DM42 Firmware V3.1 available

This is where announcements of official firmware updates provided by SwissMicros for the DM42 calculator will be made.

Please do not post bug reports here. The Usage tips, tricks and problem reports forum is there for that.

Please do not post notices of third party firmware builds here, they will be deleted. Instead, please use the Third Party firmware builds forum for this purpose.
grsbanks
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DM42 Firmware V3.1 available

Post by grsbanks »

Image

This is the first firmware update for the production version of the DM42.

The final beta version of the firmware was V2.11.6. New production units shipped with V3.0, so for the benefit of the beta testers who still have V2.11.6 on their calculators, we'll also go through what was new in V3.0.

Release notes V2.11.6 to V3.0:
  • Built-in quick reference guide
  • Status bar configuration
  • Self test functions (System menu)
  • Better reporting of battery voltage
Built-in quick reference guide

This was alluded to in 2.11.6 where you were able to view a stub for the help system when pressing F1. That help system is now here. The help file itself is not part of the firmware so that it can be updated without users having to flash a new complete firmware. You will therefore need to check online for the latest version of the help file.

Simply visit https://www.swissmicros.com/dm42/fat/HELP/latest/ to view the latest help file. This is a simple HTML page that you just have to save as "index.htm" to the HELP directory in the DM42's FAT drive. Save the page from your browser as "HTML only", not "Complete".

Navigation instructions are given within the help file itself.

Status bar configuration

You can now configure what appears in the status bar at the top of the DM42's screen. Go into "[SETUP] > Settings > Status bar" and you will see that you can choose whether to have or not:
  • State filename
  • Day of week
  • Date
  • Time
  • Battery voltage
Furthermore, you can select the date separator used if the date is displayed ("/", "-" or ".") and whether you would like the month to be displayed numerically or with its abbreviated name.

Self test functions

"[SETUP] > System > Self Test" contains 4 diagnostic functions to allow you to test the keyboard, the LCD, the infrared diode and the buzzer.

Battery voltage reporting

The battery voltage is dependent on the age of the battery and the load that it is being put under at any given moment and does not necessarily give an accurate idea of how much juice is left in it. The readings are now smoothed by software so that, for example, a long, intense calculation that drew a lot of power does not lead to a reading that shows the battery as almost flat immediately after the calculation has completed.

Release notes V3.0 to V3.1:
  • Help text drawing fixes
  • Free42 updated to V2.0.7
  • '×' and '÷' glyphs in help system
  • Font width calculation
Help text drawing fixes

A few glitches in the way text was laid out in the help system were ironed out (line breaks where you wouldn't expect them, for example).

Free42 V2.0.7

Among other things, Thomas Okken altered the random number generator in Free42 such that is now behaves exactly like the HP-42S. His release notes relevant to the parts affecting the DM42:
  • Changed the RAN and SEED functions to match the behavior of the real HP-42S. The previous implementation used the algorithm from the HP-41C Standard Pac, which produced numbers with only 6 significant digits.
'×' and '÷' glyphs in help system

Somehow these two glyphs had been swapped over in the HTML decoding table! Fixed...

Font width calculation

When using the "Vintage HP" font, the DM42 didn't calculate the number of characters that can fit on screen correctly. This resulted in numbers that need more characters than are available not being forced to ENG 02 format and being truncated in the stack instead. Fixed.



The QSPI chip's contents remains the same for versions 2.11.6, 3.0 and 3.1.

Update procedure

Download DM42_flash_3.1.bin from https://www.swissmicros.com/dm42/firmware/ and follow instructions in the manual

SHA1 Checksums

62d9231b9d95d55f766b9617f17c65be69dd24d6 DM42_flash_3.1.bin
3a6ea731a10633cbf247caa57942793c9af3560d DM42_qspi_3.1.bin
There are only 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who do not.
toml_12953
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Re: DM42 Firmware V3.1 available

Post by toml_12953 »

I can't find the manual to download. The link doesn't work in either Edge or Internet Explorer.

http://www.swissmicros.com/help/latest

Also, I don't see anywhere whether or not 3.1 is safe to flash to a Beta unit. Is it?

Thanks!


Edit: new help file link is https://www.swissmicros.com/dm42/fat/HELP/latest/
Tom L

Some people call me inept but I'm as ept as anybody!
DM10L SN: 059/100
DM41X SN: 00023 (Beta)
DM41X SN: 00506 (Shipping)
DM42 SN: 00025 (Beta)
DM42 SN: 00221 (Shipping)
WP43 SN: 00025 (Prototype)
grsbanks
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Re: DM42 Firmware V3.1 available

Post by grsbanks »

Sorry, my bad. I'll correct the link in the original post.
There are only 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who do not.
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Guenter
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Re: DM42 Firmware V3.1 available

Post by Guenter »

toml_12953 wrote:
Fri Dec 22, 2017 11:06 am
Also, I don't see anywhere whether or not 3.1 is safe to flash to a Beta unit. Is it?
SM wrote
The final beta version of the firmware was V2.11.6. New production units shipped with V3.0, so for the benefit of the beta testers who still have V2.11.6 on their calculators, we'll also go through what was new in V3.0.
Guess this indicates that it's safe. At least it is on my beta unit.

Günter
Günter
DM42 SN:00004 and SN:00184 -- DM41X SN:00013 and SN:00955
grsbanks
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Re: DM42 Firmware V3.1 available

Post by grsbanks »

toml_12953 wrote:
Fri Dec 22, 2017 11:06 am
Also, I don't see anywhere whether or not 3.1 is safe to flash to a Beta unit. Is it?
I missed that bit...

With a few minor exceptions, the electronics of the production units are identical to the beta units. Had there been incompatibilities between the two, they would have been announced.
There are only 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who do not.
toml_12953
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Re: DM42 Firmware V3.1 available

Post by toml_12953 »

grsbanks wrote:
Fri Dec 22, 2017 11:13 am
Sorry, my bad. I'll correct the link in the original post.
It works with your revised link. Thanks again!

I answered my own question about 3.1 on beta units. It seems to work fine. I did have to recreate the bootloader INI file so the DM Tool could see the new unit and then recreate it again for the beta unit. They have different USB ID numbers so when I switch back and forth, I have to run
inf-wizard.exe each time. I expected that and it's not a problem but I thought I'd mention it just in case it didn't occur to other owners of both a beta and a production calculator.
Tom L

Some people call me inept but I'm as ept as anybody!
DM10L SN: 059/100
DM41X SN: 00023 (Beta)
DM41X SN: 00506 (Shipping)
DM42 SN: 00025 (Beta)
DM42 SN: 00221 (Shipping)
WP43 SN: 00025 (Prototype)
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Guenter
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Help file - that is weird

Post by Guenter »

Downloaded the help file https://www.swissmicros.com/dm42/fat/HE ... 171219.zip transferred to my beta DM42 and to my production DM42. Now guess what: on my beta unit the navigation aid correctly shows the assignement of the navigation keys, whereas the production unit still shows them exchanged. BUT NOW whats really weird! When I hook the production unit to my computer and open the index.htm everything is correct. Same file different on the beta unit and the PC versus the production unit! Has someone got a clue?

I have of course made several attempts to ensure I'm always dealing with the same file.

Günter

Edit: same effect if I save the "latest" und load that onto the calculator
Günter
DM42 SN:00004 and SN:00184 -- DM41X SN:00013 and SN:00955
grsbanks
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Re: DM42 Firmware V3.1 available

Post by grsbanks »

Günter, are both machines running V3.1 firmware?

That bug was corrected in the transition from 3.0 to 3.1.
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revwillie
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Re: DM42 Firmware V3.1 available

Post by revwillie »

the update appeared to work fine for me on my beta unit but it did not create or populate the HELP folder.

I am copying the HELP in manually, but was the dm_tool flash supposed to do that?

Thanks
DM42 SN: 00076
DM15, HP 28c, HP 12c, HP 10b, HP 20b, HP 30b, HP 17bII, HP 42s, HP 35s, WP 34s, NP-25, TI-83+, teenix multicalc
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Guenter
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Re: DM42 Firmware V3.1 available

Post by Guenter »

grsbanks wrote:
Fri Dec 22, 2017 2:11 pm
Günter, are both machines running V3.1 firmware?

That bug was corrected in the transition from 3.0 to 3.1.
Another stupid me :cry: grrr. I had only updated the beta unit.

Günter

Edit: updated, works as announced
Last edited by Guenter on Fri Dec 22, 2017 3:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Günter
DM42 SN:00004 and SN:00184 -- DM41X SN:00013 and SN:00955
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