ASG Tech Note: Connecting and Communicating with DSA
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Within DSA Pilot, select “Com Settings” under the “Tools” menu. Ensure that “Analog Audio/EIA-
485 control” is selected under “Type”, and the correct COM Port is selected under “Properties”.
Once you have done this, you are ready to proceed to step 5A.
NOTE: No other USB converters (including USB-to-232 converters with 232-485 adapters) should
be used to upgrade DSA firmware. Doing so can result in a firmware update failure. Supplemental
steps will then be required to restore functionality of the DSA.
4C: Troubleshooting:
What if I already tried to communicate and upgrade firmware with a USB – 232
adapter?
USB – 232 adaptors are not stable enough for the type of data transfer needed
for a firmware upgrade. When the DSA Pilot software for DSA is upgrading firmware, it
performs a system of checks and balances whereby the software erases one part of the
existing firmware, uploads the new firmware information, verifies a successful upgrade,
and moves to the next part of the upgrade. Because of the unstable transfer rate of the
USB – 232 converter, DSA and DSA Pilot Software may hang while trying to upgrade and
verify, resulting in a loop. At this point in the upgrade, most users choose to “force quit”
the process, or physically unplug the connection to DSA; possibly causing the LED on the
front may start to blink constantly.
This hard quit/disconnection causes the DSA to completely lose all firmware. You must
now “Force New Firmware” to restore functionality.
How do I perform a “Force New Firmware”?
To perform a “Force New Firmware” you must follow the steps below:
Step 1: Get the proper 232 serial connection from your computer. See Section 3 above.
Step 2: Reconnect to DSA.
Step 3: Go online (see Section 6 below) – this should call up the DSA module you were
upgrading firmware.
Step 4: Right click on that DSA module in the ‘Unassigned Modules’ section and select
‘Upgrade Firmware’
Step 5: In the window that opens, you will see the detected firmware version, the
available firmware version (current version is always the last one on the list – it is also
listed in the ‘Diagnostic’ window), and a box to ‘Retain Settings’. Uncheck the ‘Retain
Settings’ box.
Step 6: Click the ‘Update to Firmware Version’ button. This will force new firmware onto
DSA.
Step 7: Let DSA Pilot work to force new firmware. This process should take no more
than 15-20 minutes. If it is taking longer than 20 minutes, you have an improper
connection. Confirm your connections via Section 3 above.
Step 8: When the firmware update is complete, verify that you are at the current firmware
by right clicking on the DSA module, and then clicking on ‘ Diagnostics’. This will show
you the detected version of firmware.
