Problem loading firmware on 7000

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Rich
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Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2021 9:01 pm

Problem loading firmware on 7000

Postby Rich » Thu May 26, 2022 3:17 pm

Finally got my 7000DLE MkII Black on the air last night. I could not believe how great the Rx audio was. I sat and listened to rag chews on 40m and 80m for hours. NR2 really is a wonder to behold. Despite all indications from other owners, it was very nearly plug and play for me. I have it and my PC both connected to my unmanaged gigabit switch. I turned on the radio, started Thetis, and it connected immediately. All I had to do initially was go into Settings in Thetis and enable VAC1, and I was listening to the bands. My cheap Audio-Technica USB mic connected to my Windows 11 PC even worked. It was a very pleasant surprise.

I confirmed that the radio is running Protocol 1, so I decided to go ahead and upgrade it to P2. I tried following the instructions here on the forums as well as those in a PDF I found (from PD3LK I believe - it involved additionally installing npcap v1.60), but in both cases the "board" (radio) was not found (yes, I did have the radio switched to bootloader mode). HPSDRBootloader reported "Check that there is a jumper on J1 for Metis".

Then I found a reference on W1AEX's website to the program, HPSDRProgrammer V2 nopcap. I downloaded it and ran it, and to my surprise it found my radio, identifying it by the correct IP address while not in bootloader mode. This is where I began to sweat. I was deviating from the few guides I had been able to find on the matter. Still, it was the only method that recognized my radio, right? I browsed and selected the P2 firmware file (Metis_Orion_MkII_Protocol_2_v2.1.18.rbf). At this point my mouse cursor hovered over the "Program" button for quite some time. I finally decided that since this was the only method that was had even been able to locate my radio in the first place, maybe I was on the right track, so I held my breath and clicked the button.

As it worked, it reported something to the effect of "Deleting firmware...". Ok, that seemed like a logical step in the process, prior to loading the new firmware. Then the following message popped up:

"Discovery has failed
If you have more than on interface, check you are using the correct one [I only have one]. Check that the board is on and no jumper on J1 or J12. You may need to use HPSDRBootloader"

I tried running HPSDRBootloader again (in bootloader mode), and again, it failed to find my radio. Of course now the radio is inaccessible in normal mode by Thetis, and I cannot find a way to get P2 loaded.

I have opened up the radio, but could not locate either J1 or J12. Admittedly there is a ribbon cable that I was hesitant to try and remove to allow to slide the bottom board all the way out, for concern that I may damage the connector or not be able to reconnect it properly.

I'm desperately hoping someone with much more intimate knowledge can point me in the right direction. At this point it appears I have a radio with no firmware installed. Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Rich, W9RDC

[SOLVED] My unmanaged switch was the problem. After setting up a second ethernet adapter and connecting the radio directly to my PC, the process worked flawlessly.
Last edited by Rich on Thu May 26, 2022 10:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
ANAN 7000DLE MkII, CHA MPAS 2.0 multiband vertical antenna
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w-u-2-o
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Failed to update 7000

Postby w-u-2-o » Thu May 26, 2022 4:17 pm

I have moved your post to its own topic in the Firmware Upgrading/Downgrading sub-forum since your difficulties are not specific to 7000 firmware and your post is not discussing issues pertaining to the firmware itself.

1. You do NOT need to go inside the 7000 to move a jumper. You should be using the bootloader switch on the bottom of the unit.

2. At this point you probably have to use Bootloader. With the normal firmware now likely corrupted neither the older P1 HPSDR Programmer nor the new P2 HPSDR Programmer will work.

3. The only instructions I can vouch for are here: https://apache-labs.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2333

Those instructions are 100% good. The only reason they won't work is because either a) they aren't being followed precisely, b) there is something physically wrong with your setup, or c) some item of hardware is physically broken.

Do not discount any of those things. At this point as a group this forum has seen it all. Bricked hardware because of a jumper misconfigured at the factory. Ethernet cables that worked for 100Mbit/s but not GigE because they had one broken wire. Broken bootloader switches. You name it.

4. You say you only have a single NIC. Is that really true? Wi-Fi counts as a NIC. If you have Wi-Fi and your hardwired NIC present then you need to either a) disable your Wi-Fi or b) follow the instructions for adjusting your Network Metric settings as described in the above referenced Bootloader instructions.

5. I recommend you start back at ground zero. Uninstall Bootloader using Windows (not Revo or some other app). Uninstall WinPcap/NPCap. Then reboot.. Then start over with the instructions referenced above.

Things you might have missed: rebooting after installing NPCap. Not using Bootloader 2.0.4.4. As the instructions say, maybe your unmanaged switch is one of the few that won't forward packets to the illegal MAC address--try a direct connection. Getting confused about the position of the bootloader switch. Forgetting to power cycle the ANAN after moving the bootloader switch (switch position is only read at ANAN power up).

Other things to look at: are you getting the correct color and type of port LED indications on your switch to show that the ANAN has powered up in bootloader mode? Look for a good link light that indicates a 100Mbit connection. Go back to your switch manual if necessary.
Rich
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Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2021 9:01 pm

Re: Failed to update 7000

Postby Rich » Thu May 26, 2022 7:23 pm

I uninstalled everything and started back at square one, making sure to reboot my PC after each software installation. When I got to the step of clicking "Test for Bootloader" in HPSDRBootloader, the radio was still not found. Every instruction had been followed to the letter, so that left networking and hardware as possible concerns.

I had a spare USB ethernet adapter lying around, so I followed W1AEX's guide for setting it up as a secondary adapter and connected the radio straight to the PC. It would appear that my unmanaged switch (TP-Link TL-SG1016) was the problem, as HPSDRBootloader found the radio right away and loading the Protocol 2 firmware completed successfully. I'm a happy camper.

Thank you for directing me to the correct resource and your lengthy, detailed post, advising me on the process. You, sir, are a rock star.

73
Rich, W9RDC
ANAN 7000DLE MkII, CHA MPAS 2.0 multiband vertical antenna
K1LSB
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Re: New 7000/8000 Orion MKII Protocol 2 Firmware Topic

Postby K1LSB » Thu May 26, 2022 10:34 pm

Scott is pretty damn awesome. That isn't said nearly enough around here!

Mark
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w-u-2-o
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Re: Problem loading firmware on 7000

Postby w-u-2-o » Thu May 26, 2022 11:41 pm

Thank you for the very kind words, Mark <blushing> :)
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kc2rgw
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Re: Problem loading firmware on 7000

Postby kc2rgw » Fri May 27, 2022 11:08 am

I want to highlight for others.

The root cause here was confusing the Bootloader app with the two different Programmer apps as well.

He was on a protocol 1 load and used the protocol 2 programmer.

Then crossed wires and tried the bootloader.

Protocol 1 in radio, you use the Protocol 1 Programmer app to load either proto 1 or 2 firmware.

Protocol 2 in radio you use the Protocol 2 Programmer ( a different app) to load either proto 2 or proto 1 firmware

You can also use the Bootloader (a third app here) to load whatever firmware you want and that one requires lifting up the radio and flipping that switch.
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w-u-2-o
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Re: Problem loading firmware on 7000

Postby w-u-2-o » Fri May 27, 2022 12:04 pm

I agree, it's an overly complex system and can be confusing. This is why I now recommend Bootloader as the single method: it is universal and requires the user to learn only one tool and one procedure.

It would be great to see the functionality of both programmer versions simplified, automated, and integrated into Thetis in a way that makes things more transparent to the user.
WR4N
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Re: Failed to update 7000

Postby WR4N » Wed Jul 13, 2022 2:48 am

w-u-2-o wrote:I have moved your post to its own topic in the Firmware Upgrading/Downgrading sub-forum since your difficulties are not specific to 7000 firmware and your post is not discussing issues pertaining to the firmware itself.

1. You do NOT need to go inside the 7000 to move a jumper. You should be using the bootloader switch on the bottom of the unit.

2. At this point you probably have to use Bootloader. With the normal firmware now likely corrupted neither the older P1 HPSDR Programmer nor the new P2 HPSDR Programmer will work.

3. The only instructions I can vouch for are here: https://apache-labs.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2333

Those instructions are 100% good. The only reason they won't work is because either a) they aren't being followed precisely, b) there is something physically wrong with your setup, or c) some item of hardware is physically broken.

Do not discount any of those things. At this point as a group this forum has seen it all. Bricked hardware because of a jumper misconfigured at the factory. Ethernet cables that worked for 100Mbit/s but not GigE because they had one broken wire. Broken bootloader switches. You name it.

4. You say you only have a single NIC. Is that really true? Wi-Fi counts as a NIC. If you have Wi-Fi and your hardwired NIC present then you need to either a) disable your Wi-Fi or b) follow the instructions for adjusting your Network Metric settings as described in the above referenced Bootloader instructions.

5. I recommend you start back at ground zero. Uninstall Bootloader using Windows (not Revo or some other app). Uninstall WinPcap/NPCap. Then reboot.. Then start over with the instructions referenced above.

Things you might have missed: rebooting after installing NPCap. Not using Bootloader 2.0.4.4. As the instructions say, maybe your unmanaged switch is one of the few that won't forward packets to the illegal MAC address--try a direct connection. Getting confused about the position of the bootloader switch. Forgetting to power cycle the ANAN after moving the bootloader switch (switch position is only read at ANAN power up).

Other things to look at: are you getting the correct color and type of port LED indications on your switch to show that the ANAN has powered up in bootloader mode? Look for a good link light that indicates a 100Mbit connection. Go back to your switch manual if necessary.


Not sure at what point this fits into the picture, but I hope it helps someone (because I almost went crazy for 3 days). I just got a new ANAN 7000dle MKII and immediately tried upgrading to Protocol 2, but Bootloader couldn’t find it. After 3 days, I gave in and emailed Support. I was told that this newest run of ANAN 7000 is using Metis_Orion_MKIII_rev5.rbf

What is it? I don’t know ... but Boatloader found it, and THETIS is rocking! Scott, did I miss a string on this?
RADIO: ANAN 7000 DLE MK2 (Black Version) Thetis 2.8.11.
PC: HP Desktop - Intel Core i7 (10th Gen) - 16GB memory - 512GB SSD - Intel UHD Graphics 630 - WINDOWS 10 (100% Dedicated to ANAN)
PS: ASTRON 35 AMP (100% Dedicated to ANAN)

Best 73s,
WR4N - David
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w-u-2-o
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Re: Failed to update 7000

Postby w-u-2-o » Wed Jul 13, 2022 3:13 am

WR4N wrote:I just got a new ANAN 7000dle MKII and immediately tried upgrading to Protocol 2, but Bootloader couldn’t find it. After 3 days, I gave in and emailed Support. I was told that this newest run of ANAN 7000 is using Metis_Orion_MKIII_rev5.rbf

What is it? I don’t know ... but Boatloader found it, and THETIS is rocking! Scott, did I miss a string on this?

I do not understand your post.

If the 7000 arrived loaded with "Metis_Orion_MKIII_rev5" firmware that should have no bearing on whether or not Bootloader finds it. Your post is missing some information. What did you change such that Bootloader discovered the 7000?

I'm also assuming based on your post that once the Bootloader found the 7000 you loaded Protocol 2 firmware, again assuming you loaded "Metis_Orion_MkII_Protocol_2_v2.1.18.rbf"? Is that correct?

Finally, there has been zero discussion of "Metis_Orion_MKIII_rev5" firmware until now, so you didn't miss anything. We are all in the dark together.
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kc2rgw
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Re: Problem loading firmware on 7000

Postby kc2rgw » Wed Jul 13, 2022 11:36 am

I just re-read this thread and this occurred to me.

Radio on protocol 1, Proto 1 programmer is used to load protocol 2.

Once protocol 2 is loaded the protocol 1 programmer will say it can't find the radio. All you do is power cycle the radio and go. You have protocol 2 now loaded.

If you check the radio with the protocol 2 Programmer, it will find it.

I just updated three different people's rigs recently and this is how it worked.
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w-u-2-o
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Re: Problem loading firmware on 7000

Postby w-u-2-o » Wed Jul 13, 2022 12:46 pm

I think you broke the code there, kc2rgw. Maybe he tried to use HPSDR Programmer and called it "Bootloader" in his initial post. Then tried Bootloader and of course it worked.

More importantly--all new 7000 owners with units received after 1 July 2022 need to read the following topic:

https://apache-labs.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4266
WR4N
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Location: Tennessee

Re: Failed to update 7000

Postby WR4N » Wed Jul 13, 2022 1:18 pm

w-u-2-o wrote:
WR4N wrote:I just got a new ANAN 7000dle MKII and immediately tried upgrading to Protocol 2, but Bootloader couldn’t find it. After 3 days, I gave in and emailed Support. I was told that this newest run of ANAN 7000 is using Metis_Orion_MKIII_rev5.rbf

What is it? I don’t know ... but Boatloader found it, and THETIS is rocking! Scott, did I miss a string on this?

I do not understand your post.

If the 7000 arrived loaded with "Metis_Orion_MKIII_rev5" firmware that should have no bearing on whether or not Bootloader finds it. Your post is missing some information. What did you change such that Bootloader discovered the 7000?

I'm also assuming based on your post that once the Bootloader found the 7000 you loaded Protocol 2 firmware, again assuming you loaded "Metis_Orion_MkII_Protocol_2_v2.1.18.rbf"? Is that correct?

Finally, there has been zero discussion of "Metis_Orion_MKIII_rev5" firmware until now, so you didn't miss anything. We are all in the dark together.


I received the new ANAN and wanted to upgrade to PROTOCOL 2 - but the Bootloader didn’t recognize Protocol 2. So, I tried going back to PROTOCOL 1 (assuming that was what was in the ANAN when shipped) 1 - same problem- the Bootloader didn’t recognize it. I emailed ANAN SUPPORT and received the following response: “If you have updated the firmware the radio will not work! Please find attached the correct firmware as the new batch of ANANs use an updated Orion MKII which has some improvements in design and a new FPGA.” This new firmware was attached to the email: Metis_Orion_MKIII_rev5. As for being in the dark, I wasted 3 days in darkness. Why would a new batch of ANANs be shipped with a previously unknown firmware - and there be no mention of it?
RADIO: ANAN 7000 DLE MK2 (Black Version) Thetis 2.8.11.
PC: HP Desktop - Intel Core i7 (10th Gen) - 16GB memory - 512GB SSD - Intel UHD Graphics 630 - WINDOWS 10 (100% Dedicated to ANAN)
PS: ASTRON 35 AMP (100% Dedicated to ANAN)

Best 73s,
WR4N - David
WR4N
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Re: Problem loading firmware on 7000

Postby WR4N » Wed Jul 13, 2022 1:29 pm

w-u-2-o wrote:I think you broke the code there, kc2rgw. Maybe he tried to use HPSDR Programmer and called it "Bootloader" in his initial post. Then tried Bootloader and of course it worked.

More importantly--all new 7000 owners with units received after 1 July 2022 need to read the following topic:

https://apache-labs.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4266


Scott, thanks for posting the string. Perhaps I didn’t communicate well (I was simply trying to say that I had utilized the Bootloader). Can I assume from the date of your new post about the new firmware, that my situation was the first time you’d been made aware of this issue?
RADIO: ANAN 7000 DLE MK2 (Black Version) Thetis 2.8.11.
PC: HP Desktop - Intel Core i7 (10th Gen) - 16GB memory - 512GB SSD - Intel UHD Graphics 630 - WINDOWS 10 (100% Dedicated to ANAN)
PS: ASTRON 35 AMP (100% Dedicated to ANAN)

Best 73s,
WR4N - David
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w-u-2-o
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Re: Problem loading firmware on 7000

Postby w-u-2-o » Wed Jul 13, 2022 1:51 pm

David,

Bootloader should recognize and happily load any .rbf file with "Metis" in the name. Therefore I still don't understand your difficulties. You should have been able to load the wrong P1 or P2 firmware and your ANA-7000 simply would not have worked.

Unless...Apache also made an unannounced change in the Bootloader firmware that resides inside the new Orion MKIII boards. I will endeavor to find this out. It's confirmed that the Bootloader code is unchanged. So I'm guessing you were simply trying to load firmware files that did not have "Metis" in the filename. That happy accident saved you from accidentally loading firmware that wouldn't have worked anyway.

And, yes, just as I posted in the other topic, this is an unwelcome surprise to literally everyone, myself included.

73,

Scott
WR4N
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Re: Problem loading firmware on 7000

Postby WR4N » Wed Jul 13, 2022 5:56 pm

w-u-2-o wrote:David,

Bootloader should recognize and happily load any .rbf file with "Metis" in the name. Therefore I still don't understand your difficulties. You should have been able to load the wrong P1 or P2 firmware and your ANA-7000 simply would not have worked.

Unless...Apache also made an unannounced change in the Bootloader firmware that resides inside the new Orion MKIII boards. I will endeavor to find this out. It's confirmed that the Bootloader code is unchanged. So I'm guessing you were simply trying to load firmware files that did not have "Metis" in the filename. That happy accident saved you from accidentally loading firmware that wouldn't have worked anyway.

And, yes, just as I posted in the other topic, this is an unwelcome surprise to literally everyone, myself included.

73,

Scott


Scott,

First, I echo what others have said, your knowledge and assistance are invaluable. To merely say, "Thank you!" seems inadequate - but I know you do not even require that.

Second, you are correct. I made numerous errors in trying to communicate what I intended to say; partially due to having spent much of 3 days frustrated beyond words. The semi-short version is that I had no way of knowing my new ANAN 7000dle MKII was using a new and unknown (by users) firmware. So, I spent many hours trying to get THETIS to work with any Protocol (I had tried switching to Protocol 2 from the beginning). Thinking I had done something wrong or that there was a glitch somewhere, I tried reloading the original Protocol 1 (which I had no way of knowing was not the Protocol 1 in my other ANANs), I tried using various versions of THETIS with P1 and P2, etc. Each and every time, I was confused by receiving "ERROR STARTING SDR HARDWARE, IS IT CONNECTED TO POWER?" I can't remember feeling so frustrated, stressed and powerless in years!

Third, I do applaud ANAN SUPPORT with responding quickly, once I accepted that I could not remedy the situation on my own - and after having received help from some great friends who are extremely knowledgeable ANAN users. And their follow up replies were equally as quick. The best thing to come out of this is learning that ANAN SUPPORT is truly responsive - when there is a legitimate question / need. KUDOS!

Fourth, I find it incomprehensible that new ANANs - using a new firmware - would be shipped without any communication regarding this. I understand that there is now a link for Metis_Orion_MKIII_rev5.rbf, but I believe that was not made available until today.

Finally, I lost many, many hours trying to remedy a problem that had no remedy - due to being without something that I did not even know existed! And last, but certainly not least, I have a new ANAN - purchased with the intention of using Protocol 2 - that cannot currently be used with Protocol 2. That alone is exceedingly disappointing. I know you understand my disappointment: "And, yes, just as I posted in the other topic, this is an unwelcome surprise to literally everyone, myself included."

Hopefully, the quick action you took in making the new post, referencing this situation, will save many others from the stress and frustration that I have experienced. The new ANAN is up and running, so I will wait for a new Protocol 2.

Again, Thank You Scott!
RADIO: ANAN 7000 DLE MK2 (Black Version) Thetis 2.8.11.
PC: HP Desktop - Intel Core i7 (10th Gen) - 16GB memory - 512GB SSD - Intel UHD Graphics 630 - WINDOWS 10 (100% Dedicated to ANAN)
PS: ASTRON 35 AMP (100% Dedicated to ANAN)

Best 73s,
WR4N - David

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