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MOD-SIX
Nixie Clock System
Updating Instructions
August 2015
This manual provides instructions for updating the firmware of the
MOD-SIX Nixie Clock System firmware as well as a brief firmware
revision summary.
Revision/Update Information:
Clock Firmware:
GPS Repeater-Next Firmware:
Keyfob Firmware:
http://www.badnixie.com
This is a revised manual
V08-08
V36
V14
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Related Manuals for Nixie Clock MOD-SIX
Summary of Contents for Nixie Clock MOD-SIX
- Page 1 MOD-SIX Nixie Clock System Updating Instructions August 2015 This manual provides instructions for updating the firmware of the MOD-SIX Nixie Clock System firmware as well as a brief firmware revision summary. Revision/Update Information: This is a revised manual Clock Firmware:...
- Page 2 26 August 2015 This document may be freely copied provided it is not modified. For permission to distribute modified versions of this document, contact the author. Apple, Mac, and Mac OS are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc. FreeBSD is a registered trademark of The FreeBSD Foundation. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
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Page 3: Intended Audience
Preface This manual provides instructions for performing firmware updates as well as a brief firmware version summary for the MOD-SIX Nixie Clock System. Intended Audience This manual is intended for all MOD-SIX Nixie Clock System owners. Important Cautions Hazardous voltages are present at some locations on the circuit boards when the clock is operating. - Page 4 Identifying the installed firmware In order to determine if there is a newer version of firmware available for any of your clock components, you will need to first determine the current versions. This chapter provides instructions for identifying the firmware version of each clock system component.
- Page 5 Firmware updating procedures Clock updating procedure Clock firmware updates are performed with a small updating dongle. The dongle installs the new firmware onto the clock CPU and is removed once the update is completed. Note: Depending on your current clock firmware version, you may or may not receive a clock updating dongle.
- Page 6 Firmware updating procedures board installed, you will need to remove the mezzanine board in order to access the ISP connector. Figure 2–2 Location of ISP connector on CPU Note: The above picture shows a GEN I CPU. While the layout of the GEN II CPU is somewhat different, the ISP connector is in the same location and orientation.
- Page 7 Firmware updating procedures Figure 2–3 Dongle installed on CPU Apply power to the clock and wait for it to proceed through its normal startup. If the clock does not power on and display the normal startup messages, immediately disconnect the power and check your installation of the updating dongle.
- Page 8 Firmware updating procedures 2.1.1 Return of the updating dongle Once you have confirmed that the firmware has been updated and all components are operating normally, please email badnixie@badnixie.com for the address to return the dongle to. Note: A single dongle and its packaging can be mailed in a regular envelope and should be under 1 ounce.
- Page 9 Firmware updating procedures Figure 2–4 GPS repeater top view Unplug the USB power cable from the GPS repeater’s USB connector (shown on the right side of the figure above). If necessary, unscrew the GPS antenna connector from the repeater (left side, lower). You may leave the radio antenna attached.
- Page 10 Firmware updating procedures corporate environments). Try a port in a different group (for example, try a port on the back of the computer if you were using one on the front). You can also try using a different USB cable and / or a different computer. Once you have the GPS repeater in updating mode and detected by the computer with any necessary drivers installed, it should appear as an additional disk drive.
- Page 11 Firmware updating procedures C:\tmp>dir i: Volume in drive I is CRP DISABLD Directory of I:\ 02/06/2009 10:10 AM 131,072 firmware.bin 1 File(s) 131,072 bytes 0 Dir(s) 0 bytes free C:\tmp>del i:firmware.bin C:\tmp>xcopy c:\tmp\RPTR-NEX_V36_LEX-BASIC.bin i:\ C:\tmp\RPTR-NEX_V36_LEX-BASIC.bin 1 File(s) copied C:\tmp>dir i: Volume in drive I is CRP DISABLD Directory of I:\ 08/24/2015...
- Page 12 Firmware updating procedures • Drag and drop the old repeater firmware file from the CRP DISABLED drive onto the terminal window • Its path will be added to the end of the rm command, for example: MyComputer:~ myname$ rm /Volumes/CRP\ DISABLD/firmware.bin •...
- Page 13 Firmware updating procedures 2.2.4 Updating procedure for other operating systems It is not possible to enumerate methods for all of the possible operating systems that users may have. Review the Windows and Mac OS X procedures above for some background information. You will then need to perform the following general steps, in order: •...
- Page 14 Firmware updating procedures Keyfob updating procedure Due to the small size of the keyfob circuit board and enclosure, it is not practical for most users to upgrade the keyfob firmware. Firmware updates will be handled by a "return for update" procedure if it becomes necessary to update the keyfob firmware.
- Page 15 Version history Note: Gaps in version numbers indicate unreleased development versions. Clock version history • V06-06 - Version shipped with original GEN I clocks • V07-07 - Version shipped with GEN II clock kits • V07-09 - Version shipped with assembled GEN II clocks •...
- Page 16 Building custom lexicons Lexicon build procedure A pre-built version of the lex_make utility for Windows systems is provided as part of the firmware update kit. The source code is provided and should compile and run on any system with a modern C compiler and runtime library.
- Page 17 Building custom lexicons 08/25/2015 01:34 AM <DIR> 08/25/2015 01:34 AM <DIR> 08/25/2015 01:34 AM <DIR> code_source 08/24/2015 08:22 AM 138 lex_basic.cfg 08/24/2015 08:22 AM 103 lex_clean_only.cfg 08/24/2015 08:22 AM 103 lex_dirty_only.cfg 08/24/2015 08:22 AM 140 lex_large.cfg 07/29/2015 04:14 PM 118,796 lex_make.exe 08/24/2015 08:37 AM 2,835 readme.txt...
- Page 18 Building custom lexicons Lexicon file format The word files used by the lex_make utility have a simple format: 4 or 6 letters followed by either a space or the end of a line. The following sample shows the first few lines of the flw_basic.txt file: aahs aals abas abba abbe abed abet able ably abos abri abut abye abys aced aces ache achy acid acme acne acre acta acts acyl adds adit ados adze aeon aero aery afar agar agas aged agee ager ages agha agin agio...
- Page 19 Building custom lexicons lines). This ensures that your custom firmware has the lastest GPS repeater code included. A–4...
- Page 20 • The dongle’s checks for appropriate firmware type do not apply when directly programming the MOD-SIX clock. Therefore, it is definitely possible to flash something that doesn’t work. As long as you do NOT reprogram the fuses, you should be able to recover by flashing a valid firmware image.
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