter the largest value (e.g. 100 m for a 20 m survey); a sensible limit improves echo sounder performance.
Draft	0	Draft is added to the depth output. The antenna height, from the base of the transducer to the GNSS, is applied in Trimble Access instead.

Press the green Save button to store the settings in the CEE-LINE™’s non-volatile memory. Then press Disconnect and close CEE-LINE CONNECT before you carry on.

How do I set up the survey style?

Each survey style you use with the CEE-LINE™ needs its echo sounder settings configured.

Start Trimble Access, open your project and job, and go to Settings › Survey Styles.
Select the survey style, then Echo sounder, and press Edit.
Set the fields as in the table below.
Press Accept to store the survey style, then escape from the configuration.

**Figure 8.** Trimble Access Settings › Survey Styles.

**Figure 9.** The Echo sounder option in the survey style.

Field	Set to
Type	The output format the CEE-LINE™ is set to, usually NMEA SDDBT.
Controller port	COM1 for the DB9 RS-232 connector, or the “Smart” USB cable’s COM port from Device Manager.
Baud rate	The same as CEE-LINE CONNECT: 9600 bps by default.
Data bits	8
Parity	None
Stop bits	1

**Figure 10.** Echo sounder options with the “Smart” USB cable on COM26.

**Figure 11.** Setting the Type to NMEA SDDBT device.

With the echo sounder set up, Trimble Access adds a Depth field to the survey screen whenever this survey style is used.

**Figure 12.** The Depth field in the continuous topo display.