User's Manual

PMAC User Manual

Talking to PMAC 37

The PMAC Executive program V3.x and newer, when it establishes communications with a PMAC in

this re-initialization mode, will notice automatically that PMAC is in this mode. In this mode, the menu

selection Download binary firmware file in the File menu can be selected to take a binary file from disk

and copy over the serial port to PMAC. The program then forces an exit to the operating system. At this

point, turn off power to PMAC and remove the E51 jumper.

With older versions of the PMAC Executive program, or with a terminal emulator program running on a

PC, the procedure for downloading new firmware is as follows (remember to back up the PMAC software

and delete any compiled PLC programs first):

• Establish communications to PMAC over the serial port at 38400 baud. Confirm that PMAC is in

this re-initialization mode by seeing that it responds to the ? command with BOOTSTRAP PROM. If

using the Executive program, make sure that all windows other than the Terminal window (such as

the position window) are closed, so no other commands are being sent to PMAC.

• Type a <CONTROL-O> character in the terminal window and immediately exit to DOS. Do not send

any other characters to PMAC here.

• Use the binary version (/B) of the DOS COPY command to download the file containing the new

firmware to PMAC. The command typed at the DOS prompt will look something like:

COPY/B B:V115A.BIN COM1:

•

Where B:V115A.BIN is the directory and name of the file containing the operational firmware in

binary machine code format, and COM1: is the serial port being used for communications.

• Shut off power to PMAC and remove the E51 jumper.

• Restore power to PMAC and resume normal operation with the new firmware.

• To update the firmware checksum reference value so PMAC does not report a firmware checksum

error, the easiest method is to send the $$$*** command, which causes PMAC to compute the new

reference value automatically (but it also clears all of your programs and buffers from active

memory). As an alternative method, send the command RHX:$0794 several times. If the same

value is received each time, PMAC has stopped its checksum calculations on an error, and the

reported value is the value it calculated for the firmware checksum. Write this value into reference

WX:$07B1,$9A3B12 to PMAC. Remember that for either method, store this reference value to

flash memory with the SAVE command.

• To re-compile PLC programs, either use the LISTLINK.TXT file that corresponds to the new

firmware version, or create this file by sending the LIST LINK command to the PMAC with the

new firmware and storing the response in a text file of this name.

Re-initialize Command

The $$$*** command causes a reset and full re-initialization of PMAC. In addition to loading default

parameter values, it also clears out all of the buffers in battery-backed RAM: motion program, PLC

program, tables, etc.

Some users will always have the card set up to re-initialize during the reset cycle; they then download all

parameter settings and programs immediately after each cycle. The logic behind this strategy is that the

same startup sequence of operations is used even if a new replacement board has just been put in. It is

also useful for those applications that do not wish to rely in any way on the PMAC own non-volatile

storage (EEPROM and battery-backed RAM or flash).