Newbie, DM42, DMCP updates and state files

Discussion around the SwissMicros DM42 calculator
darzi
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Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2020 8:25 am
Location: EC

Newbie, DM42, DMCP updates and state files

Post by darzi »

Hello Y'all,

Am absolutely besotted by the shiny new DM42 which arrived safe and sound amazingly promptly - my huge thanks to the SwissMicros guys (Michael, David, Godwin and anyone else involved) and Thomas Okken for such a fabulous tool.

Now for my foolish newbie questions:

Q1 - my DM42 is running DMCP v3.18 (IFC 03.13) BASE; DM42 v3.15; Free42 2.5.16;
- is it Best Current Practice to always update to the latest releases using the "DMCP OS + DM42 program combo" file
(or is it safest for a newbie to wait a while, if so how long)?

Q2 - the User Manual section 5.3 Calculator State manual ( https://technical.swissmicros.com/dm42/ ... state_menu ) says:
5.3.1 Load State - "Displays list of available calculator state files (.s42 extension) from /STATE/ directory."
5.3.2 Save State - "Used for saving current calculator state to a .s42 file into the /STATE/ directory of the flash storage."

However, on my DM42 (see above for versions) the files have a ".f42" file extension - the same as Free42 uses in fact.
The menus seem to work just fine - and I love being able to configure and save the full calculator state, so this is not a complaint just a query.

Is this (inconsistency between User Manual and actual DM42 file extensions used) a bug, feature, or just a quirk?
(Where and how should such things be reported and discussed?)

Again, many thanks for the great calculator, and this excellent forum, which I have been reading for a while but with renewed interest now I have a shiny new DM42 to get acquainted with.
Oh - if I have missed the "introduction for new DM42 users" pages do share the URLs, I did look for forum answers to my questions but didn't see any, and the manuals are...useful but dense for someone still getting their mindset into DM42-space...also searching scanned (HP 42s) PDFs is hard due to no hyperlinks and similar aids. Again not a complaint just an observation from a complete newbie.
Paul (DM42 and lovin' it! Encouraged by using Free42 first, also excellent)
grsbanks
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Re: Newbie, DM42, DMCP updates and state files

Post by grsbanks »

Hi there,

Q1: It's certainly the easiest way. All you have to do is connect your DM42 in USB disk mode, copy the binary firmware file over, "eject" (or umount, whatever the command is on your O/S) the DM42 and it goes away and does the update on its own.

Q2: The manual is for the latest version. There may well be a few discrepancies between it and older versions running on hardware that was packaged before the update was released.
There are only 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who do not.
darzi
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2020 8:25 am
Location: EC

Re: Newbie, DM42, DMCP updates and state files

Post by darzi »

Thanks for the quick and succinct reply, will do the update in a day or two then.

Am collecting a few programs together so I'll pop them onto the DM42 once I have them ready - and do the s/w update at the same time.
Paul (DM42 and lovin' it! Encouraged by using Free42 first, also excellent)
grsbanks
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Re: Newbie, DM42, DMCP updates and state files

Post by grsbanks »

I'd do the software update first if I were you because doing so will wipe the calculator's memory.

The other solution is to enter all your programs and then save the calculator's state. After updating (and wiping the memory) you just re-load the state that you saved before the update and your programs will all be there again.
There are only 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who do not.
darzi
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2020 8:25 am
Location: EC

Re: Newbie, DM42, DMCP updates and state files

Post by darzi »

Ah! Thanks for the tip, wasn't sure what order makes best sense.

The progams were entered via Free42, so I was hoping to copy them over via USB rather than having to re-enter them, you just saved some frustration I suspect :D
Last edited by darzi on Sun Nov 01, 2020 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Paul (DM42 and lovin' it! Encouraged by using Free42 first, also excellent)
grsbanks
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Re: Newbie, DM42, DMCP updates and state files

Post by grsbanks »

If you're using the latest version of Free42 and the latest DM42 firmware (which includes the latest Free42) then you should be able to export the state from Free42 and import it as-is into the DM42, thus transferring everything across in one fell swoop.
There are only 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who do not.
darzi
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2020 8:25 am
Location: EC

Re: Newbie, DM42, DMCP updates and state files

Post by darzi »

Ooooh! Excellent, that's pure magic - will do so, thanks again!
Paul (DM42 and lovin' it! Encouraged by using Free42 first, also excellent)
darzi
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2020 8:25 am
Location: EC

Re: Newbie, DM42, DMCP updates and state files

Post by darzi »

Upgraded using "DMCP_flash_3.20_DM42-3.16.bin" successfully:
20201102-16160536.bmp
20201102-16160536.bmp (12.31 KiB) Viewed 3015 times
In case it helps others, for info I did the upgrade using a Raspberry Pi 4 running the current Raspian/RaspiOs, was quick and easy. when ejecting from the RPi the DM42 auto-ejected too i.e. no need to press "Enter" to exit USB disk mode.

Also, again on the Raspberry Pi 4, I built Free42 for Arm using SwissMicros Free42 v2.5.20 Tar file - so now have the same version of Free42 running on all of:
- DM42 (yea!)
- Raspberry Pi 4
- Mac laptop
- Mac desktop
All running Free42 v2.5.20 which will allow program entry and debug - with eventual transfer to DM42 (via State files) for acual use - magic, and a huge time saver overall.
Paul (DM42 and lovin' it! Encouraged by using Free42 first, also excellent)
grsbanks
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Re: Newbie, DM42, DMCP updates and state files

Post by grsbanks »

Just for the record, Free42 is a piece of software by Thomas Okken, not by SwissMicros.
There are only 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who do not.
darzi
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2020 8:25 am
Location: EC

Re: Newbie, DM42, DMCP updates and state files

Post by darzi »

grsbanks wrote:
Sun Nov 01, 2020 8:35 pm
Just for the record, Free42 is a piece of software by Thomas Okken, not by SwissMicros.
Ah, I tried to find the Free42 v2.5.20 build file on Thomas' GitHub web site, but couldn't find how to build specifically v2.5.20 there - then I came across SwissMicros' Tar file with the actual files (I presume) used for the DM42 build process.

So I was trying to say, using a Tar from SwissMicros, Thomas' Free42 v2.5.20 was built on the Raspberry Pi 4.

Do you wish me to change any wording - or just delete that info? Didn't mean to annoy or mis-speak.
Paul (DM42 and lovin' it! Encouraged by using Free42 first, also excellent)
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