User`s manual

AscTec Hummingbird with AutoPilot User’s Manual
green status LED should be flashing again, si-
gnalizing that the new code is running.
A.2 Updating firmware on the
HighLevel(HL)-processor
In its factory programmed state the HL-processor is
only used to monitor the battery voltage and to parse
and forward GPS data. Plenty of computing power is
left for user applications. Using the software develop-
ment kit (SDK) provided by Ascending Technologies
users can write their own code and upload it to the
HL-processor. Please note that the firmware versions
of HL and LL-processor have to be compatible. The-
refore, if you purchased your vehicle a while ago and
you want to upload new firmware generated with the
newest SDK code base please contact us for an upda-
ted LL-processor firmware.
The HL-processor is not code-protected and conse-
quently read- and writeable by the user. This can
be done using NXPs official tools to program an
LPC2146 ARM processor.
A.2.1 Tools required for the update
You will need the following items and software tools
to perform a firmware upgrade on the LL-processor:
• LPC2146 flash tool, as for instance
”
Flas-
hMagic“ (free software, available at
www.flashmagictool.com)
• AscTec USB-adapter with four wires and a grey
6-pin connector
• Bootloader Jumper or pincers
• New firmware file, either provided by Ascending
Technologies or generated by the SDK(*.hex)
A.2.2 Uploading firmware to the
HL-processor
The following photograph shows the connectors in-
volved in the update process.
Please follow these steps to upload new code to the
HL-processor:
• Connect the USB-adapter to your computer (in-
stall the FTDI virtual comport driver if this
wasn’t done before), then connect the USB-
adapter to the
”
HL-serial 0“ connector of the Au-
toPilot.
• Turn on the vehicle while holding the HL-
bootloader jumper pads connected using pincers
(or a jumper if installed). The two LEDs signali-
zing the GPS state (next to the jumper pads) will
stay off and the battery warning buzzer will ma-
ke a loud noise. If not, there was no connection
between the pads during start-up. Please make
sure your pincers are conductive and try again.
You may put some tape on the front of the buz-
zer to cancel the noise - it won’t vanish before
the update is done and the vehicle is reset.
• Start
”
Flash Magic“, select the COM-port assi-
gned to the USB-adapter and set the other pa-
rameters to Baudrate 115200, Device LPC2146,
Interface None(ISP), Oscillator 14.7456 MHz.
• Check
”
Erase all Flash and Code Rd Prot“, select
the new firmware file (*.hex), uncheck all opti-
ons under Step 4 and click on start programming.
• When programming is finished turn off the ve-
hicle, disconnect the USB-adapter from the Au-
toPilot and turn the vehicle back on. Now, the
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