NAME

       setsserial - a utility for setting Smart Serial NVRAM parameters.

       NOTE:  This  rather  clunky  utility  is  no  longer  needed  except for flashing new smart-serial remote
       firmware. Smart-serial remote parameters can now be set in the HAL file in the normal way.

SYNOPSIS

       loadrt setsserial cmd="set hm2_8i20.001f.nvmaxcurrent 750"

FUNCTIONS

       None

PINS

       None

USAGE

       loadrt setsserial cmd="{command} {parameter/device} {value/filename}"

       Commands available are set and flash.

       This utility should be used under halcmd, without LinuxCNC running or any realtime threads running.

       A typical command sequence would be:

        halrun
        loadrt hostmot2 use_serial_numbers=1
        loadrt hm2_pci config="firmware=hm2/5i23/svss8_8.bit"
        show param
        loadrt setsserial cmd="set hm2_8i20.001f.nvmaxcurrent 750"
        exit

       This example uses the option to have the HAL pins and parameters labelled by the  serial  number  of  the
       remote. This is not necessary but can reduce the scope for confusion. (The serial number is normally on a
       sticker on the device.)

       The  next  line loads the hm2_pci driver in the normal way. The hm2_7i43 driver should work equally well,
       as should any future 7i80 driver.  If the card has already been strted up and a firmware has been loaded,
       then the config string may be omitted.

       "show param" is optional, but provides a handy list of all the devices and parameters. It also shows  the
       current  values  of the parameters which can be useful for determining scaling. u32 pin values are always
       shown in hex, but new values can be entered in decimal or hex. Use the Ox123ABC format  to  enter  a  hex
       value.

       The  next  line  invokes  setsserial. This is run in a slightly strange way in order to have kernel-level
       access to a live Hostmot2 config. It is basically a HAL module that always fails to load. This  may  lead
       to  error  messages  being  printed  to  the  `halcmd:` prompt. These can often be ignored.  All the real
       feedback is via the dmesg command. It is suggested to have a second terminal window  open  to  run  dmesg
       after each command.

       On  exiting  there  will  typically  be  a  further error message related to the driver failing to unload
       setsserial. This can be ignored.

       The parameter changes will not show up until the drivers are reloaded.  //TODO// Add a "get"  command  to
       avoid this problem.

       Flashing  Firmware To flash new firmware to an FPGA card such as the 5i25 or 5i20 the "mesaflash" utility
       should be used. Setsserial is only useful for changing/updating the firmware on smart-serial remote  such
       as  the  8i20.   The  firmware  should be placed somewhere in the /lib/firmware/hm2 tree, where the Linux
       firmware loading macros can find it.

       The flashing routine operates in a realtime thread, and can only send prompts to  the  user  through  the
       kernel  log (dmesg). It is most convenient to open two terminal windows, one for command entry and one to
       monitor progress.

       In the first terminal enter

       tail -f /var/log/kern.log

       This terminal will now display status information.

       The second window will be used to enter the commands. It is important that LinuxCNC and/or  HAL  are  not
       already  loaded  when  the process is started.  To flash new firmware it is necessary to move a jumper on
       the smart-serial remote drive and to switch smart-serial communication to a slower baudrate.

       A typical command sequence is then
        halrun
        loadrt hostmot2 sserial_baudrate=115200
        loadrt hm2_pci config="firmware=hm2/5i23/svss8_8.bit"
        loadrt setsserial cmd="flash hm2_5i23.0.8i20.0.1 hm2/8i20/8i20T.BIN"
        exit

       It is not necessary (or useful) to specify a config string in a system using the 5i25 or 6i25 cards.

       Note that it is necessary to exit halrun and unload the realtime environment  before  flashing  the  next
       card (exit)

       The  correct  sserial  channel name to use can be seen in the dmesg output in the feedback terminal after
       the loadrt hm2_pci step of the sequence.

LICENSE

       GPL

LinuxCNC Documentation                             2012-10-28                                       SETSERIAL(9)