********************************************************************* * Release notes for Quantum TMCE Firmware Version 1.32.03 * * January 14th, 2004: Released by Tim Beaton * ********************************************************************* ===================================================================== Quantum Firmware 1.32.03 ======================== This is a patch to fix a problem where the carrier thickness was not used in the media thickness calculations until AFTER the zstage was moved. This would cause the first plot after changing from proofing to plating media (or vice versa) to fail focus learn because the zstage was in the wrong position. Quantum Firmware 1.32.02 ======================== This is a patch to fix a "command sequence is invalid" error that would be reported from the head when the TMCE firmware invalidly attempted to perform a focus learn adjust sequence for media whose focus mode was either 1 or 5. Media with these modes should not have any focus learn sequences attempted. Quantum Firmware 1.32.01 ======================== This is a quick patch over 1.32 to fix a problem with downloading head code. The 1.32 firmware does not output the string "Head initialization successful" when the head is reset. The absence of this string would cause Service Shell to report that the head code download had failed even though it was really successful. Also, fixed the version stamp in the binary file to read 1.32 instead of 1.31. Quantum Firmware 1.32 ===================== For all TMCE based Lotem Quantum and Lotem 800 Type II devices, the following firmware versions are recommended: File Name Version Information ============== ==================================== mcelca0165.bin MCE Xilinx Version 1.65 (or higher) mceboot109.bin MCE Boot Code version 1.09 (or higher) mcepost105.bin MCE Post Code version 1.05 (or higher) mcerec100.bin MCE Recovery Code 1.00 (or higher) The recommended thermal head version for this firmware release is 1.02 (or higher). The latest RCON-CTP interface document which describes the changes made for this release is version 0.51 (\\cscfile1\ProductDevel\Quantum800\MCE-Firmware\Release\1.32\RCON-CTP_IF.doc) The recommended QuantumSeries script to be used is 0.22 !!!!! NOTE: This version is a major jump from 1.28.0x versions as it is based on a much newer !!!!! !!!!! baseline of firmware. Please observe the long list of changes (very filtered, but !!!!! !!!!! still long) below !!!!! ========================= CHANGES SINCE 1.28.05 ===================================== * Restored the 'ceh lv pattern' functionality, which had been inadvertently removed. * Cured problem where carriage moves would fail while learning focus with low drum speeds before actual pixel imaging began. The moves would fail because they occurred after the PLL was set up for the plotting drum speed. * Fixed a bug in the debris removal code that was causing invalid stable readings. * Fixed Test Plots 117 and 127 which would cause a plot to fail if used. * A bug was fixed in DRScore.C in the function F_SetupPtpMove() where the initial position of a drum move trajectory was calculated incorrectly in certain cases after a previously aborted move trajectory. Until now a position move was aborted only as a safety response. Now that the ThermoFlex 'sleeve' product must abort moves as part of normal operation the bug associated with intial position conditions (after a previous abort) was revealed. When a position trajectory is aborted the initial condition for the next move trajectory must be determined from the current drum position. Under some conditions this could be a negative value. It is necessary to ensure the current position is converted to a positive value before calculating a new move trajectory. * Added the new head parameter 'lvreverse' to enable reverse polarity on TH1.x heads. The reverse polarity happens when the laser is off, and increases head life. * Increased the head application protocol to 2. * Removed references to narrow mode parameters. Replaced "narrow mode" with "image mode". The intent is that media requiring different head parameters for different types of screening must set up a new slot with the appropriate values, and specify a different image mode. * Added new 'imode' parameter to HDM, and moved the stroke parameters from the HEAD block to the HDM block. * Added parameter handling for stroke parameter move to the HDM block. The parameter handling ensures that the stroke parameters are only displayed in the HEAD or HDM based on the head firmware version, and not in both parameter blocks at the same time. This change only applies to CEH AP0. * Fixed the parameter ranges and defaults for the 'eover' and 'eminsr' parameters. The values were out by a factor of 1000, related to the way we handle pseudo-floats in the MCE vs. the MPE. * Updated the error message and documentation for the THC_ERR_LV_STROKE_CLOCK error. This error message now corresponds to a fault state in the SCLK or IMAGING signals. The previous application was never implemented in any heads in the field. * Added support for display of application packets. This feature replaces similar functionality in the Data Transport Layer (DTL) subsystem that was recently removed to allow the data link to run faster and more reliably. All application level packets will now be visible at the diagnostic monitor by setting the EHI verbosity level to debug. The following is an example of a typical channel transmitted command packet and its associated received response packet: D EHI: Ch0 Tx I=627 L=08 00 43 02 00 0F 0C 00 30 D EHI: Ch0 Rx I=627 L=14 40 00 00 5F 00 72 00 34 00 31 00 00 00 00 This packet display is much like the familiar debug packets from the DTL subsystem with the exception of the 'I' field which indicates the packet solicitor number both sent to the head and received from the head. * Added new periodic image status reporting that only occurs while device is imaging. This is in support of the Plot Start/End commands. The workstation only wants change of state unsolicited messages, plus periodic messages only when imaging. Duplicate state change messages confuse the DCAPI server. * Updated DCAPI_PropertyDefs.h file to DCAPI_PROPERTYDEFS_VERSION 803. * The following additional DCAPI properties are now supported: DCAPI_PropertyProofImageableMainscanSize DCAPI_PropertyProofImageableSubscanSize * Added support for the new DCAPI RCON commands Plot Start, and Plot End. These bypass media handling and launch plots directly. Used for the Test Plot Applet support. * Added support for the RCON Media Load Start and Media Load End commands. * Removed RIF_IMAGEPARAM_PORTRAIT from the image parameter processor. * Added in support for the RIF_IMAGEPARAM_STACK_LOCATIONS image parameter. * Added support for reading writing the DCAPI CRC values. Included the creation of a new error code called GIM_ERR_CRC_MISMATCH. * Removed the "cancel" button from being shown during unload prompts. It is now only shown during load prompts. * Change unsupported parameter documentation to include the new and moved HDM parameters swidth, soffset, swidthn, soffsetn, and imode. * Improved the "fw dir" command. It now outputs more information regarding how much internal flash memory space is used / free. Also displays information on how much space is used by previously un-documented flash memory components: the firmware directory and NVS storage sectors. * Added the 2 new commands: "fw erase post" and "fw erase ovwr". These commands will remove the corresponding firmware components from flash memory. * Added support for LMCE SCON slave boards - "list version all" will now display the LMCE slave SCON board properly, and not as an unknown SCON board type. * Modified LOAD and LOADED FORCE command so that if media index is specified, is different from the previously loaded media, and the media type is not specified, then the media type is taken from the media parameters corresponding to the new index. * Add in support for the new media arguments: MainScanLengthMicrons SubScanLengthMicrons Now using them as if they were the primary size arguments, however the following arguments are still set (for the moment): MainScanLength SubScanLength * Fixed a bug where if you enter a number alone on the command line, the preceding command would be executed -- if it was a non-MOP command. * Reduced sleep from 500ms to 100ms after each line when processing run file under NT simulation. See MON_NTConsoleQueuePutc for details. * Modified the decimal place restriction on diag monitor input for PFloat types. The monitor will now accept ANY number of decimal places for input, but will ROUND to 3 decimal places. For example, previously the carriage moveto command would have failed with the following command: carriage moveto 90.3456 because it specified 4 decimal places. This change now permits this syntax, and it is interpreted as a move to position 90.346. That is, if there is a 4th decimal place, and it is greater than or equal to 5, the number is incremented by 0.001. Thus, 90.9999 will be rounded to 91.000. If there are more than 4 decimal digits, they are ignored. * Fixed Dylux alignment problem. Side B image start offset is now adjusted by an extra GC shift to cancel out the GC shift that was included in the side A image end offset. * Removed SIDE A|B option from PLOT command for blueline proofs. The side imaged is now controlled when the media is loaded, using "LOAD is 1|2". * Removed AWAY option from EDGE TEST command. The away edge is now automatically searched for if side A of blueline media is loaded. * MPC now outputs a new "Input Raster CRC" value along with the other CRC values at the end of a plot. This new CRC value is based on the input raster received from the workstation and should match the value generated by PrintConsole, TiffDownloader, and Prinergy. Needs Xilinx version 1.70 or higher to output a value other than 0xFFFF * Added "GentleUnload" to proof parameters. *Added the monitor command "memory stacks sorted" which displays the memory stacks in order from most unused stack space to least unused stack space. * Move the TECMargin and LECMargin parameters from the mh group to the prd group and rename to TEMargin and LEMargin (as it is more accurately just the trailing an leading edge margin - clamp not involved here). * Removed the RIF_DCAPI_PROPERTY_ID enumeration from rifenums.h. The master DCAPI property list is contained in the file DCAPI_PropertyDefs.h (see the GIM subsystem) and is shared between many systems. * Added support for Service Move functionality. This required adding the following things to RIFenums.h: Command code for RIF_COMMAND_CTP_SERVICE_MOVE_START, Command code for RIF_COMMAND_CTP_SERVICE_MOVE_END, Command code for RIF_COMMAND_CTP_SERVICE_MOVE_CANCEL, The status type enumeration RIF_STATUSTYPE_SERVICE_MOVE, The command movement options for use with the the Service Move Start command, are in the RIF_CTP_SERVICE_MOVE_TYPE enumeration. * Added RIF_CTP_OPTIONS_FEATURELESS_EDGE_DETECT device option. * Updated definitions to support featureless edge detection. This involved adding a new mode to the RIF_EDGEDETECTMODE enumeration. The new mode is denoted by RIF_EDGEDETECTMODE_FEATURELESS and has a value of 4. There are now two new image parameters that are REQUIRED when that mode is used. They are: RIF_IMAGEPARAM_EDGE_DETECT_MS_POSITION, and RIF_IMAGEPARAM_EDGE_DETECT_MS_OFFSET RIF_IMAGEPARAM_EDGE_DETECT_MS_POSITION specifies the location of the first edge detect attempt. This position is in microns and represents a mainscan location on the plate relative to the leading edge. The drum will be moved so that this is where edge detection is attempted. The second parameter is called RIF_IMAGEPARAM_EDGE_DETECT_MS_OFFSET and it is used to determine the location for a second edge detection, further down the plate. This parameter is also in microns, but it specifies an offset relative to the position determined by RIF_IMAGEPARAM_EDGE_DETECT_MS_POSITION. * Added a new option flag: RIF_CTP_OPTIONS_MEDIA_DATA_BLOCK, and added two new commands that will help provide Media Console support. These two commands are: RIF_COMMAND_CTP_MEDIA_DATA_READ, and RIF_COMMAND_CTP_MEDIA_DATA_WRITE These changes are required to implement the CTP application protocol 0.44 (See RCON-CTP_IF.doc, revision 0.44 or higher) * Added support to "sio nodes" command to recognize the SCON board ID range of 50h-5fh as LMCE boards. * Fixed the monitor command: "sio con hhh". When using the service shell to talk to an MCE board, the incoming MCE characters would come in very fast and cause the SIO 'con' monitor code to send out the redirected SCON board monitor characters too fast, and they would get lost at the SCON board. * Increased Application Protocol Version in WMDindef.h from 43 to 50. This change is done in concert with the merge from the mpi_development2 branch. * The Query Media 2 response message now has an Image Mode field in it. * Added 'lockout enable|disable' MOP command * Debris removal stability calculation fixed up to be more stable. * Debris removal "blower on post delay" is now in nvs. This is the amount of time the firmware will wait after it has turned on the blower before it starts monitoring the flow. This was done to accommodate non-UDRC blowers using the UDRC firmware, i.e. Manta and Fugu. * The PLL ON and PLL OFF diagnostic commands will now wait for the PLL to stabilize just as mentioned above. Note that if the drum is not spinning when PLL ON is executed, it will time out after 10 seconds with an error stating that the PLL did not stabilize. * Changed access for media invert parameter to be hazardous instead of normal. ========================= END OF CHANGES FROM 1.28.05 ===================================== ********************************************************************* * Release notes for Quantum TMCE Firmware Version 1.28.05 * * May 15th, 2003: Released by Mike Bogelund * ********************************************************************* ===================================================================== Quantum Firmware 1.28.05 ======================== For all TMCE based Lotem Quantum and Lotem 800 Type II devices, the following firmware versions are recommended: File Name Version Information ============== ==================================== mcelca0165.bin MCE Xilinx Version 1.65 (or higher) mceboot109.bin MCE Boot Code version 1.09 (or higher) mcepost105.bin MCE Post Code version 1.05 (or higher) mcerec100.bin MCE Recovery Code 1.00 (or higher) The recommended thermal head version for this firmware release is 1.02 Pre 5 or higher. The latest RCON-CTP interface document which describes the changes made for this release is version 0.36 (\\cscfile1\ProductDevel\Quantum800\MCE-Firmware\Documents\RCON-CTP_IF-036.pdf) The recommended QuantumSeries script to be used is 0.22 Bug Fixes: * Internal Plots 117 and 127 have been fixed. In 1.28.04 these two patterns would fail to image due due a "pattern write error". This was a programming bug that was missed in testing and it is now corrected with this version. ********************************************************************* * Release notes for Quantum TMCE Firmware Version 1.28.04 * * April 11th, 2003: Released by Mike Bogelund * ********************************************************************* ===================================================================== Quantum Firmware 1.28.04 ======================== !!! Note: from 1.26.03 we jumped to 1.28.00 because we re-synchronized with the firmware baseline. Since then there have been a few internally tested versions from 1.28.00 to 1.28.03 - the changes for each of these is included below to capture the total changes from 1.26.03 to this release which is 1.28.04. !!! For all TMCE based Lotem Quantum and Lotem 800 Type II devices, the following firmware versions are recommended: File Name Version Information ============== ==================================== mcelca0165.bin MCE Xilinx Version 1.65 (or higher) mceboot109.bin MCE Boot Code version 1.09 (or higher) mcepost105.bin MCE Post Code version 1.05 (or higher) mcerec100.bin MCE Recovery Code 1.00 (or higher) The recommended thermal head version for this firmware release is 1.02 Pre 5 or higher. The latest RCON-CTP interface document which describes the changes made for this release is version 0.36 (\\cscfile1\ProductDevel\Quantum800\MCE-Firmware\Documents\RCON-CTP_IF-036.pdf) The recommended QuantumSeries script to be used is 0.22 Bug Fixes: 1.28.04 * The size of proof plots was incorrect and a fix for this is now in place. Before the carrier thickness was being applied incorrectly. Now, the carrier thickness needs to be setup in the proof data being used (it is the only parameter in the proof NVS that is used at this point). The workstation and the "proof load" command need to only specify the receiver thickness. For non-proof plots the carrier thickness parameter will not be used and for proof plots on DOnor media the carrier thickness will be used. * The firmware will properly update the gc sshift parameter when upgrading from an older version of firmware. An older version is deemed to be of the 1.20.xx group. After upgrading the firmware and resetting the device a plot must be done for the parameter to be updated. After the first plot (and for the first plot) the parameter will be set to the new valid value. 1.28.03 * The "Edge detect only if required" argument is now properly and fully supported. 1.28.02 * Fix for the SCSI interrupts problem correctly included this time. Oops. 1.28.01 * This build includes a fix for edge detection. This fix is to increase our compliance with poor media types in mind. In particular this edge detection change will solve the problem we have with Spectratech plates which have very poor edges and tend to cause errors during edge detection. The focus laser is now overdriven by a factor of 4 compared to the previous overdrive of 1.2. This will in the near future be remedied by a new version of head firmware which will allow turning the overdrive on and off as well as adjusting it; this compared to the always on and constant fix that is in this firmware. * RCON interface now supports a "Edge detect only if required" argument for edge detection. This is to aid in the implementation of multi-pass imaging for Stacatto plots from Brisque where the second edge detect was causing a shift in the placement of the second image. * The minimum on-plate distance has increased to 2.5mm from 1.0mm at the direction of Doug Smythies * A fix in the disabling of interrupts has been included which eliminates the unexpected SCSI interrupts that are usually reported at the end of a plot. This also clears up the problem with Prinergy jobs occaisionaly getting "stuck" in the middle of an image. 1.28.00 * Carriage mspeed paramter has it's default changed from 25 to 32. * Drum tsettle nvs parameter default changed from 0.5s to 2.0s Known issues: * None. ********************************************************************* * Release notes for Quantum TMCE Firmware Version 1.26.03 * * January 13th, 2003: Released by Mike Bogelund * ********************************************************************* ===================================================================== Quantum Firmware 1.26.03 ======================== For all TMCE based Lotem Quantum and Lotem 800 Type II devices, the following firmware versions are recommended: File Name Version Information ============== ==================================== mcelca0150.bin MCE Xilinx Version 1.50 (or higher) mceboot109.bin MCE Boot Code version 1.09 (or higher) mcepost105.bin MCE Post Code version 1.05 (or higher) mcerec100.bin MCE Recovery Code 1.00 (or higher) The recommended thermal head version for this firmware release is 1.02 Pre 4 or higher. The latest RCON-CTP interface document which describes the changes made for this release is version 0.36 (\\cscfile1\ProductDevel\Quantum800\MCE-Firmware\Documents\RCON-CTP_IF-036.pdf) The recommended QuantumSeries script to be used is 0.22 New features: * The QuantumSeries script 0.22 now uses the mode parameter entered in the gui window for the duration of the series plot. Bug Fixes: * The "GetProperty" RCON command used to return non-valid information on the first usage after a reset. This has been fixed so that the GetProperty command can be used immediately. * Range checking has been added to the clamp shadow values. The clamp shadow values are not allowed to negative and they are checked to make sure they are no larger than the image (as a max) in the main scan direction. This is to trap the fact that the "plot moffset" command cannot feasibly range check the entries given to it (since it involves more information than that command knows of). * The "media x" command used to cause invalid media data to be selected if an error occurred during the commands execution. The error could be that the head fails to match/find the matching media name & colour or it could be that the media index entered as x is too large or negative. The command now properly handles negative indexes, too-large indexes and head errors properly by ensuring that the current media selection remains known and the data does not get corrupted. Note that in the case of a head error, the media info is briefly changed to that of the entered index but if the head has an error then the data is restored. It is conceivable that if the media info was queried over RCON while a "media x" command was in progress that incorrect info could be obtained ... this is a small window of time and may/may not be addressable. * The drum tsettler parameter now has a default of 2.0 seconds to help solve a problem with "drum not settling" errors. Known issues: * This firmware does not include a fix for the occaisional output of "command failed" or similar text when redirection is enabled. This problem is actually believed to be in the head but until it is resolved, the issue will remain here so it doesn't get dropped. * The issue of incorrect plot startup timing has not been resolved - further data is being collected. ********************************************************************* * Release notes for Quantum TMCE Firmware Version 1.26.02 * * January 7th, 2003: Released by Mike Bogelund * ********************************************************************* ===================================================================== Quantum Firmware 1.26.02 ======================== For all TMCE based Lotem Quantum and Lotem 800 Type II devices, the following firmware versions are recommended: File Name Version Information ============== ==================================== mcelca0150.bin MCE Xilinx Version 1.50 (or higher) mceboot109.bin MCE Boot Code version 1.09 (or higher) mcepost105.bin MCE Post Code version 1.05 (or higher) mcerec100.bin MCE Recovery Code 1.00 (or higher) The recommended thermal head version for this firmware release is 1.02 Pre 4 or higher. The latest RCON-CTP interface document which describes the changes made for this release is version 0.36 (\\cscfile1\ProductDevel\Quantum800\MCE-Firmware\Documents\RCON-CTP_IF-036.pdf) The recommended QuantumSeries script to be used is 0.21 New features: * Added new commands to control the Hotlink BIST functionality. "hotlink enable" puts the hotlink into self-test mode and notifies the head to do the same. "hotlink status" will display the current status of the test. NOTE: "hotlink status" is only a valid command while the self test is running. "hotlink disable" will end the test. While the test is running, you can reset the counters which track errors using the "hotlink reset" command. Bug Fixes: * Previously there was a timing condition that would lead to monitor commands being jumbled when in redirection mode. This had been fixed in this release. * Two instances of the MCE simply no longer responding are known to have occurred with 1.26.01. In the process of fixing the monitor jumbling the cause for this is also believed to be fixed. Since the original problem only happened twice and wasn't easily repeatable only time will tell. * The carriage mspeed parameter now has a default of 35mm/s to increase throughput. * The drum tsettler parameter now has a default of 2.0 seconds to help solve a problem with "drum not settling" errors. Known issues: * This firmware does not include a fix for the occaisional output of "command failed" or similar text when redirection is enabled. * The issue of incorrect plot startup timing has not been resolved, but to date it has only happened once. * The "plot moffset" commands do not provide range checking on the values entered. While they will not do so in the future, a check will likely be implemented on the clamp shadow values which will catch moffset values that are problematic * The "GetProperty" RCON command occaisionaly returns 0 for drum speed. This has not yet been solved in the firmware. ********************************************************************* * Release notes for Quantum TMCE Firmware Version 1.26.01 * * December 6th, 2002: Released by Guy Sirton for Mike Bogelund * ********************************************************************* ===================================================================== Quantum Firmware 1.26.01 ======================== For all TMCE based Lotem Quantum and Lotem 800 Type II devices, the following firmware versions are recommended: File Name Version Information ============== ==================================== mcelca0150.bin MCE Xilinx Version 1.50 (or higher) mceboot109.bin MCE Boot Code version 1.09 (or higher) mcepost105.bin MCE Post Code version 1.05 (or higher) mcerec100.bin MCE Recovery Code 1.00 (or higher) The recommended thermal head version for this firmware release is 1.02 Pre 4 or higher. The latest RCON-CTP interface document which describes the changes made for this release is version 0.36 (\\cscfile1\ProductDevel\Quantum800\MCE-Firmware\Documents\RCON-CTP_IF-036.pdf) The recommended QuantumSeries script to be used is 0.21 New features: * Added a new command "proof load" which should be used for telling the firmware that the 3 proof media are on the drum, before doing an internal proof plot. This command replaces the need to do 3 separate "load" commands. Syntax example for the new command: QUANTUM>> proof load 762 1016 350 3 762 is the mainscan size (in mm) of the receiver 1016 is the subscan size (in mm) of the receiver 350 is the thickness (in microns) of the carrier + receiver 3 is the media index for the donor. Type "help proof load" for details Bug Fixes: * The gc parameters MshiftSmall and RotationSmall are now used only for plotting plates. Previously, if the media on drum size was smaller then gc MaxSmall, these parameters were used also when plotting other media like proof. * The PLL is now turned off before the focus laser during plot shutdown. This should prevent the head warnings at the end of the plot complaining about focus samples mismatch, which also caused the QuantumSeries script to fail when plotting several calibration strips. Known issues: * This firmware does not include a fix for the command line breaks problem that may occur intermittently between the MCE firmware and the head. The problem is rooted in deep levels of interrupt handling and the solution is pending. * The default value for the drum "tsettle" parameter is still 0.5. There was an issue raised whether several "drum not settling" errors which occurred are related to this parameter. We still wait for feedback from Israel regarding this issue. ********************************************************************* * Release notes for Quantum TMCE Firmware Version 1.26 * * November 8th, 2002: Released by Guy Sirton * ********************************************************************* ===================================================================== Quantum Firmware 1.26 ===================== For all TMCE based Lotem Quantum and Lotem 800 II devices, the following firmware versions are recommended: File Name Version Information ============== ==================================== mcelca0150.bin MCE Xilinx Version 1.50 (or higher) mceboot109.bin MCE Boot Code version 1.09 (or higher) mcepost105.bin MCE Post Code version 1.03 (or higher) mcerec100.bin MCE Recovery Code 1.00 (or higher) The recommended thermal head version for this firmware release is 1.02 or higher. The latest RCON-CTP interface document which describes the changes made for this release is version 0.??. This is a new release of Quantum Firmware which contains the following new features: * You no longer need a dongle with your MCE board. * Support for Lotem 800 II machines. You now have to configure a model after upgrading the firmware. Use: <> and then <> to set-up a Quantum machine. <> to set-up an 800 II machine. * Minimum and maximum plate sizes are now licenseable features. To modify them onsite use the feature command. <> prints a list of configurable featues. <> where FEATURENUMBER is the feature number from the list above and value is the requested value will re-configure the machine. * The thermal head parameters are now accessed solely through monitor redirection. Old commands will print out text to help users switch to the new command syntax. Bug Fixes: * GC sub-scan shift should be entered correctly on new machines (~2mm). On older machines the value will be automatically re-adjusted upon installation. Known issues: * You can't upload the thermal head binary using the Win95 service shell. You need to use the command line utility TEHLOAD for this. * When running against older thermal head firmware in ap0 you may get a "head wenable" value of 65535 and the plot will abort. Enter "set head wenable 1" to rectify the situtation. * This firmware does not have model based drum speed restrictions!!! If used with old Lotem Control software the drum speed limits will not be enforced!