dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
73876

Teddy Boom
k kudos Received
Premium Member
join:2007-01-29
Toronto, ON

Teddy Boom to mlord

Premium Member

to mlord

Re: Upgrading Firmware on Thompson DCM475

said by mlord:

I forget, does the SB612x also use SPI flash?

Ya, for sure SPI flash. It is an 8MB chip though. The biggest concern is that you have to over wright both firmware images, because on the Motorola there is no dependable way of predicting which image will be booted.

I've got to run now, but more info to follow
mlord
join:2006-11-05
Kanata, ON

mlord

Member

Peachy. My current automatic rig for the DCM475 flashes both images regardless now too. Also does readback/compare to ensure reliable flashing.

Teddy Boom
k kudos Received
Premium Member
join:2007-01-29
Toronto, ON

Teddy Boom

Premium Member

said by mlord:

Peachy. My current automatic rig for the DCM475 flashes both images regardless now too. Also does readback/compare to ensure reliable flashing.

Well, that's an entirely different issue, which might become an issue for us... The SB6120 pulls about .5A through the 3.3V supply, and there are sometimes issues getting the flash to ID properly... Basically, a lot more read/write issues on the SB6120. Nothing that causes bricks for me, but sometimes a lot of hassles.

Really have to go
mlord
join:2006-11-05
Kanata, ON

mlord

Member

Yeah, even with the DCM475 I noticed flashing became much more stable when switched over to a custom 0.8/1.0 amp 3.3V power supply in the rigs.
seal
join:2012-12-18
Kanata, ON

2 recommendations

seal to CHRoNiCWiLL

Member

to CHRoNiCWiLL
Thanks mlord, the modem you flash for me tonight worked perfectly. Kudos!
mario9999998
join:2000-08-25
Canada

2 recommendations

mario9999998 to CHRoNiCWiLL

Member

to CHRoNiCWiLL
I'd just like to add that I visited mlord to perform an upgrade for my modem, and everything works great. It only took about 10 minutes too. Thanks again!
mlord
join:2006-11-05
Kanata, ON

2 recommendations

mlord

Member

Last chance for Toronto folks.. I'll be visiting for a couple of days soon, and nobody has gotten back to me asking for modem updates. If nothing gets arranged, I may not bother making the flashing rig available.

vaughanman
@teksavvy.com

vaughanman to mlord

Anon

to mlord
called TekSavvy complaining about the droppouts. They sent rogers to check the lines - no issue found. I called back Teksavvy, and asked about modem swap despite warranty date passing. They send me a (free) new DCM476 modem and now problems all resolved ! My 1 year was up in august so they gave me service despite 4 months over the purchase anniversary...I'm happy with Teksavvy !!!

TwiztedZero
Nine Zero Burp Nine Six
Premium Member
join:2011-03-31
Toronto, ON

TwiztedZero to CHRoNiCWiLL

Premium Member

to CHRoNiCWiLL
+1 @ vaughanman.

TSI Jonathan
Premium Member
join:2011-08-24
Chatham, ON

TSI Jonathan to vaughanman

Premium Member

to vaughanman
Glad the modem fixed the issue, if you have any other questions you know where to find us.

Cheers,

TSI Jonathan
mlord
join:2006-11-05
Kanata, ON

1 edit

mlord to Teddy Boom

Member

to Teddy Boom

SB6120/SB6121 Firmware


SB6121 on the ripping rig
Courtesy of Teddy Boom, I now have a SB6121 modem to experiment on. Here's the logic board hooked up to my flash-ripping rig. With a bit of luck, this will all be ready to use in a day or so, for anyone who needs their SB6120/SB6121 modems updated to the latest firmware for Teksavvy.
mlord

1 edit

mlord

Member


The SPI flash chip
No heat sinks to get in the way of this chip.
mlord

2 recommendations

mlord

Member

Click for full size
SB6120 having it's flash ripped.
And here's a SB6120 in the same ripping rig.
Both modems use exactly the same firmware images.
jojomcbobo
join:2013-01-03
Toronto, ON

3 recommendations

jojomcbobo to CHRoNiCWiLL

Member

to CHRoNiCWiLL

Re: Upgrading Firmware on Thompson DCM475

TeddyBoom upgraded the firmware on my modem last week and I haven't had a problem with disconnects since. Thanks TeddyBoom!
mlord
join:2006-11-05
Kanata, ON

1 edit

1 recommendation

mlord to CHRoNiCWiLL

Member

to CHRoNiCWiLL

Upgrading Firmware on DCM-476 modems


DCM-476 interior
Apparently there are a (very) few DCM-476 cable modems floating around out there with the wrong (for Rogers) firmware version installed. So today I opened up my (spare) DCM-476 to rip a copy of the Stac.02.50 firmware from it for fixing other modems with.

The layout inside looks a lot like the DCM-475, but with a few changes. Much smaller heatsink on the processor chip, and the SPI flash chip is also downsized to an 8-pin package from the predecessor's 16-pin package.
mlord

2 edits

1 recommendation

mlord

Member


Spansion 8-pin SPI flash chip

Pin-outs
The flash chip in my modem is an 8-pin Spansion FL032PIF, in the same location as the 16-pin chips in the DCM-475 modems. I was unable to locate the datasheet, but I did find a Spansion cross-reference which indicates the chip is compatible with the Atmel A25L032. So here are the pin-outs from that for comparison.

Edit: here's the Spansion datasheet: »www.spansion.com/Support ··· P_00.pdf
Insilin1i
join:2010-07-15
Toronto, ON

Insilin1i to mlord

Member

to mlord

Re: SB6120/SB6121 Firmware

Hey guys, I was kind of curious if there was a difference between
SB612X-1.0.5.0-SCM03-NOSH and the newer 1.0.6.1. I've been on this firmware for a while but I've been continuously getting random restarts which last for a couple minutes. Not sure if it's due to firmware or not?
resa1983
Premium Member
join:2008-03-10
North York, ON

resa1983

Premium Member

said by Insilin1i:

Hey guys, I was kind of curious if there was a difference between
SB612X-1.0.5.0-SCM03-NOSH and the newer 1.0.6.1. I've been on this firmware for a while but I've been continuously getting random restarts which last for a couple minutes. Not sure if it's due to firmware or not?

The
SB_KOMODO-1.0.6.1-SCM00-NOSH
is the stable upgrade to
SB612X-1.0.5.0-SCM03-NOSH
that Rogers pushed before which caused constant reboots.

I'd get in contact with Teddy Boom here in TO, and get your firmware upgraded.

random
@teksavvy.com

random to mlord

Anon

to mlord

Re: Upgrading Firmware on DCM-476 modems

The orderable part# is S25FL032P
Datasheet is here: www.spansion.com/Support/Datasheets/S25FL032P_00.pdf

Parts marking on page 13: FL032P + (Temp) + F
Insilin1i
join:2010-07-15
Toronto, ON

Insilin1i to resa1983

Member

to resa1983

Re: SB6120/SB6121 Firmware

Thanks for the quick reply, I'll shoot him a PM
mlord
join:2006-11-05
Kanata, ON

2 recommendations

mlord

Member

Re: Upgrading Firmware on DCM-476 modems

Click for full size
Ripping the original firmware now.
mlord

1 edit

mlord

Member

Still ripping/re-ripping the firmware to guarantee a consistent/correct copy, but here's what the flash layout appears to be:

DCM-476:
0x000000-0x1fffff 128KB boot etc..
0x020000-0x1fffff image1
0x200000-0x3dffff image2
0x3e0000-0x3effff 64KB not used
0x3f0000-0x3fffff 64KB logs

Slightly different from the DCM-475, which looked like this for comparison:

DCM-475:
0x000000-0x00ffff 64KB boot etc..
0x010000-0x1fffff image1
0x200000-0x3effff image2
0x3f0000-0x3fffff 64KB logs

My DCM-476 has both firmware versions inside. The image1 area has 02.50, whereas the image2 holds 02.31.
mlord

mlord

Member

Okay, done. Both Teddy Boom and myself can now update the DCM-476 modems as well as the DCM-475.
abcjak
join:2012-12-18

abcjak

Member



what is the latest version for the dcm476 would the benefit be of flashing to a different version? I have 2.50 also.
mlord
join:2006-11-05
Kanata, ON

mlord

Member

said by abcjak:

what is the latest version for the dcm476 would the benefit be of flashing to a different version? I have 2.50 also.

That's the version that Rogers wants for anyone on their cable system, Stac.02.50. But some modems still have only the older Stac.02.31 on them, and need updating.

Cheers

Teddy Boom
k kudos Received
Premium Member
join:2007-01-29
Toronto, ON

Teddy Boom to mlord

Premium Member

to mlord
said by mlord:

I was unable to locate the datasheet, but

You can pretty much figure out the pinout by looking at the traces on that board. Not too often a layout is that easy to read

(Edit: My test clips work pretty well on 16 pin chips, but test clips are horrible on 8 pin chips. Very very hard to keep it stable, very easy to damage the test clip. For 8 pin you really need the individual pin clips)
Teddy Boom

2 recommendations

Teddy Boom to Insilin1i

Premium Member

to Insilin1i

Re: SB6120/SB6121 Firmware

said by Insilin1i:

Hey guys, I was kind of curious if there was a difference between
SB612X-1.0.5.0-SCM03-NOSH and the newer 1.0.6.1. I've been on this firmware for a while but I've been continuously getting random restarts which last for a couple minutes. Not sure if it's due to firmware or not?

It may or may not be related to firmware. It is important to do basic debugging first. Do you have good signal, being the most important. Also worth taking it to another address just to see what you get there.

The firmware update can't hurt, but it isn't the source of all problems, not a panacea
taytong888
join:2005-06-20
Nepean, ON

taytong888 to mlord

Member

to mlord

Re: Upgrading Firmware on DCM-476 modems

Hi,

Today I noticed that a local (Ottawa) online shop sells DCM-475 for about $86 ish, compared to DCM-476 which goes for about $4 less.

Just wondering if this is because the 475 modem will not likely overheat, and disconnect, less often due to a larger heatsink than DCM-476?
arthurwinslo
join:2012-11-30
Toronto, ON

arthurwinslo to Teddy Boom

Member

to Teddy Boom

Re: SB6120/SB6121 Firmware

After the ios upgrade on the UBR in May of 2011 all 1.0.5.0's started flapping. You will need at minimum 1.0.6.0 but 1.0.6.1 is what Rogers has pushed out which resolves the channel bonding issue "caused" by the May 2011 ubr update.

Everyone will be pleased to know this same update is what caused your SMC D3GN's and pretty much all puma5 based modems to have disconnects. tada! You all know who to thank for that.
mlord
join:2006-11-05
Kanata, ON

mlord to taytong888

Member

to taytong888

Re: Upgrading Firmware on DCM-476 modems

said by taytong888:

Today I noticed that a local (Ottawa) online shop sells DCM-475 for about $86 ish, compared to DCM-476 which goes for about $4 less.

Just wondering if this is because the 475 modem will not likely overheat, and disconnect, less often due to a larger heatsink than DCM-476?

That's a thought, but I doubt it. The 476 probably just has a newer generation chip that uses less power. Neither modem is really "better" than the other, though I do prefer the soft green LEDs of the 475 to the garish blue ones on the 476.