|
June 21, 2005
Firmware Update for DCC Pocket Tester
Buy Here
| Review
An update to the firmware of DCC Pocket Tester is
available below. The most up to date version should always be available
from Pricom Design's
web site.
To install this Firmware Image Update please follow
the instructions here:
First we need to get the software and the Image File:
1- Download the updated image file from the following
address: http://www.pricom.com/Downloads/Trains/DCC_Tester_v1_4.pdi
when prompted, “SAVE” this file in a good location, “MyDocuments”
is o.k., or create a folder called “PRICOM” where you
can save image files.
2- If you already have the PRICOM Universal Uploader,
you can skip the next step.
3- Download the “PRICOM Universal Uploader”
from the following address: http://www.pricom.com/Downloads/UploaderSetup.exe
you can click “SAVE” or “RUN”. If you save this
file, you will need to find it, and double-click to run the Setup
after the download is compete.
4- There may be a message saying “Publisher
Could Not Be Verified”. You need to run this file to install
the Uploader. I am working on obtaining the Digital Signature to
make this message go away.
5- If you receive a message about needing “Microsoft
.NET Framework” then you will need to load that before you
can install the Uploader. To get the .NET framework, you can do
a Windows Update, or you can download it here: http://www.pricom.com/Downloads/DotNetFrameworkInstall.exe
6- Once the .NET framework is installed, you will
have to go back and install the PRICOM Universal Uploader in step
#3 above.
7- Now that you have the Universal Uploader and the
DCC_Tester_V1_V.PDI image file, you can load it into your DCC Tester.
8- Here is a link to the updated DCC Tester user
manual for Version 1.4
http://www.pricom.com/Downloads/Trains/DCC%20Tester%20Manual.pdf
To Install the Firmware Image file:
1- Connect the DCC Tester to the included Modular
to Serial Cable that came with your unit. Make sure to plug the
Modular jack into the DCC Tester jack labeled “RS-232”.
2- Connect the DB-9 end of the cable to an available
COM port on your PC.
3- Click “Start” -> “Programs”
-> “PRICOM Design” -> “Universal Uploader”
4- If you have never run the program before, select
the Serial Port that is connected to the DCC Tester by clicking
“Port” -> “Setup”.
5- The screen should now show “Port=COMx”
at the bottom left.
6- Click the “Write Firmware” button, and
click “YES” to the box that pops up.
7- A file browser will appear, move to the location
where you saved the “DCC_Tester_V1_4.PDI” file above.
You can click the “Look in:” at the top to change folders
if you saved it in the “My Documents” folder.
8- Select the “DCC_Tester_V1_4.PDI” file
from the list once you have found it, and then click the “Open”
button.
9- A box will appear with the date and time the image
was created. For Version 1.4 it should show “Created 6/16/2005
3:48:51 AM”, click the “OK” button.
10- At this point, the PC is waiting to hear from
the DCC Pocket Tester. You should apply power to the DCC Tester
from the DCC Rails, or from any 9V battery, 12V battery, or an AC
or DC wall-wart between 8V and 16V. If you are near your railroad,
the DCC rails are easy and convenient.
11- Once power is applied to the DCC Tester, the
PC will start loading the new firmware into the DCC Tester. You
will see a “Firmware Update Progress” box appear on the
PC screen.
12- If you cancel the Upload, or the power goes out,
or the DCC Tester looses its power, you can simply re-Upload the
image again.
13- Once the Firmware update has completed, you will
see the Initialization screen on the DCC Tester. You will also see
a message on the PC screen saying “Greetings from the PRICOM
DCC Tester Version 1.4”. If you see a different message, or
a different Version, you have selected the wrong image file to upload.
To correct this, simply go back to Step #6 above, click the “Write
Firmware” button and upload the correct image file.
14- Your firmware update is now complete.
When future updates are made available, you will
only have to get the Firmware Image from the PRICOM web site, and
upload it into your DCC Pocket Tester.
Changes in DCC Tester Firmware Version 1.4 (from
version 1.3)
GENERAL NOTES
=============
Grounding via the RS232 Port
----------------------------
The RS232 port is NOT electrically isolated from the DCC signal.
The DCC signal is rectified and used to power the DCC Tester. The
'GROUND' from the rectifier bridge is then connected to the RS232
ground. As a result, DCC Track Voltage measurements should be made
WITHOUT the RS232 cable connected. If your booster outputs (not
chassis ground) are connected to ground in any way, you could cause
a short-circuit across the DCC Tester, with serious damage resulting.
Please be careful.
Baud Rates on the RS232 Port
----------------------------
The PRICOM Universal Uploader is used to load the firmware image
into the FLASH of the DCC Tester. The Uploader talks to a "Booter"
inside the DCC Tester. This communication happens at 9600 baud,
no matter what you set the DCC Tester for. As a result, the DCC
Tester can dump DCC data though the RS232 port at a rate different
than the BOOTER messages. To help minimize the confusion, the DCC
Tester sends out a "Greetings..." message at bootup using
the 9600 baud rate. This message will display in the Universal Uploader
window. Once the message is sent, the DCC Tester will change baud
rates to the Serial Setup Screen configured rate. If you start to
dump packets with the Universal Uploader window still open, you
may see 'garbage' or other strange behavior. This is due to the
baud rate changing after boot. If you have your own software to
monitor the data dump from the DCC Tester, or use a terminal emulation
program such as HyperTerm, you may see some 'garbage' at boot time
since the "Greetings..." message is sent at 9600 baud,
and the terminal program would probably be using a rate higher than
9600. We do suggest that you use the default of 115200 baud for
data dumping as using 9600 can cause packet loss because the RS232
port can not keep up at this slower rate.
DCC Boosters and "THRESHOLD" setting in
the General Setup screen
----------------------------------------------------------------
The NMRA DCC Specification S-9.1 states the minimum and maximum
times for a '1' bit. These timings are give from 2 different perspectives;
a Booster, and a Decoder. The DCC Tester General Setup screen allows
you to set these thresholds for use in your DCC Tester. We have
observed that some manufactures of Command Station/Boosters will
conform to the Decoder timing specification, but do NOT conform
to the Booster specification. As an example, one system tested uses
a '1' time of 52.4uS to 52.8uS. This violates the DCC S-9.1 specification
that a "Power Station" should put out a '1' time of 55uS
to 61uS. The system in question still obeys the S-9.1 "Decoder"
specification of 52uS to 64uS. The original DCC Tester bit-timing
thresholds have been left for you to use and are called "RELAXED"
in that they are slightly looser, and will cause less bit-error
readings if you are more interested in packet decoding.
OPS MODE PROGRAMMING SCREEN
---------------------------
We did not implement this feature yet.
External Power Source for the DCC Tester
----------------------------------------
You can supply an external power source to your DCC tester so that
it will not loose statistics or captures during a track short, or
turning on and off the track power. Using a modular cable, supply
8-12VDC to pin 1 & 2 of the PNET Jack. This connector is symmetrical,
so reversing the plug will not cause any problems. Accidentally
connecting this power cable to the RS232 jack will not cause any
problems either.
PNET Connector Pinout:
1-BUS Power (input of 8-12VDC, 70-80MA)
2-Ground
3-Data-
4-Data+
5-Ground
6-BUS Power (input of 8-12VDC, 70-80MA)
A wall-wart of 9VDC works perfect for this task. Be aware the ground
for the DCC Tester, RS232 port, and the PNET jack are all connected,
so the external PNET power source needs to 'float', in other words,
it needs to be isolated from the booster, command station, and PC.
A 9V Battery could also be used, but might not last
too long. The DCC Tester power source will be the higher of the
2 voltage, so when track power is supplied (12V-18V) the external
PNET power source would not be used at all. This makes a 9V battery
a bit more attractive.
NOTE:
Keep in mind that when the track power is 'turned off', the booster
output can 'hover' around 0V and cause the DCC Tester to falsely
acquire bits. Most of those bits will be 'BAD'. In the case of my
Digitrax DCS200, and NCE PHPRO, the BAD BIT counter will count quite
rapidly when the track power is turned off.
If you simply un-plug the Track Input from the DCC
Tester, there is no way to guarantee that you un-plugged it exactly
at a packet boundary. A similar situation occurs when plugging-in
to the DCC Tester. When the power is supplied from the DCC Rails,
the DCC Tester automatically clears all the statistics, so you don't
see this behavior. However, if you already have power supplied thought
the PNET jack, the DCC Tester will NOT clear the statistics when
first receiving DCC power, so the same BAD BITS situation occurs.
For these reasons, the External Power Source for
the DCC Tester may be of limited usefulness.
SCREEN BY SCREEN LIST OF CHANGES
================================
Quick summary screen
--------------------
-Now shows track voltage ("15.5V") instead of PASS/LOW/FAIL
-Since the bit-timing thresholds are settable now (see General Setup
Screen below), the "BIT TIMING" PASS/FAIL is calculated
from the BIT ERRORS display instead of the actual received bit timing.
This is because if a bit was too short, it is not recognized as
a bit at all, and thus is added to the "SHORT BIT" totals,
making the BAD BITS count higher. The threshold for PASS/FAIL is
now .005% (was .05%), if the BAD BITS to TOTAL BITS ratio is higher
than .005% it is considered "FAIL". So in fact the PASS/FAIL
is derived from bit timing, bit indirectly.
Bit Summary screen
------------------
-Changed Track Voltage to only display 2 decimal places ("15.53"),
and updates only once per second.
Address Summary screen
----------------------
-Lowest & Highest addresses now show 2-digit (xxx) or 4-digit
(xxxx) addresses
Address Detail screen
---------------------
-Now contains a counter of the total Accessory Addresses received
Mobile Address List Screen
--------------------------
-All addresses now use the format of xxx for 2-digit and xxxx for
4-digit addresses
-Pressing SEL now also clears the LCD to remove old data, was messy
before
Accessory Address List Screen
-----------------------------
-New screen to show the most recent 32 active Accessory Addresses
and the Packet Count to each.
-This screen is listed in order of the packets being received. The
most recent packet will be shown on the BOTTOM of the list.
-For your convenience, the list automatically scrolls to the bottom
with each packet reception.
-You can scroll up and down on this list, only the most recent 32
addresses are available.
-While using the UP and DOWN keys to scroll, the automatic scrolling
to the last entry is disabled for 10 seconds. After 10 seconds,
the list will resume automatic scrolling to the bottom.
-Each time a new accessory packet is received, that address is move
to the bottom of the list since it was the most recent.
Accessory Monitor Screen
------------------------
-New screen to show the current state of the accessories listed
in the Accessory Address List. This screen can only track the current
state
of the most recent 32 accessory decoders.
-Scrolling and auto-scrolling behavior is the same as the Accessory
Address List Screen described above.
Data Monitor Screen
-------------------
-Now correctly separates 2-digit and 4-digit decoding. In v1.3 the
2 and 4 digit decoding was mixed together. This was especially problematic
with NCE systems which allow the same number to be used as 2 digit
and 4 digit simultaneously.
Added new General Setup Screen
------------------------------
Use this screen to select the bit-timing thresholds. Available settings
are "DECODER", "BOOSTER", and "RELAXED".
Each of these settings represents the NMRA timings specified in
S9.1 for Decoder and Booster. Additionally there is a Relaxed mode
that will allow most or all booster/command stations to pass so
you can just decode the packets. If you are not concerned with the
validity of the bit-timings, use the default setting of "RELAXED".
Added new Serial Setup Screen
-----------------------------
-Use this screen to set the RS-232 baud rate, and the packet dump
format and filtering.
-Baud rates supported: 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200. We suggest
using the highest rate your PC/MAC can tolerate. At 9600 baud, the
DCC packets can overrun the serial port!
-Formats supported: "Disabled"=No DCC Data is sent to
the Serial Port, "Decoded Text"=Viewable with any terminal
emulation program, "RAW Binary"=Packets are sent in the
following format <packet bytes><byte count><0xFF><0x0D>,
and "Packetized Binary"=PRICOM STX/ETX raw format with
CRC protection (contact us if you want the protocol for this format).
-Filters supported: "No Filtering"=all data is sent out
the serial port, "Mobile Only"=only sends packets addressed
to Multi-Function decoders, "Accessory Only"=only sends
packets addressed to Accessory decoders.
-No attempt was made to remove redundant data packets, so if you
send the Mobile Decoder data to the serial port, you will have lots
of data sent to your terminal program. However, having the repeated
data allows external software to see ALL the DCC data on the rails.
SERIAL DUMP FORMAT
==================
In Decoded Packet format, these are the possible output strings:
- "Broadcast Decoder Reset" = Packet addressed as a broadcast,
and the function is "Decoder Reset"
- "Broadcast Packet" = Packet was addressed as a broadcast,
but not a decoder reset
- "Broadcast STOP Packet" = Decoder STOP packet send at
a broadcast
- "Decoder Idle Packet" = This is sent by many command
stations as a way to fill the rails with something
- "Unknown Address Sequence" = We don't know how to decode
this address sequence
Most 'normal' packets will come in this format:
ADR=aaaa CMD=cccccccc (the rest depends on the CMD) where aaaa is
always 4 characters, cccccccc is always 8 characters.
ADR=aaaa is the Decoder Address, " nnn"
is used for 2-digit addresses with a leading space "nnnn"
is used for 4-digit addresses. With NCE, a single number can be
used as 2-digit AND 4-digit simultaneously, this leading space is
the only way to tell if it was the 2-digit version.
Sample Decoded Packets
----------------------
Speed Packet: "ADR= 003 CMD=Speed STP=14/28 DIR=Rev SPD=S16"
-STP=14/28 or STP=128
-DIR=Fwd or DIR=Rev
-SPD=Stop, SPD=E-Stop, SPD=Sxx (where xx=01 to 14 or 28)
Speed Packet: "ADR= 003 CMD=Speed STP=128 DIR=Fwd
SPD=S016"
-STP=14/28 or STP=128
-DIR=Fwd or DIR=Rev
-SPD=Stop, SPD=E-Stop, SPD=Sxxx (where xx=001 to 128)
Function Packet: "ADR= 003 CMD=Function GRP=F0-4
VAL=10100
-GRP=F0-4, F5-8, or F9-12
-VAL=bbbbb where each 'b' is the current state of the Function in
order 0-4. (sample has F0&F2 ON)
Function Packet: "ADR= 003 CMD=Function GRP=F9-12
VAL=0101
-GRP=F0-4, F5-8, or F9-12
-VAL=bbbb where each 'b' is the current state of the Function in
order 9-12. (sample has F10&F12 ON)
Accessory Packet:"ADR= 003 CMD=Accessry VAL=Closed/N(ON)
ACT=On
-CMD=Accessry is spelled wrong to fit in the 8 character field
-VAL=Closed/N(ON) or Thrown/R(OFF)
-ACT=On or Off (this shows the state of the 'Activate' bit)
Accessory Packet:"ADR= 003 CMD=Accessry VAL=Thrown/R(OFF)
ACT=Off
-CMD=Accessry is spelled wrong to fit in the 8 character field
-VAL=Closed/N(ON) or Thrown/R(OFF)
-ACT=On or Off (this shows the state of the 'Activate' bit)
SERIAL PORT COMMANDS
====================
You can send a single ASCII (keyboard) character to control the
current Serial Port state. This will work in any of the Text, Binary,
or Packet modes to control the DCC Tester Serial output data.
“G” = GO - Enable the dumping in Decoded
Text Mode
“B” = Binary - Enable the dumping in BINARY MODE
“P” = Packet - Enable the dumping in PACKET MODE
“S” = STOP - Halt the dumping
“Q” = Query - Dump all the DCC Tester statistics (Not
Implemented, will be in v1.5)
“A” = Accessory - Accessory Only (filter mode = Accessory
Only)
“M” = Mobile - Mobile Only (filter mode = Mobile Only)
“F” = Filter - No Filters (filter mode = none, send ALL
date)
“V” = Version - Give me the DCC Tester Version Number
Since the DCC Tester will respond with the dumping
disabled, you can control the Port Output with a program or Terminal
Emulation Program (HyperTerm on the PC) right at DCC Tester power
on. No user intervention is required on the DCC Tester.
To use these commands, setup a terminal screen such
as HyperTerm on the PC, set the Baud Rate to match the DCC Tester
(Default is 115200), with NO HANDSHAKING, or "Flow Control"
set to "NONE". When you power-up the DCC Tester, you should
see a "Greetings..." Message from the DCC Tester on your
Terminal Screen. Now you can hit the 'G' key to start the Text Dump.
Now hit the 'M' key to see only Mobile Addresses, or 'A' key to
see only Accessory Addresses, or the 'F' key to see ALL addresses
(filter off). When finished, you can hit the 'S' key to Stop the
data dump.
|
