I've uploaded the latest version, kinda, of pblq:
http://www.cowlark.com/amstrad
This is a whole lot better than 0.2 and features faster blessing code (ripped off from pbltool, ta muchly), better protocol handling, much more efficient flash erase, it now defaults to the right baud rates, etc, etc.
This is mostly useful for talking to the E2. It will also talk to the E3, but that's much less tested. In particular, the sync protocol on the E3 is different from the E2; for some reason the E3 (or, *my* E3) doesn't send a handshake byte after you've synced with it, the way the E2 does, which makes figuring out when it's ready for packets rather messy, which explains why syncing is always a bit unreliable.
It's a pre1 because my E2 died in the middle of testing. No, I don't think pblq killed it.
David Given wrote:
I've uploaded the latest version, kinda, of pblq:
http://www.cowlark.com/amstrad
This is a whole lot better than 0.2 and features faster blessing code (ripped off from pbltool, ta muchly), better protocol handling, much more efficient flash erase, it now defaults to the right baud rates, etc, etc.
This is mostly useful for talking to the E2. It will also talk to the E3, but that's much less tested. In particular, the sync protocol on the E3 is different from the E2; for some reason the E3 (or, *my* E3) doesn't send a handshake byte after you've synced with it, the way the E2 does, which makes figuring out when it's ready for packets rather messy, which explains why syncing is always a bit unreliable.
It's a pre1 because my E2 died in the middle of testing. No, I don't think pblq killed it.
Hi David,
I've just given this version a try - no joy though. It just sits there "Waiting for device reset..."
I am trying to talk to a fresh out of the box E2 with a simple zener diode voltage limiter serial cable. One thing that might be causing problems is my USB>RS232 converter - I shall have to find a laptop with a real serial port to try again.
cheers, Dave
Dave Mills wrote: [...]
I've just given this version a try - no joy though. It just sits there "Waiting for device reset..."
I am trying to talk to a fresh out of the box E2 with a simple zener diode voltage limiter serial cable. One thing that might be causing problems is my USB>RS232 converter - I shall have to find a laptop with a real serial port to try again.
Don't forget that the protocol requires the E2 to talk back. RS232 is
+3V for logic 0, <-3V for logic 1, and the E2 expects TTL voltages with
0V for logic 0 and 5V for logic 1 --- so the sense is inverted with respect to RS232. I don't think you can convert in both directions with a simple voltage limiter.
I used a hacked mobile phone cable --- details on my website. I don't think that specific model's in production any more, but once you know what to look for RS232-TTL converters are reasonably easy to come by.
David Given wrote:
Dave Mills wrote: [...]
I've just given this version a try - no joy though. It just sits there "Waiting for device reset..."
I am trying to talk to a fresh out of the box E2 with a simple zener diode voltage limiter serial cable. One thing that might be causing problems is my USB>RS232 converter - I shall have to find a laptop with a real serial port to try again.
Don't forget that the protocol requires the E2 to talk back. RS232 is
+3V for logic 0, <-3V for logic 1, and the E2 expects TTL voltages with
0V for logic 0 and 5V for logic 1 --- so the sense is inverted with respect to RS232. I don't think you can convert in both directions with a simple voltage limiter.
I used a hacked mobile phone cable --- details on my website. I don't think that specific model's in production any more, but once you know what to look for RS232-TTL converters are reasonably easy to come by.
I'm using the paranoid serial cable from the wiki: http://wiki.earth.li/Serial_cable_for_the_paranoid
I'll give pblq2 a try again to see if that talks to the E2, with my setup. It didn't compile with gcc4 when I tried, then I saw your update was out and didn't try again with pblq2.
cheers, Dave
Dave Mills wrote: [...]
I'm using the paranoid serial cable from the wiki: http://wiki.earth.li/Serial_cable_for_the_paranoid
Ah --- I see the problem!
The E2 and the E3 need *different* serial cables! The E2 uses TTL, while the E3 uses *inverted* TTL (0V for logic 1 and 5V for logic 0).
(In fact, strictly you should use a MAX232-ish circuit for the E3 as well; it emits 0V for logic 1, which isn't <-3V as the RS232 spec decrees, but most PC serial ports seem to cope anyway. I just plug mine straight in with no circuitry, using a cable for an old Canon digital camera --- sorry, can't find it to get the exact pinout; the cable, with a 9-pin serial plug on one end and a stereo jack on the other, would have had exactly the right pinout had I not chopped it up to look at the wiring.)
I'll give pblq2 a try again to see if that talks to the E2, with my setup. It didn't compile with gcc4 when I tried, then I saw your update was out and didn't try again with pblq2.
If you're playing with an E3 you're probably better off with pbltool. It does pretty much the same job, but is known to work on an E3, and is all nicely streamlined into the Linux distro.
-
Dave Mills -
David Given