IFR COM-120 Problem

[tvlgrg]

I too have to annoy you with a COM120B problem.
This is what happens when I turn on the unit:
• I get the first beep and the receiver input green led lights on
• After 10 seconds the Aux RF Out and T/R RF I/O amber leds light on 2 seconds
• After 15 seconds I receive two beeps and the display lights on showing the IFR logo
• Other 5 seconds and I hear a short two tone sequence and the unit stays in this state for ever.
• There is no chance to turn off the unit using the front power pushbutton.
Changing the point of view:
• The red Leds on the Generator Mech Assy and Synthetizer Mech Assy trays are on showing an unlocked status.
• The red Led on the Controller tray is flashing
• The red Led on the PCB just behind the front panel is flashing
The unit dead with a continuous tone while I was testing a receiver selcall and no RF power was applied to the PWR I/O.
Thank you in advance for your attention.
Have a nice day
Giorgio

[Wowbagger]

I too have to annoy you with a COM120B problem.
This is what happens when I turn on the unit:
• I get the first beep and the receiver input green led lights on

OK, so the keyboard microcontroller is coming up.

• After 10 seconds the Aux RF Out and T/R RF I/O amber leds light on 2 seconds
• After 15 seconds I receive two beeps and the display lights on showing the IFR logo

Main CPU up, GPU software loaded, basic keyboard test complete.

• Other 5 seconds and I hear a short two tone sequence and the unit stays in this state for ever.

I need more information here: do you mean 2 beeps of the same pitch and duration, or do you mean more of a "doo-DEE-doo" tone? The latter would indicate that the main application was not found, which would indicate a problem in the programming of the flash.

• There is no chance to turn off the unit using the front power pushbutton.

You have other problems then - the front panel button ties directly to the power supply, and should power the instrument off no matter what.

Changing the point of view:
• The red Leds on the Generator Mech Assy and Synthetizer Mech Assy trays are on showing an unlocked status.

Hardware hasn't been programmed.

• The red Led on the Controller tray is flashing

Main CPU is running normally.

• The red Led on the PCB just behind the front panel is flashing

Keyboard uC running normally.

The unit dead with a continuous tone while I was testing a receiver selcall and no RF power was applied to the PWR I/O.

So it WAS working, then it died, is that what you are saying?

Try this:
Turn the unit off.
Put your fingers over the first and last softkeys - that is, the leftmost and rightmost keys.
Turn the unit on, then right AFTER the first beep, press BOTH keys at the same time. PRESS, not HOLD.

That should tell the unit to clear all state to the factory defaults, and to NOT run any startup macros or applications.

[tvlgrg]

Hi Wowbagger,
thank you for your accurate reply; now I try to give you more information.

tvlgrg wrote:
This is what happens when I turn on the unit:
• I get the first beep and the receiver input green led lights on

OK, so the keyboard microcontroller is coming up.

OK.

tvlgrg wrote:
• After 10 seconds the Aux RF Out and T/R RF I/O amber leds light on 2 seconds
• After 15 seconds I receive two beeps and the display lights on showing the IFR logo

Main CPU up, GPU software loaded, basic keyboard test complete.
So many parts of the COM120 are still alive, this is good!

tvlgrg wrote:
• Other 5 seconds and I hear a short two tone sequence and the unit stays in this state for ever.

I need more information here: do you mean 2 beeps of the same pitch and duration, or do you mean more of a "doo-DEE-doo" tone? The latter would indicate that the main application was not found, which would indicate a problem in the programming of the flash.

Yes, it’s a really unpleasant “doo-DEE-doo” tone. Your tone description is perfect.

tvlgrg wrote:
• There is no chance to turn off the unit using the front power pushbutton.

You have other problems then - the front panel button ties directly to the power supply, and should power the instrument off no matter what.

Yes, I found the “wire” from pushbutton into the power supply unit, were I saw something like a bi-stable circuit and without a diagram it isn’t so easy to fix the problem. But at present I have two chances to turn off the COM120: the rear power switch or to unplug the power cord (keeping the battery disconnected, of course).

tvlgrg wrote:
Changing the point of view:• The red Leds on the Generator Mech Assy and Synthetizer Mech Assy trays are on showing an unlocked status.

Hardware hasn't been programmed.
I hope this is a direct consequence of the flash programming failure.

tvlgrg wrote:
• The red Led on the Controller tray is flashing

Main CPU is running normally.
Well!

tvlgrg wrote:
• The red Led on the PCB just behind the front panel is flashing

Keyboard uC running normally.
Well!

tvlgrg wrote:
The unit dead with a continuous tone while I was testing a receiver selcall and no RF power was applied to the PWR I/O.

So it WAS working, then it died, is that what you are saying?
Yes it’s correct. The Com120 was running with HF generator on, AF generators on. It died with a continuous tone while executing a five tone sequence. After the restart I found the above described situation.


Try this:
Turn the unit off.
Put your fingers over the first and last softkeys - that is, the leftmost and rightmost keys.
Turn the unit on, then right AFTER the first beep, press BOTH keys at the same time. PRESS, not HOLD.
That should tell the unit to clear all state to the factory defaults, and to NOT run any startup macros or applications.

I already tried this after having read one of your preceding replies but it’s ineffective.

So, if I’m right: while the COM120 is running a flash memory or something around the flash memory dies freezing the COM120 in the last state. At power on the cpu is unable to write the flash and the unit stops with the “doo-DEE-doo” tones.

Thank you for you attention.
Regards.
Giorgio

[Wowbagger]

So, if I’m right: while the COM120 is running a flash memory or something around the flash memory dies freezing the COM120 in the last state. At power on the cpu is unable to write the flash and the unit stops with the “doo-DEE-doo” tones.

No, not quite.

The 120 loads all firmware out of flash into RAM (indeed, the firmware image in flash is compressed, and therefore not directly executable). So, when you were running, you were running out of RAM. The only time would be accessed after that would be if you were doing file system operations: loading macros, saving screen snapshots, things like that.

From what you described you had some sort of main CPU glitch while running. Perhaps as a result of that glitch, or perhaps as a completely different issue, the image of the main program in flash was corrupted.

You need to reload the main software, and then verify that all is well with the unit. The best thing all around would be to return the unit to a service center so that they can correctly deal with this. That will cost you money, but it really is the best thing, especially as you can get the unit calibration checked at the same time.

Now, if you know what version of software you had, I can TRY to get you that version, plus the instructions on how to reload the code yourself. You will need a terminal program that speaks Xmodem, and the ability to follow directions TO THE LETTER - as in, first you read ALL the instructions, then you re-read them, then you sleep on it, then you read them again, and only THEN do you even think about following them. Even then, I cannot guarantee that it will fix your problem - something hosed your flash, and I don't know what - there are several protection systems in place to prevent that (programming voltage is only enabled when needed, multiple layers of checks before writes, things like that).