Nixie Clock MOD-SIX Updating Instructions Download

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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:

This is a revised manual

Clock Firmware:

V08-08

GPS Repeater-Next Firmware:

V36

Keyfob Firmware:

V14

http://www.badnixie.com

Summary of Contents for MOD-SIX

Page 1: ...vides 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 V08 08 GPS Repeater Next Firmware V36 Keyfob Firmware V14 http www badnixie com ...

Page 2: ...is a registered trademark of Microsoft CAUTION This clock makes use of high voltages within the case Use extreme care when operating the clock with the cover removed The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by the authors The authors make no representations or warranties with respect to the contents or function of this documen...

Page 3: ...operating Avoid touching any components other than the updating dongle while power is applied Never install or remove the updating dongle or the RF Link mezzanine board while power is applied Like all electronic devices the clock system components can be damaged by static electricity When updating the ﬁrmware always touch the aluminum base plate ﬁrst to discharge any static The tubes are extremely...

Page 4: ... will be NEX xx where xx indicates the GPS repeater s current ﬁrmware version Note The clock must be running ﬁrmware V08 01 or newer AND the GPS repeater must be a next generation model V31 or newer in order to display this information Failure to display messages from the repeater does not identify which of the clock GPS repeater or both is out of date Note The repeater ﬁrmware also displays the v...

Page 5: ...being updated and will not install the update if it is for the wrong device Figure 2 1 Updating Dongle front and back views Note You may want to write down your clock conﬁguration settings before proceeding as the update process resets the clock to default values To perform the update disconnect the power cord from the clock Remove the acrylic cover you may want to use cotton gloves or some simila...

Page 6: ...mewhat different the ISP connector is in the same location and orientation Install the updating dongle on the CPU with the dongle components facing away from the tubes Make sure that all 6 pins on the dongle are on the matching pins on the CPU not offset by one pin Note The clock generates and uses high voltages to operate the tubes Use caution to not touch any clock components other than the upda...

Page 7: ...cessful update and the clock will reset and display the new ﬁrmware version If the red LED is lit instead the ﬁrmware update was unsuccessful and you should press the button again to repeat the update procedure Note During the updating process the tubes may go blank or freeze while displaying a message This display may be brighter or dimmer than normal operation and does not indicate a problem wit...

Page 8: ...icon random word dictionary may be updated using a Windows PC an Apple Mac running OS X or any other system that supports USB Mass Storage devices such as systems running FreeBSD or Linux You will need the following in order to update the GPS repeater ﬁrmware A computer of one of the types shown above and general familiarity with command line operations on that computer GPS repeater Updated ﬁrmwar...

Page 9: ...ton is pressed ﬁrmly and repeat the operation Once the GPS repeater powers up in updating mode your computer may or may not display a Found new hardware or similar message The computer should automatically install any necessary driver software If you are prompted to provide driver software allow the computer to search the appropriate places for it For example Windows Update when using a Windows co...

Page 10: ... in this chapter assume you are using the provided ﬁrmware ﬁle named RPTR NEX_V36_LEX BASIC bin although the procedure is the same with a customized lexicon 2 2 2 Updating procedure for Microsoft Windows Open a command prompt window on the computer This is normally done with the Start Run menu sequence followed by typing cmd and pressing Enter but can vary depending on the version of Windows insta...

Page 11: ...rm an eject function by double clicking on the Computer or My Computer in some versions of Windows icon normally near the top left of the Windows desktop Then right click on the drive letter of the GPS repeater and select Eject from the drop down menu Note If the computer responds with some form of Drive in use error message it is possible that you did not close the command line window you used to...

Page 12: ...ar Drag and drop the CRP DISABLD folder from the desktop onto the terminal window Type The command line should now look similar to this MyComputer myname cp av Users myname Desktop NEWFILE Volumes CRP DISABLD Note The symbol indicates that this is part of the previous line but split to ﬁt the format of this manual After conﬁrming that your command line looks like the above press Return to copy the...

Page 13: ...onnect the GPS antenna cable if previously disconnected The antenna cable only needs to be tightened ﬁnger tight Plug the USB power cable into the GPS repeater The repeater should power up and display its ﬁrmware version via blink codes For example three red blinks followed by six green blinks would indicate ﬁrmware V36 The repeater will then send various pieces of information to the clock which w...

Page 14: ...ure 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 2 10 ...

Page 15: ...ith GEN IIv7 clocks V08 08 Version shipped with GEN IIv8 SLW clocks latest version 3 2 GPS repeater version history V10 Version shipped with GEN II clocks and GEN I upgrade kits V26 Version shipped with GEN IIv7 clocks V27 Version shipped as an update for GEN IIv7 clocks V36 Version shipped with GEN IIv8 SLW clocks with word dictionary latest version 3 3 Keyfob version history V12 Version for prot...

Page 16: ...lob The second line is the name of the ﬁrmware ﬁle to create The third line is the display name of the lexicon which will be displayed on the clock when the GPS repeater powers up or is paired to the clock The following lines which can be as few as one or as many as you d like list the ﬁlenames of lexicons to be incorporated into the ﬁrmware This example includes both the 4 and 6 letter dirty lexi...

Page 17: ...5 10 50 AM 138 slw_dirty txt 07 06 2015 09 43 AM 126 164 slw_large txt 6 File s 285 951 bytes Total Files Listed 16 File s 550 517 bytes 8 Dir s 102 133 772 288 bytes free C tmp type lex_basic cfg rptr nex_3 6 blob RPTR NEX_V36_LEX BASIC bin BASIC words flw_dirty txt words slw_dirty txt words flw_basic txt words slw_basic txt C tmp lex_make exe lex_basic cfg LEXICON MAKE UTIL 1 4 August 2015 Proce...

Page 18: ...one capital letter the word will be marked as dirty Note There is no reason other than convenience that the dirty word lists are stored in separate ﬁles You can merge them into a single ﬁle if you prefer A 2 1 Suggestions for managing custom lexicons We suggest that you create a new cfg ﬁle using one of the existing ones as a template and that you also add your words to a separate lexicon ﬁle Futu...

Page 19: ...Building custom lexicons lines This ensures that your custom ﬁrmware has the lastest GPS repeater code included A 4 ...

Page 20: ... have been tested by us so some experimentation may be needed Here are some pointers which may be useful The CPU on the clock is an ATMEGA168A and should be programmed at 5V Many USBasp devices come with a 10 pin programming connector In that case you will need a 10 pin to 6 pin adapter for programming the MOD SIX clock On some programmers adapters the 6 pin connector has a large keying tab which ...

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