Tusa
How to import dives from a Tusa Zen Air (IQ-950)
The Tusa Zen Air (IQ-950) transfers over serial cable only. iOS does not expose that kind of connection to apps, so the dives come across once through a Mac or PC, then live on your phone forever.
Transfer the dives off the Tusa Zen Air (IQ-950)
- Install the driver for the cable
The serial cable is a USB-to-serial adapter, and its chipset needs a driver before any software can see the Tusa Zen Air (IQ-950). Install the FTDI driver, then reboot. Skip this and the desktop app will report no device on a cable that is working perfectly.
DataLog USB drivers, 64-bit Windows XP through 8.1
These cables are USB-to-serial. Without the FTDI driver the port never appears, and the software reports no device. - Connect the Tusa Zen Air (IQ-950) to a Mac or PC
Use the serial cable made for the Tusa Zen Air (IQ-950), not a generic charging cable: the data pins differ. Check the o-ring is seated, line the connector up with the notch on the case, and turn it to lock. An iPhone or iPad cannot open this kind of connection at all, so this step has to happen on a computer.
The o-ring must be in place, the nub lines up with the notch, then the head turns a quarter turn to lock. This cable is FTDI. - Put the computer into PC mode
Switch the Tusa Zen Air (IQ-950) into its PC or upload mode before you launch the software, not after. Most desktop apps only look for the unit at startup, so a computer that wakes up late is a computer the software never finds.
Most units only hold this mode for a minute or two, so do it last, right before you connect. - Download the dives with desktop software
Read the computer with TUSA IQ or Subsurface. Subsurface is free, open source, runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, and supports this model.
- Export the dives as UDDF
Export the whole logbook to a UDDF file. UDDF is the open dive-log exchange format and keeps the full depth profile, not just the summary numbers.
Export the whole logbook, not the visible page. UDDF keeps the sample-by-sample depth profile, which a summary CSV does not. - Import the file into SeaLog
Get the file to your phone. AirDrop, iCloud Drive or email all work, anything that lands it in the iOS Files app. Then in SeaLog tap the plus button, Import dives, UDDF file, and pick it. Every dive arrives with its profile, and duplicates are skipped.
A dive log app for the Zen Air (IQ-950)
Once the dives are in, SeaLog treats them like its own: a scrubbable depth profile, the site pinned on a map, water temperature, gas and tank, buddies, and the photos from your camera roll matched to the minutes you were underwater. Tag the animals you saw and they go into your species life list. It works offline on the boat and syncs when you are back, and your whole logbook exports to UDDF, CSV or PDF whenever you ask, so nothing is locked in here either.
Tusaโs own software and drivers
Alive and still selling computers (IQ1204 DC Solar Link, IQ-1301 TC1), and the legacy Windows software and manuals are all still hosted. But the Mac/iOS option TUSA points to has been pulled from the App Store.
- Desktop softwareTUSA Software downloads pageSingle hub listing every generation of TUSA desktop and mobile software.
- DriverDataLog USB drivers, 64-bit Windows XP through 8.1Only needed separately if the complete DataLog package fails.Windows
- DriverDataLog USB drivers, 32-bit Windows XP through 8.1Windows
- DriverDataLog USB drivers, Windows 2000Windows
- ManualTUSA product manuals indexCovers every computer back to the 1995 IQ-300.
- SupportTUSA customer support hub
- SupportSubsurface list of supported TUSA modelsCovers IQ-700, IQ-750 Element II, IQ-900 Zen, IQ-950 Zen Air and Talis.Win + Mac
Every link goes to Tusaโs own site and was checked before publishing. If one has rotted since, tell us and we will fix it.
Tusa Zen Air (IQ-950): common questions
Can I connect the Tusa Zen Air (IQ-950) to my iPhone directly?
No, and no app can change that. The Tusa Zen Air (IQ-950) transfers over serial cable only, a connection iOS does not expose to apps. Anyone promising a direct wireless download from this model is describing a different computer. The one-time cable route above gets every dive across.
Which cable and drivers do I need on a Mac?
Use the Tusa interface cable made for this model, not a generic charging cable: the data pins differ. Most of these cables are USB-to-serial and need the driver for their chipset on macOS, usually Silicon Labs CP210x or FTDI. Install the driver, reboot, and the port appears to the desktop software.
Do I have to do this every time I dive?
Only if you want the new dives in digitally. Many divers do the cable run once to rescue their history, then log new dives directly in SeaLog on the boat, which takes about as long as filling in a paper page.