PSREdit: Hit Counter

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TimInMN

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The "Hit Counter" in PSREdit500 appears to be a simple turn on or off function in the General Configuration section of the program. After enabling it, I performed an "Upload To Radio" and then verified that the Hit Counter was on via PGM/GLOBAL. I let the radio receive for about 30 minutes with about 40 transmissions received. I then downloaded from radio. No hits on any of the objects.

I've researched the Help file and did a search in this group and didn't find anything useful for my situation. Can anyone help me get this working? Thanks.

Tim
Cloquet, Minnesota
 

PaMonitor

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I have a Pro-106, Pro-197, and Pro-652. I have hit counter enabled(checked) on all of them. Never had any problem with it. It does not have to be connected to work. I recently disabled on a Pro-197 that I programmed for a friend, as it has run for 4-5 years without being cleared. I was concerned that he might get a heap error or have some other issue.

After sending to the scanner, you might want to go into Global settings to ensure that it is enabled.
 

TimInMN

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I did check the Global setting on the radio and it was set to ON. I'm thinking I just need to let it run for a bit longer. When I initially set it, I only let it run for about 30 minutes. I'm on a 3 day trip so I will let it run and see what happens when I return.
 

kruser

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I used to use the hit counter built into the 197 and PSR600 but after the EEPROM started failing, I turned the internal hit counter off after reading of failures from others. Don Starr had also chipped in and kind of helped verify my suspicions.

It turned out that GRE used an eeprom chip that did not have very good specs concerning the amount of cell writes before cells may start failing. Todays tech has much higher limits but I don't think there is a drop in replacement chip. I think the eeprom GRE used in the 197 and PSR600 was only rated for 10,000 writes per cell before cells may start failing.
Mine became so bad that it would no longer function for long before operation errors started occurring when I'd power it on.
I'd need to reload my programming near daily.

I eventually found a replacement eeprom and soldered it in. Since that, I turned off the built in hit counter and only let software like Win500 perform hit counting.
Before I did this, I found posts from others that were also suffering from eeprom failure.

Turning off the built in hit counter greatly reduces the writes to the eeprom chip.
My 197 PSR600s ran 24x7 for ages with the hit counted enabled which contributed to the eeprom failure I had.

I don't recall the chip part numbers but Mouser sold them. They offered several case types but only one was correct for an exact swap.
The problems with what Mouser sold was that they were not "automotive" rated for the higher temps seen in a mobile install and I think the writes per cell before failure may have been lower than the automotive version.
Again, this was a long time ago so I don't really recall all the details but I will say both my 197 and PSR600 models have not had any memory errors since swapping the chips.

My advice is to not use the built in hit counter and only let logging software do any hit counting.
 

PaMonitor

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I think cell writes have more to do with changing V folders and re-programming, but i suppose hit counts could be a problem as well. I disabled my buddy's hit counts for this reason. That being said, my Pro-197 has been running 24\7 for nearly a decade with hit counts enabled. I purchased it just prior to Whistlers takeover so it may have a little bit better EEPROM. I have considered buying the WS-1065 as a backup in case it fails.
 

kruser

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I think cell writes have more to do with changing V folders and re-programming, but i suppose hit counts could be a problem as well. I disabled my buddy's hit counts for this reason. That being said, my Pro-197 has been running 24\7 for nearly a decade with hit counts enabled. I purchased it just prior to Whistlers takeover so it may have a little bit better EEPROM. I have considered buying the WS-1065 as a backup in case it fails.
It's really hard to say without opening the things up and looking at the chip number(s). You very well could be correct in that they improved that chips specs at a later date. I can't say I've really seen any issues related to the failure problems I had in a long time.

Mine were both bought soon after the release of each which was well before Whistler entered the picture so they very well could have an older chip that had poorer specs.
I also ran them with the hit counter enabled so I could see those stats when I read them into Win500.
When the failures started (the 197 started failing first) I did some reading and found where others had the same issue that seemed to be related to the eeprom chip. I then read the specs on the chip and confirmed they had a fairly low amount of writes per cell. This was confirmed by Don Starr as well. I guess that thread is archived here somewhere from way back when! Most of our chat was done in one of the public forums I think.

I do forget if just the working scanlists were stored in the failing eeprom but something makes me think that was the case and that there was another memory chip that stored all the V folder data as well as firmware and the bootloader. Luckily, the eeprom chip that failed is the smaller of the two eeprom chips with only 8 pins so it was not really that hard to swap out.

I also recall Don telling me that every time I loaded my active scanset back to the radio, it was writing to the same eeprom chip that held the hit counts and current scanset parameters.
 

PaMonitor

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My knowledge of EEPROM's is rather limited. I believe they're the same or similar to flash drives and SSD's, which I have studied a bit more. They have improved considerably over the years.
 
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