History of the SPECTRAN HF V4 Spectrum Analyzer Firmware:

Instructions for using the SPECTRAN flash utilities:
  • Unpack the compressed Zip file "V4_FirmwareUpdate_BETA31.zip" into the directory c:
  • After unpacking, a new directory "C:/Aaronia/SPECTRAN/FirmwareUpdate/HF" will be created, and contain, among others, the application "SPECTRAN V4 FirmwareUpdate BETA31".
  • Now connect your SPECTRAN unit to your PC with the supplied USB cable.
  • Turn on the SPECTRAN.
  • Now launch the program "SPECTRAN V4 FirmwareUpdate BETA31" from the "C:/Aaronia/SPECTRAN/FirmwareUpdate/HF" directory
  • SPECTRAN should now show "FFFF" on the large main display.
  • A command window appears. The update will now be run fully automatic. For monitoring progress, dots will appear continuously in the DOS window for about 40 seconds.
  • ATTENTION: Should the command window only appear briefly and disappear again, please launch the utility again until the update is performed correctly like described above.
  • Please note that deleting the SPECTRAN memory can take some time, therefore please do NOT cancel the Update!
  • After a successful update, SPECTRAN will turn itself off automatically and the command window disappears.
  • Now remove the USB cable and turn the SPECTRAN back on. For finally activating the update, you now need to perform a "Factory-Setup":
  • Press the menu button on the SPECTRAN and navigate to the bottommost menu entry "Setup". Activate by pressing the Enter key.
  • Now locate the menu entry "Factor" and activate it by again pressing the Enter key.
  • SPECTRAN will now initialize the new defaults. After a few seconds, initialization is complete and you will be returned to the "Setup" menu automatically.
  • The update is now COMPLETE! Recent changes compared to the previous version are described in detail in the following "HISTORY". We wish you good luck with your new Software!
  • Please do NOT hesitate to share your suggestions for new features etc. with us. Maybe we can also implement YOUR suggestions in one of the upcoming updates.
HISTORY V4-Firmware:
  • BETA31

  • Added drawing functions to the grafic display:
    #define SC_PPIXDOT 0x66 (Dot)
    #define SC_PPIXLINE 0x67 (Line)
    #define SC_PPIXRECT 0x68 (Rectangle)
    The immediate opcode parameter for all cases is: Pixel: 0=Off, 1=On, 2=XOR.
    The coordinates need to be pusshed on the stack: x,y (Dot) and x1,y1,x2,y2 (Line/Rectangle).
  • Added Boot-Logo
  • Added external program start feature incl. "Pseudo-Program-IDs" (Needed for SPECTRAN X and XFR):
    #define FID_FACTSETUP 97 (Start factory setup)
    #define FID_INICALREQ 98 (Start initial-boot-calibration)
    #define FID_POWEROFF 99 (Switch unit off)
    All those "Pseudo-Program-IDs" can be startet (start after sweep) with the setup-var.:
    #define SV_USBRUNPROG 0x23 (Program number start via USB)
    The setup var. will remain set as long as the program is not startet. With program start the setup var. will be set back to zero and can be set again even within the program itself.
    This offers a lot of new features!
  • BETA30

  • Added external speaker adjustment (Needed for Desktop X-Series):
    #define SV_SPKVOLUME 0x49 Adjust speaker loudness, floatinpoint, 0.0 (off) to 1.0 (loud).
  • BETA29

  • Fix in "Sweep Frequency Points" feature.

    BETA28

  • Key/Hotkey 1 RBW changed to 1MHz.
  • New variable "Sweep Frequency Points" (0x12) added. Needed to adjust the number of sweeppoints in the next LCS versions.
    ProgInfo: At the moment only freq. domain till max. buffer size, 0 = standard.
  • New variable "USB Sweep Id." (0x22) added. Needed for the "Beam-Sweep-Funktion" in the next LCS version.
    ProgInfo: 0 = no Id., will be resetet after start-output and can directly be rewritten afterwards.
  • New variable "USB Status Reply" (0x25) added. Also used for the "Beam-Sweep-Funktion" in the next LCS version.
    ProgInfo: DWord: timestamp; DWord: Id. Code as long int (Attention with a float conversion!) word: status code : 1=start, 2=end, 3=end_with_error.

    BETA27

  • LO-Switchingpoints optimized. The very hard LO changes at 6,1GHz and 7GHz have been removed.
  • LO-Jump function added. This great function will soon show up at the newest LCS version!

    BETA26

  • Noise floor "gaps" removed.
  • Missing noise floor display at sweep start fixed.
  • Noise floor calibration feature added. After a first start with BETA26 this function will automatically be activated!
    Please be sure to connect no antenna, usb cable or power charger to the SPECTRAN. Also be sure to start the calibration in a "rf free" area.
    For best results you should use our Calibration-Resistor (ArtNo 779), which must be mounted to the SPECTRAN rf input!
    The noise floor calibration can be activated at any time with the new "CalRun" function in the "Setup" menu.

    BETA25

  • New global variable 0x11 added to switch off the auto attenuator delay.

    BETA24

  • File R/W problem (only in the LCS-filemanager) removed.
  • GSM decoder strongly expanded.
    Now a consistent bit-cycle is automatically appointed from the complete slot. ATTENTION: Besides the FCCH, everything is differential coded, which means that a "1" is a change from "1" to "0" and converse.
    A routine, which will list the midamble and the slottyp and only shows the user datas will follow soon.
  • Short texterror at the marcer view in the powermeter mode (0Hzz with two "z") removed.

    BETA23

  • GSM Demodulator added. A real GSM-datastreaming using the USB-interface follows in the next days. For testing reasons the following will be shown at the SPECTRAN by now: (minimum level required about -50dBm to -40dBm at the moment):
    "-" => No GSM-Signal
    "N" => Normal Burst
    "F" => FCCH
  • 5MHz filter added for UMTS measurements (UMTS5M)
  • Phase-demodulator integrated.

    BETA22

  • Peaks at 1060MHz (Hotkey 2) and 2640MHz (Hotkey 3) removed.
  • New Turbo-Sweep mode added (LCS use only). If you start the LCS if SPECTRAN is in limits mode the main display of the SPECTRAN is switched off after LCS start. This will save a lot of speed at fast sweeps! The display can be activated again with the menue key.
    For all P-CODE programers: You can also switch off the display by using the new variable 0x48 (0=display ON; 1=display OFF).

    BETA21

  • Auto-Attenuator error removed. Testtime to set the right attenuator was incresed. This removes the level problems at the beginning of the sweep (e.g. at the EN-Tests).
    The calculation is done as: Testtime = Sampletime/10.
    The testtime increses linear to the used sampletime. The highest testtime of 10mS is reached with 100mS sampletime.
    Attention: 100mS sampletime (10mS sweep delay) offers a long enough delay for a clear attenuator setting!
    If you dont use the auto-attenuator function the delay will be removed and you get the fastest sweep. This will also be supported in the next LCS version.
  • Missing 1kHz-Filter added. Next LCS version will support this filter.
  • EMC Filter added (200Hz, 9kHz and 120kHz). Next LCS version will support this filter.

    BETA20

  • Frequency error for the HF-60100 V4 removed. You can now sweep up to 9,4GHz.
  • Hotkey GSM900 changed (fstart=921,2MHz; fstop=959,6MHz; RBW=1MHz; VBW=300kHz).
  • CLR-Key is now a "Reset-Key" and resets a lot of parameter back to "standard":
    Modus=SPECTRUM
    RBW=3MHz
    VBW=Full
    HOLD=OFF
    Detektor=RMS
    Sampletime=1mS
    All other parameter are not changed and the sweep is not interrupted.

    BETA19

  • Turbo-Sweep Mode points increased from 1000 to 1280. This enables to use the total WLan-Range (90MHz Span) with 3MHz RBW in Turbo-Sweep Mode.
    At a 3MHz RBW the maximum usable span now is 96MHz, at 1MHz RBW = 32MHz, at 300kHz RBW = 9,6MHz and so on.
  • Bargraph-Display fixed. One segment was aktivated to much.
  • Overload-Display fixed. With preamp the limit now is about 0dBm.
  • Number of custom usable floatingpoint variables increased from 16 to 64.
  • HyperLOG 60100 antenna added to antenna-menu (H60100).
  • MarkerLevel display expanded to -110dBm.
  • Sampletime of hotkeys 6 to 9 (WLan, GSM900, GSM1800, UMTS) changed to 1mS. Videofilter of Hotkeys 6 to 9 changed from 3MHz to 1MHz. DECT Hotkey (0) SweepTime changed from 50mS to 10mS.

    BETA18

  • Automatic Turbo-Sweep added. This function is, because of the limited memory, only available on "small" spans. Here the Sweep, starting at the second sweep, will be 3 times faster.
    At a 3MHz RBW the maximum usable span is 75MHz, at 1MHz RBW = 25MHz, at 300kHz RBW = 7,5MHz an so on.
  • Advanced noise rejection added. This function indicates the maximum level, to minimise the Noise-Level. This function can be started each time by pressing the menu-button twice.
  • Video-Filter activated.
  • New menu point "AudInd" (AudioIndicator) added. With this function you can do an audio location of signal sources. Here the audio frequency will be changed proportional to the signal strength. This mode is very useful at a fast zero-span sweep.
  • New menu point "Detect" (Detector) added. You can select between different detector types. At the moment it´s RMS and MinMax.
  • Menu point "Disp" (Display) changed. The new entry "AVG" (Average) allows to average multiple sweeps.
Aaronia AG, www.spectran.com Aaronia AG, Gewerbegebiet Aaronia AG, DE-54597 Euscheid, Germany
Phone: ++49(0)6556-93033, Fax ++49(0)6556-93034
Email:mail@aaronia.de URL:www.spectran.com
Eingetragene Warenzeichen der Aaronia AG
are registered trademarks of Aaronia AG
back to the Aaronia-HOMEPAGE