A21 Update User’s Manual, Revision 02, Release Date … · A21_Update 1.1 Manual Rev 02.doc 1/19. User’s Manual. ... 6 Log Window and Log File ... 8 Preparation of IRMA Analyzer

Project: A21_Update

Content: User’s Manual 03/28/2011

Author: Bernd Schubert Rev. 02

A21_Update 1.1 Manual Rev 02.doc 1/19

User’s Manual

Firmware Update Tool for IRMA Analyzers

„A21_Update“ V1.1.4.9

Document status

Revision Date Comments

00 06/29/10 Initial draft

01 07/01/10 General revision

02 03/28/11 Adaption to V1.1.4.9

Project: A21_Update




Table of Contents

1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3 2 Requirements and Limitations .................................................................................................... 3 3 Application Start and Termination.............................................................................................. 4 4 The Main Window ...................................................................................................................... 6 4.1 IRMA System Panel .................................................................................................................. 6 4.2 New Firmware Panel................................................................................................................ 6 4.3 Update Options Panel .............................................................................................................. 6 5 INI File ........................................................................................................................................ 7 6 Log Window and Log File ............................................................................................................ 8 7 Information Window .................................................................................................................. 9 8 Preparation of IRMA Analyzer Firmware Update ....................................................................... 10 8.1 Analyzer Query ...................................................................................................................... 10 8.2 Selection of New IRMA Analyzer Firmware ............................................................................ 12 9 Update of IRMA Analyzer Firmware .......................................................................................... 13 10 Call of A21_Update by IRMA-A21-Windows.............................................................................. 15 11 Troubleshooting ....................................................................................................................... 16 11.1 No IRMA Analyzer Found ....................................................................................................... 16 11.2 No Product Compatibility....................................................................................................... 17 11.3 No Protocol Compatibility...................................................................................................... 18 12 Appendix A: List of IRMA Hardware Components ..................................................................... 19 13 Appendix B: Supported Software .............................................................................................. 19 13.1 FTDI Device Driver.................................................................................................................. 19 13.2 IRMA Analyzer Firmware........................................................................................................ 19 13.3 Operating Systems ................................................................................................................ 19

Project: A21_Update




1 Introduction

A21_Update is used to update the IRMA Analyzer firmware.

These are the essential differences compared to firmware booting using the PC software A21_Boot:

1. Adaptable A21 firmware parameters are preserved by default.

2. The system interface (4-wire RS-485 or IBIS) may be used instead of the service interface (RS-232) of the IRMA Analyzer.

3. Operational IRMA Analyzer firmware is required.

4. The start-up protocol of the IRMA Analyzer firmware has to be known.

Preservation of the adaptable A21 firmware parameters on update of the IRMA Analyzer firmware is essential to avoid repetition of IRMA system configuration afterwards. Especially IRMA Sensor assignments made using IRMA-Assign might otherwise get lost because specific sensor addresses stored in the IRMA Analyzer might be overwritten with default values.

This document is a short manual describing the features of A21_Update and tries to show its usage. Its target audience are iris customers and third-party people who will be using A21_Update. The reader should be familiar with the technical concepts of an IRMA system.

2 Requirements and Limitations

A21_Update is part of the so-called IRMA-A21-Windows Suite, which is a set of software components needed to perform service tasks with IRMA 4 systems. Usually, these software components are installed properly by a higher-level setup tool called IRMA-Setup_Release_5.1.1.exe, which ensures path consistency and error-free collaboration. Please check the iris web site1 regularly for updates of the setup tool.

In a nutshell, the requirements to use A21_Update are as follows:

• The IRMA Analyzer firmware needs to support downloadable IRMA Analyzer firmware modules. This feature is provided by any firmware which has IRMA Opera version 3.25 or later2.

• Version 1.1.4.9 of A21_Update supports complete updates of IRMA Analyzer firmware only.

• As of now, A21_Update is available with an English or a German user interface. Support of other languages is available on request.

• The Service interface (connector “C”) or system interface (connector “V”) of the IRMA Analyzer has to be connected to the PC COM interface using the cable K-A21-C-RS232-01-xxxxx3 or the corresponding IRMA service kit. Of course the IRMA system has to be powered on. A USB to RS-232 converter4 may be used instead of a built-in COM interface.

1 http://www.irisgmbh.de/iris-GmbH_i/technische-dokumente/service-software/index.html 2 see Appendix B 3 External hardware interface available from iris; see Appendix A 4 External hardware interface available from iris; see Appendix A

Project: A21_Update




If doing so, the converter needs to be connected to the PC and its driver software needs to be correctly installed. Please refer to the IRMA component catalogue.

• J1708 bus and 2-wire RS-485 bus are recently not supported by A21_Update.

• Last but not least, it should be mentioned that this document refers to A21_Update V1.1.4.9 or newer.

3 Application Start and Termination

The file name of the A21_Update application is A21_Update.exe. Depending on your installation, you may find it in your IRMA-A21-Windows installation directory or somewhere outside. In the first case, you’ll usually find a corresponding entry in the Start menu, whereas in the second case you’ll need to start the application by double-clicking its icon:

Project: A21_Update




To quit the application, you simply need to click the main window’s close button (X) on the upper right corner:

Alternatively you can use the shortcut key Alt-F4.

The user is requested to select the language of the user interface on the first direct launch of A21_Update after installation:

If A21_Update is called from within IRMA-A21-Windows, the language of the user interface is passed on by an appropriate command line parameter. As a result, the language setting of A21_Update is synchronized with that of IRMA-A21-Windows and the selection window shown above will never appear.

Project: A21_Update




4 The Main Window

The main window as it appears after a direct launch of A21_Update is shown below:

The main window of A21_Update consists of three panels with are described in the next paragraphs.

4.1 IRMA System Panel

This panel is the the topmost panel in the main window of A21_Update. It comprises these components:

• Group box labelled “IRMA Analyzer” Essential IRMA Analyzer data are shown in this group box.

• “Query Analyzer” button Enabled if no action is executed.

4.2 New Firmware Panel

The new firmware panel is located in the middle of the main window of A21_Update. It comprises these components:

• “Select New Firmware” button Enabled if IRMA Analyzer query was successful and no action is executed.

4.3 Update Options Panel

This panel is the bottommost panel in the main window of A21_Update. It comprises these components:

Project: A21_Update




• Radio group “Update Type” The type of the IRMA Analyzer firmware update is shown here. The update type is always “Complete”.

• “Update Firmware” button Enabled if the IRMA Analyzer query was successful, new firmware has been selected and no action is executed.

• Checkbox “Preserve adaptable firmware parameters” Used to decide whether adaptable A21 firmware parameters are preserved during the firmware update or not. Checked by default after selection of new firmware.

• Checkbox “Preserve sensor addresses only” If checked, only sensor addresses are preserved during the firmware update. This checkbox is always disabled. It is checked automatically, if checkbox “Preserve adaptable firmware parameters” is unchecked.

5 INI File

The essential parameters of the A21_Update application are stored in an INI file called A21_Update.ini. This INI file is located in special application data folder and gets updated on termination of A21_Update.

Typical application data folder of A21_Update V1.1.4.9: C:\Users\UserAccountName\AppData\Roaming\iris-GmbH\IRMA-A21-Windows Release 5

Project: A21_Update




6 Log Window and Log File

You can use the shortcut key Ctrl-Alt-L to show or hide the log window.

Any content of the log window is written to the log file A21_Update.log on termination of A21_Update. New information is always appended to the log file which is located in special application data folder. As a result, the size of the log file grows with every run of A21_Update. Any text viewer or text editor may be used to display the log file contents.

Typical application data folder of A21_Update V1.1.4.9: C:\Users\UserAccountName\AppData\Roaming\iris-GmbH\IRMA-A21-Windows Release 5

Please provide this log file to iris company staff along with any support enquiry regarding A21_Update.

Project: A21_Update




7 Information Window

Use the shortcut key Ctrl-Alt-I to show or hide log window.

Project: A21_Update




8 Preparation of IRMA Analyzer Firmware Update

8.1 Analyzer Query

The Universal IRMA Protocol (UIP) is used for analyzer query. If the start-up protocol of the IRMA Analyzer firmware is a customer protocol like e.g. IBIS, switching to UIP is done at first. The user has to select the appropriate communication path and parameters. The query is started once the “OK” button is pressed afterwards.

Project: A21_Update




Project: A21_Update




8.2 Selection of New IRMA Analyzer Firmware

The IRMA-Analyzer firmware is stored in 16-bit Intel HEX files. Use the “Select New Firmware” button to select the HEX file containing desired new firmware.

After reading the selected HEX file, A21_Update performs 2 compatibility tests:

• Product compatibility test

• Protocol compatibility test

A21_Update is ready for update of the IRMA Analyzer firmware if both tests are passed.

Project: A21_Update




9 Update of IRMA Analyzer Firmware

The checkbox “Preserve adaptable firmware parameters” is checked by default. Only in special cases it may be useful to overwrite the adaptable A21 firmware parameters with the values stored in the selected HEX file. Sensor addresses are preserved anyway, because checkbox “Preserve sensor addresses only” is checked automatically, if checkbox “Preserve adaptable firmware parameters” is unchecked.

Project: A21_Update




When the firmware update starts, the log window is shown automatically. The user is notified about the update progress by messages appearing in the log window.

After the firmware update has finished, the log window is hidden automatically and the main window of A21_Update reappears as before update. Please note that A21_Update will always re-check the “Preserve adaptable firmware parameters” checkbox after the update.

Note: The log window is visible in the following screenshot made after finish of a firmware update. It was made visible using the shortcut key Ctrl-Alt-L in order to clarify the state of A21_Update.

Project: A21_Update




10 Call of A21_Update by IRMA-A21-Windows

If called from within IRMA-A21-Windows, the language of A21_Update’s user interface as well as any communication parameters are passed on by appropriate command line parameters. Furthermore, the analyzer query will be started automatically.

Project: A21_Update




11 Troubleshooting

Typical issues that may occur on usage of A21_Update are mentioned in the next paragraphs.

11.1 No IRMA Analyzer Found

Check the power supply of the IRMA Analyzer and its connection to the PC as well as the selection of correct communication parameters.

Project: A21_Update




11.2 No Product Compatibility

Select a different HEX file containing compatible IRMA Analyzer firmware.

Project: A21_Update




11.3 No Protocol Compatibility

Select a different HEX file containing compatible IRMA Analyzer firmware.

Project: A21_Update




12 Appendix A: List of IRMA Hardware Components

Description iris product name iris order number

PC connection cable, length 3m K-A21-C-RS232-01-00300 0193_40



USB to RS-232 converter FTDI US232R-100

USB-RS232-Konverter-FTDI_US232R-100

2913_04

USB to RS-232 converter Digitus DA-70156 (USB2.0)

USB-RS232-Konverter- Digit_DA-70146/70156

2913_01

USB to RS-232 converter Digitus DA-70146 (USB1.1)

USB-RS232-Konverter- Digit_DA-70146/70156

2913_01

Note: USB to RS-232 converters using the Prolific PL-2303 chip are known not to work reliably with IRMA service software.

13 Appendix B: Supported Software

13.1 FTDI Device Driver

• Version 1.0.2176.0 or later is required

Note: Windows™ Vista and Windows™ 7 will install proper device drivers on the first connection of a USB to RS-232 converter to the PC, provided that an internet connection is available.

13.2 IRMA Analyzer Firmware

• IRMA Opera version 3.25 or later is mandatory, e.g. as found in the firmware files SDist4_AA21C8_IMMM_CI-3.25_PV-4.01a.hex, S8_AA21S_CI-4.12_INN_PV-2.11.HEX, S8KO_AA21S_CS-5.10_IJJ-02_PV-1.27-01.hex, S9_AA21S_CI-5.92_IZZ-02_PV-2.78.hex, SC9YO_AA21C_CI-5.94_IMZZA_PV-2.04-CXKO.hex, SDIST4_AA21C8_CU4-5.94_IMMM_PV-4.71.hex or SDIST4_AA21CLO8_CS-5.94_IMZZ_PV-4.54.hex

13.3 Operating Systems

• Windows™ XP, quality assurance test made for Windows™ XP Professional SP3

• Windows™ Vista, 32-bit and 64-bit versions, quality assurance test made for Windows™ Vista Business SP1

• Windows™ 7, 32-bit and 64-bit versions, quality assurance test made for Windows™ 7 Professional

• Windows™ Server 2003 or Windows™ Server 2008

Documents

A21 Update User’s Manual, Revision 02, Release Date … · A21_Update 1.1 Manual Rev 02.doc 1/19. User’s Manual. ... 6 Log Window and Log File ... 8 Preparation of IRMA Analyzer