Commodore CASSIOPEI, User Manual

Page: 71 / 76

13 Upgrading the Cassiopei's firmware
The Cassiopei is based on microcontroller system which can be (re)programmed. The software that
makes this microcontroller behave like a Cassiopei is called firmware (sometimes abbreviated with
“fw”) and is not installed on the SD_card but is embedded on the internal flash memory of the
microcontroller. Now if there is one thing we are all accustomed to in this modern time and age, then it
is updates. Updates for the Cassiopei are called firmware updates and are released whenever new
functionality has been added (or a nasty bug has been found and fixed). Keep checking the Cassiopei
website from time to time to see if there is an update available.
Before you start uploading new firmware into your Cassiopei, make sure that you are aware of your
current firmware version. This way you know if an update is required. And this way you can easily
confirm that a performed update has succeeded. In order to determine the Cassiopei's firmware version
you must insert the Cassiopei into your CBM computer and then switch it on while watching the
display. For a brief second the firmware version is shown. However, this may be to briefly for some
people to read, but fortunately there is a simple way to extend the time this information is shown.
Simply remove the SD-card, because when the Cassiopei has no SD-card inserted, the Cassiopei will
not continue and the display keeps showing the firmware version until the system is reset or switched
off.
There are three methods to program new firmware into the Cassiopei, the first is over the serial port,
which is available through the expansion connector), however this method requires additional cables in
order to connect to your PC, but it also requires special software. This low level method of
programming is mainly used during development and production of the Cassiopei. Therefore this
method will not be further discussed here. The second method is through an ordinary web interface. The
third method is through the SD-card, by installing a firmware file onto the SD-card the Cassiopei will
use it when found (this method is not available on firmware versions lower than v2019XXXX)
ATTENTION:
updating the firmware is potentially dangerous! Only update the firmware with a file
that comes from the Cassiopei website. You don't want to brick your device, do you?
13.1 FW Update through webinterface
Download the new firmware from the Cassiopei website and store it in a practical location, you will
need this later.
Configure the Cassiopei to connect to the desired wifi network, make sure you choose a network that is
the same as to which your internet browser will be working on. So on the settings file of the SD-card
you must enable wifi and you need to define a wifi network and password (see example below).
;Cassiopei settings file
;-----------------------
WIFI=1;Enable wifi (0=OFF, 1=ON)
SSID_1=H123456DE7A
KEY_1=ABCDEFFA524E
SSID_2=your_2nd_network_SSID
KEY_2=your_2nd_network_password
SSID_3=your_3rd_network_SSID
KEY_3=your_3rd_network_password
etc.
2019-10-27 Page 71 of 76 CASSIOPEI v2.0