[hpsdr] Another Metis down

[K1rqg at aol.com]

Phil
 
I will pay very close attention when I try that again. Did you look at the 
instructions in "How it is done" compared to the complete user manual. 
I started reading at the heading "JTAG Programmer" and followed the
5 step process, but never saw in the written instructions any  reference
to JP1. Indeed when I tried to interrogate the JTAG, the  HPSDRProgrammer
said you must have JP1 installed and this is where I think I screwed  up!
 
I am just not sure, but I will certainly try it again when I am confident I 
 can 
recover from any disasters!
 
Thanks for your comments
 
73 de Joe
 
 
In a message dated 2/28/2011 9:44:21 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
phil at pharman.org writes:

Hi  Joe,

Thanks for your feedback regarding using Metis to program other  HPSDR 
boards.

I've just re-read the instructions in the Metis User  Manual regarding the
procedure to use, in particular to JP1, and it seems  correct to me.

With JP1 installed, and the power cycled, then Metis  will start in
BootLoader mode. This uses a different, fixed, MAC address to  that
normally assigned to the board.

In which case I can't see how  it would be able to erase or corrupt its own
flash memory.

You can  check that the board is in BootLoader mode since the indicator
LEDs have a  different pattern.

Perhaps when you re-program you board you could run  through the steps
again and see if you can reproduce the problem.

73  Phil...VK6APH





> ***** High Performance Software  Defined Radio Discussion List *****
>
>
> My Metis failed  with the same symptoms as K5SO had. End result was
> only the 4 power  LEDs lit and no other activity and of course, I could
> not
>  recover. Boot loader did not work.
>
> Previous to this failure, I  was able to use HPSDRProgrammer to update
> Metis code on XP 32 bit  machine. It never worked on WIN 7-64 bit PC.
>
> At the time of  failure, I was NOT updating Metis code, but attempting  to
> load  latest FPGA code in a spare Penelope board. I used the procedure
> in  the "How it is done" document "JTAG Programmer. I followed the 5
> step  process, which as I recall was missing reference to JP1, but   this
> was displayed in the Programmer process. All went well and  the  process
> reported no errors and programing complete. Cycled  power, and Metis
> went dormant, nothing referenced in any of the  documents would allow
> recovery. No boot loader, no other  activity.
>
> I am certain this was self inflicted, but I cannot  see anywhere along the
> process that an error was either encountered or  displayed.  I believe  it
> is related to JP1 function and/or  sequence of when to use it!
>
> The only difference that I can  tell you is that I was using a 3 slot  EU
> Atlas board vs the 6  slot US board. I always keep this connected to
> my XP PC for testing  and FPGA upgrades, and keep the 6 slot Atlas
> on the WIN 7-64 PC for on  air operation.
>
> I am currently running Diversity 18 (K5SO) code  with fantastic  results.
> I have developed some hardware interface  systems to integrate 3 RF
> probe antennas (plus 2 horizontal antennas)  with 2 Mercury boards,
> and have phenomenal performance, especially at  LF and VLF  frequencies.
>
> I am in the process of  documenting the hardware that I have  incorporated
> including  software control of the antennas via the I2C buss from  Mercury
>  to the HiZ amplifiers at the RF probes.
>
> I have also  encountered some issues with the transmit audio chain in  the
>  latest W5WC software, but not quite sure how to explain it, until   
further
> use.
>
> Thanks to ALL of you that have developed  this great HPSDR project and
> all the ongoing improvements,  etc.
>
> 73 de Joe
> K1RQG
>
>
> In a  message dated 2/22/2011 12:03:30 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
>  scotty at tonks.com writes:
>
> *****  High Performance Software  Defined Radio Discussion List *****
>
> Hi   Joe,
>
> The reason that you could not recover from your "fault"  is that  the
> bootloader code also resides in the PROM alongside  the operating
> code.  If the PROM contents get scrambled (which  they apparently
> did), the FPGA does not load either of the two images  from the PROM
> and nothing works, not even the  bootloader.
>
> It is hard to imagine  what could have messed  up the image in the
> PROM, but we'll all be looking  to see if  this happens again or to anyone
> else.
>
> Dan and I  powered up  and down literally hundreds of Metis boards and
> never  saw that  failure.
>
> 73,
> Scotty   WA2DFI
>
>
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