My setup
HW :
1. laptop w/ win10
2. usb2rs232 cable
3. 5503
SW:
1.Robots toolkits
?ÿ download them
2.Python ( https://www.python.org/downloads/)
?ÿ download and install
3.Visual Studio Code( https://code.visualstudio.com/)
?ÿ download and install
Step1:
test communcation?ÿ between PC and station ( maybe do some data transfer )
step2:
?ÿ Turn on station Without CU
?ÿ Run ."Visual Studio Code"
?ÿ open file " backupfirmware.py"?ÿ
then run
?ÿ
backup progress?ÿ
10mins
Thank you Robots
I have backup my 5503 fw
Is that possible to backup CU's fw?
@alexyangtw not yet .... well yes, but ... .its hard and requires new internal eprom :-D?ÿ .... I will be working on in soon, as i have 2 CUs that want fw backup.
@alexyangtw I'm still not completely sure exactly how you physically connect the Instrument to the RS232 port coming out of the computer. Do you upload the firmware over the georadio or run jumpers from the RS232 port to the contacts under the CU? Is there maybe a secret RS232 port somewhere that I'm missing?
I have uploaded scanned documents from geodimeter. These contain some modifications to hardware when servicing boards, tracker adjustment, station adjustment, or just random notes from geodimeter sent to service centers. Its nothing complete, but with little brain you can put together nice manual 🙂
https://github.com/robots/gdm/tree/master/docu/workshopscan
Enjoy and have fun. (its uploading as i type this, and will finish in few minutes)
@robots?ÿ
Searching for and not being able to find that method for aligning the a GDM 600 tracker with the scope has been my nemesis for 5 years - thank you for posting it!
@richard-imrie I found it by accident on fleabay, .... took me 80EUR to buy those 4 folders 😀 , this hobby is expensive. And also ... those documents are not new, 1980-1990 ... maybe something 1999.
@robots I like what you're doing, and your work on older Trimble GPS units as well. I'll be contacting you privately to send you a token donation.
Love the work you are doing.?ÿ Thanks!
@robots, thank you very much for your work with this! It's both informative and effective!
I used the tools to back up the firmware for my DR200+ before the batteries die. Everything seems to have gone smoothly! Thanks!
Unfortunately, my CU already lost it's firmware, and while I am able to use it without, it would be nice to have it working again. I replaced the batteries successfully and everything seems OK except for missing firmware. It reads "Version 668-01.01" on the "Load program!" screen, and "668-01.01>>>64438>10553>" on the serial connection. Have you tested if it's possible to upload firmware from a different CU successfully?
Thank you very much robots. I will try to revive our old 510N.
Translated by Google:
Hello you genius!
I came across your posts in this thread. Respect!!!
You've done a lot of work, I think it's worth it, many people have already expressed their thanks.
My problem is a bit different, but I think your work will help me solve it.
I'll tell you briefly, maybe you have a solution ready right away, if not, that's not a problem.
I have a Trimble 5603 with a Geodimeter CU (ALPHA 571).
- The batteries of the 5603 have to be exchanged, I would like to do that myself, so I have to save the memory, exchange the batteries and then transfer the backup again. For this I build myself a reasonable RS232 adapter.
- The CU reports "Program Lost!" I think that's really bad. Trimble, Herzog and Allterra no longer support the CU. My only idea is to get hold of another user's backup and upload it to my CU. A reboot brings nothing - unsuccessful.
I think the main problem is that Trimble's support is purely for-profit and therefore "less social". The main thing is to sell new devices and throw away good old ones. Leica and Sokkia wouldn't allow themselves that!
You wrote that you invested a lot of time in reverse engineering. I hope you had a good disassembler handy such as IDA Pro Advanced. It's not child's play, but a good tool makes the job a lot easier.
To put it bluntly: I would like to be with you in your project?ÿ
@zeus Hi, no i dont use IDA Pro its not free, and AFAIK very hard to obtain (money is not everything).
There is problem with CU, no way to backup the firmware in reasonable way. I have few dumps from german CU. But I have no reliable way to put it back to CU.
And i dont have much time to work on this project for now. It might change soon, (or not)
he batteries of the 5603 have to be exchanged
I see too late at this point... but if the internal battery backup still has juice, is it possible to "jump" the old battery with a new one (parallel connection) to keep it "live", then remove/desolder the old battery and connect new one?
I may need to do this with an older Leica TCRA1103 Plus at some point as Leica will not do it... just like Trimble does, with these great working instruments that are still vert much valuable.
