Mercurial > whatever / changeset

--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/content/eip545b_4.rst	Thu Feb 15 17:58:46 2018 +0100
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+========================================
+ EIP 545B RF Frequency Counter - Part 4
+========================================
+
+:author: David Douard
+:Category: Electronics
+:Tags: test equipment, RF, EIP, 545, 545A, 545B, 575A, 578A, counter
+:series: EIP545B Frequency Counter
+:series_index: 4
+
+
+This part is about my attempt to modify the firmware to "fix" the problem of
+weird intial setup: a -160MHz offset and a resolution set to 5 digits.
+
+In the `previous part <{filename}/eip545b_3.rst>`_, we figured some probable
+spots in the firware where these default setup configurations might be set.
+
+EPROM checksums
+===============
+
+In order to be able to modify the content od the firmware without generating an
+error at startup, we must understand how checksum are computed.
+
+The Service Manual for the 578B does not explain how it is computed. The one
+for the 545A gives a clue but is not valid for the 545B: in the Option 2 (power
+meter) calibration procedure, since the "power vs. power" and "power vs.
+frequency" calibration tables are stored in the EPROM, the checksum must be
+computed when a calibration is performed. For this unit, the value at address
+0x02F6 must be set so that the sum modulo 256 of all bytes of the EPROM is
+equal to 0xFF.
+
+So the checksum is just a matter of sum modulo 256, but on the 545B, each EPROM
+chip has its content verified, as can be deduced by the fact there are 3 error
+codes (31, 32 and 33), one for each EPROM chip.
+
+I found the part of the initialisation code that compute this checksum::
+
+   ; Test PROM bank i (i in 1,2,3);
+   ; M000C: start address
+   ; M000E: i
+   6041 Z6041       CLRA                             ;4F
+   6042             LDY     #Z4000                   ;10 8E 40 00
+   6046             LDX     Z000C                    ;9E 0C
+   6048 Z6048       ADDA    ,X+                      ;AB 80
+   604A             LEAY    -$01,Y                   ;31 3F
+   604C             BNE     Z6048                    ;26 FA
+   604E             STX     >Z000C                   ;BF 00 0C
+   6051             LDB     >Z000E                   ;F6 00 0E
+   6054             CMPB    #$03                     ;C1 03
+   6056             BEQ     Z605E                    ;27 06
+   6058             DECB                             ;5A
+   6059             LDX     #MFFEA                   ;8E FF EA
+   605C             ADDA    B,X                      ;AB 85
+   605E Z605E       COMA                             ;43
+   605F             RTS                              ;39
+
+
+This chunck of code is called with the start address in 0x000C (set to 0x4000
+on normal initial execution), and EPROM 'bank' in byte 0x000E (can be 1, 2 or
+3). Once again, during normal init execution, this function is called with the
+value 1 in this memory cell.
+
+So when i = 1 or 2, the sum if computed (in register A), and the result is
+compared to the value stored at 0xFFEA (first EPROM) and 0xFFEB (second EPROM).
+
+For the third one (in which those checksum values are), no comparison is made,
+the sum is expected to be 0xFF, which can be achieved by modifying the value of
+byte 0xFFEC.
+
+
+Frequency Offset
+================
+
+As explained before, the frequency offset initial value seems to be set in the
+chunck of code around 0x6118-0x6125::
+
+   6118             LDX     #M0276                   ;8E 02 76
+   611B             LDA     #$01                     ;86 01
+   611D             STA     ,X                       ;A7 84
+   611F             STA     $02,X                    ;A7 02
+   6121             LDA     #$60                     ;86 60
+   6123             STA     $03,X                    ;A7 03
+
+So the easiest way to remove this is to replace this code by NOPs. I've tried
+this, computed the checksums and burnt a pair of EPROMs (only bank 1 and 3 are
+modified).
+
+And it worked! Mostly. The offset set to 0 as expected, but the "Offset"
+indicator remains on. I can live with that, but I'll try to figure out how to
+fix this also, if possible.
+
+
+Digits Resolution
+=================
+
+The chuck of initialisation code related to this setup is::
+
+   6125             LDX     #M005D                   ;8E 00 5D
+   6128             LDA     #$0D                     ;86 0D
+   612A             STA     $01,X                    ;A7 01
+   612C             LDA     #$05                     ;86 05
+   612E             STA     >M0045                   ;B7 00 45
+
+
+At least the last 3 lines are directly related to this resolutin setup. So I've
+tried to replace these few opcodes with NOPs.
+
+And the result is a partial success: all the digits are displayed when I power
+the device on, but the frequency counter still computes only 5 digits, the
+other ones stays zero. The gating is not modified. Not very useful as is...
+More digging required!