Recovering an ANAN-10

[N0BGS]

I’m going to try and summarize what has been a long, frustrating process. I got a new-to-me Anan-10 last week (not the E). According to Thetis it was running firmware 1.5 and working perfectly well. I, apparently foolishly, decided to try and upgrade it to protocol 2 firmware the very first day I got it. It hasn’t worked since.

Using HPSDRBootloader 2.0 which detected the radio fine, I uploaded Hermes10_v3.2b.rbf. It seemed to go fine. So, I powered down, removed the J12 jumper and restarted. The radio has been “gone” ever since. It doesn’t get an IP address nor can one be set since it has no address. I have tried HPSDRBootloader 2.0, HPSDRProgrammer_cmd.exe, HPSDRProgrammer_V2 2.0, HPSDRProgrammer_V2_nopcap 2.0 and HPSDRProgrammer_web.exe. None of them can detect the radio.

Since it was undetectable, I bought a USB Blaster clone on Amazon, a “WaveShare USB Blaster,” thinking I would connect to P2 on the board via the supplied ribbon cable and restore the bootloader code. Nope. No such luck. I’ve tried four different versions of Quartus from v10 to v22 and none of them can see the radio, either. Lack of a license, maybe?

All versions give me the same error:

quartusError.PNG (55.9 KiB) Viewed 38401 times

I note that if I don’t even have the cable connected to the board I get the exact error seen above as well. Bad ribbon cable?? Seems unlikely but not impossible.

All voltage rail status LEDs show good on the board, but the red status LED on the front panel is steadily lit rather than blinking at about 1 Hz as it was when working.

It seems very likely that I’ve inadvertently done something really stupid, I just don’t know what.

Any and all advice greatly appreciated as you can imagine how frustrating and disappointing this is.

73,

--Kurt

[w-u-2-o]

Does the Bootloader still find the board? If yes, then this situation is easily salvaged.

Bootloader does not use an IP address. It relies on raw Ethernet packets. Detailed instructions for Bootloader are here: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2333

10_V3.2B is Protocol 1 firmware. You should go back to that first and confirm operation before another attempt to load P2 firmware.

Bootloader will set the IP address of the board for you. Click the "IP" button. Setting it to 0.0.0.0 configures the board for DHCP. Or set it to an appropriate static IP if you prefer.

[N0BGS]

Thanks for the reply, Scott. Yes, I used your article when I attempted the upgrade.

But to answer your question, none of the bootloader utilities are able to detect the radio any longer. Doesn't matter whether I use a piece of CAT5 connected directly from the computer Ethernet port to radio, or attach the radio to a USB Ethernet adapter plugged into the computer.

--K

[n1gp]

Hi,

Theoretically you shouldn't be able to erase/program the bootloader section of the
eeprom using the network based programmers. You need to use the USB Blaster
for that. I wouldn't use it unless your absolutely sure the bootloader code isn't working.

Not sure if you have this doc:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/aycda9d3mjzy8h8q66ju8/Byteblaster-Instructions.pdf?rlkey=6bibk5wz0x1hjhqr30da88zrk&dl=0

Paying careful attention to P2 pin 1, page 11.

When you have J12 installed (bootloader mode) and powered up, does the front led blink?

hermes_leds.png (161.29 KiB) Viewed 38328 times

(EDIT) oops, just re-read your post saying it is solid.

Do you see any of the leds D10-D19 on the board blinking in bootloader mode?

Can you double check the FPGA part number just to be absolutely sure it isn't the 10E model?
10 should be: EP3C40...
10E should be: EP3C25...
It shouldn't make a difference for the quartus programmer though since they are both Cyclone III's.

For the Cyclone III FPGA I use quartus 13.1. Make sure you also download the support for Cyclone III:
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/software-kit/666221/intel-quartus-ii-web-edition-design-software-version-13-1-for-windows.html

QuartusSetupWeb-13.1.0.162.exe AND cyclone_web-13.1.0.162.qdz

You don't need a license for the Web edition.

-Rick / N1GP

[w-u-2-o]

To add to Rick's excellent guidance...

The Hermes 16 bit bootloader code can be found here: https://github.com/TAPR/OpenHPSDR-Firmw ... der_source

As Rick says, double check your FPGA type to know if you have a 16 or 14 bit Hermes board.

The scary warnings about bricking don't make sense when you've got a JTAG pod. Screw up and load the wrong bootloader? Just load the right bootloader...

Once the bootloader is loaded via JTAG and working, I strongly recommend you use only the bootloader method to load the operational firmware and set the IP address. It unambiguously works for P1 or P2 firmware so you never have to guess at what tool to use.

Please let us know when you get the bootloader up and running again.

[N0BGS]

Guys:

Thanks to Rick specifying the FPGA part numbers it seems that the Anan-10 that was sold to me as a "none-E" actually is an E. That's a bit annoying. I guess I'll have to assume that the guy that sold it to me didn't know, either. ...maybe.

Anan10E_FPGA.jpg (475.05 KiB) Viewed 38289 times

I do have an older version of the so-called Byte-blaster document. Now I have the more detailed, newer one, too. Thanks.

I have the board completely out of the case at this point. I assume there's no reason I can't flash it without the daughter board connected.

I'm about to try again. I'll report back here on the results and whether or not D10-D19 are blinking in bootloader mode.

Thanks guys,

--K

[N0BGS]

I just tired re-flashing the board again. Same result.

Here's the setup:

PowerSupply.jpg (644.23 KiB) Viewed 38282 times

BoardFlashSetup.jpg (1.52 MiB) Viewed 38282 times

9223Flash.PNG (75.77 KiB) Viewed 38282 times

I note that D10-D19 are NOT blinking.

I think I must have damaged one or more of the board components somehow.

--K

[w-u-2-o]

The 10E bootloader image is different from the one for the 10.

Did you use this link?

https://github.com/TAPR/OpenHPSDR-Firmw ... der_source

[N0BGS]

Yes I did.

Does a document exist anywhere that shows correct pin voltages, waveforms, etc?

[N0BGS]

If U1, the M25P16VMW6G flash serial chip was bad, would we expect this sort of error?

--K

[n1gp]

Kurt,

I don't know of any document that exists for Hermes with that kind of data.

There's a lot of people who have built the Hermes boards from scratch and may
have posted issues like this on the openhpsdr list:
http://lists.openhpsdr.org/pipermail/hpsdr-openhpsdr.org/

Maybe a google search with lists.openhpsdr.org might come up with some clues.

I have a Hermes board and U1 is marked as a 25P16VP (ST Micro). I would imagine if it went bad
you would see an error such as your seeing.

Have you got another USB cable you could try that plugs into the Blaster?

Maybe check the voltage on pin 8 of U1 for 3.3v

BTW, I am seeing 270ma @ 13.8v when my Hermes is in bootloader mode, for what that's worth.

[N0BGS]

I've tried a second USB cable from the blaster with the same results.

U1 Voltages are identical with J12 jumper in place or removed.

Pin:

1 - .18
2 - 3.1
3 - 3.3
4 - 0
5 - 1.08
6 - .02
7 - 3.3
8 - 3.3

With blaster attached and running, voltages above also remain the same.

https://mm.digikey.com/Volume0/opasdata/d220001/medias/docus/4847/DS_557_M25P16.pdf

[w-u-2-o]

Use the schematic, check all power supply voltages from 12 to 1.8V.

[n1gp]

My U1 Voltages are very similar to yours except pin 5.

On Pin 5 I see nearly 0 volts either with or without the Blaster attached.

Your seeing 1.08v with or without the Blaster attached.
What if there is a problem with D7 causing the line to be pulled towards 3.3v?

diodes.png (44.01 KiB) Viewed 38226 times

Maybe replace D2, D7, and U1?
Could D2 & D7 have got a static hit when the Blaster was inserted?

As a check on D7, remove it and try programming the eeprom again.
Maybe both D2 & D7, they are only there for protection you could add
them back afterwards.

[N0BGS]

I'll try pulling D2 & D7 and try flash again.

U1, according to Digikey, is obsolete. Not sure if there is a substitute or not. I don't have any of these parts on hand in any case.

[N0BGS]

With D2 & D7 REMOVED from circuit:

U1 Pin voltage:

1 - 3.3
2 - 3.3
3 - 3.3
4 - 0
5 - 1.44
6 - .02
7 - 3.3
8 - 3.3

Those don't seem right to me. Voltages remain the same with or without J12 in place.

Same error as always.

BTW, both diodes test good.

[n1gp]

I see the same voltages on U1 except for pin 5.
It is near 0 with or without the Blaster plugged in
It is also near 0 with or without J12 plugged in

I don't think J12 should change the voltage readings, its used to swap the flash banks.

If the Blaster isn't plugged in, that 1.44v your seeing is probably coming from the FPGA
ASDO seeing as the diodes are OK.
I wonder if the FPGA may be in a misconfigured state (from the eeprom being programmed with
the wrong FPGA code) such that its preventing the Blasters signals from working?

Then again it could be possible that the Blaster isn't working.

There is an AT45DB161E substitute at Digikey in stock:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/renesas-electronics-operations-services-limited/AT45DB161E-SSHFHC-T/4292716

It looks compatible from the datasheet but I don't know for sure.

I've used this guide to setup a Raspberry Pi and Flashrom to program chips like this:
https://tomvanveen.eu/flashing-bios-chip-raspberry-pi/

The AT45DB161E is supported:
https://wiki.flashrom.org/Supported_hardware

If you have a logic analyzer or multi channel scope you could check out whats happening
on P2: ASDO DATA0 NCS0 and DCLK pins on power up.

You may want to contact Doug Wigley W5WC <dwigley@apache-labs.com>, he may have a better
idea what may be the problem.

[N0BGS]

Thanks, Rick I'll check that out.

I do have a nice scope but it's only two channels. It can do I2C/SPI, UART/RS232, and CAN/LIN but I can't say I've ever used any of those capabilities.

I wonder if U1 could be programmed with a CH341?

--K

[N0BGS]

I hate Internet threads that never have a conclusion so here it is.

I sent the 10E board to Doug, W5WC, who found that both the flash rom chip and the FPGA were bad. He didn't think it would be cost effective to replace them so I opted to purchase an Anan 10 board that he had on hand. What I did to ruin the 10E board is not clear to me but it must have been something.

So, if anyone is interested in a non-functioning but likely repairable 10E board let me know.

--Kurt

[n1gp]

Hi Kurt,

I would like to do some forensics on it. Maybe I could revive it.

-Rick / N1GP

[N0BGS]

Hi Kurt,

I would like to do some forensics on it. Maybe I could revive it.

-Rick / N1GP

Rick:

Shoot me an email at my qrz.com email and we'll talk.

--K