Making our own standalone firmware update

[werinshades]

"Air Spy/Bearcat/Voyager Joe" is also posting that the new firmware is being developed for new hardware etc. You might have other issues you didn't see coming.

But...this is starting to remind me of the "Help me, help you thread" that is probably the reason for this. What is the plan here...hoping Uniden corporate will see this and contact you off line? Do you have a timeline in mind? Maybe put together an "off the grid group" similar to the beta testing group for testing purposes? Seems like a lot of wasted effort if nothing materializes.

 

[eorange]

Nothing is ever wasted trying or experimenting. Distributing reverse engineered firmware has been done many times elsewhere with success, notably on Canon EOS and their lower-end cameras, of which I've used and it's pretty cool. Props to @gary123 if he even obtains a little success. Intuitively, though, I feel it would be a huge mountain to climb starting with the decryption. But I bet we'd all be curious if he made progress.

 

[iMONITOR]

Ideally if there are those interested and capable of aggressively accepting the challenge they might want to consider convincing Uniden to hire them either directly or as contractors. That way you'd get paid for your efforts, you'd have Uniden's cooperation and access to their,
ideas, and engineers in Japan. It's very likely Paul left behind lots of ideas, future plans, hardware (SDS500?) beta source code from work that was in progress. Why reinvent the wheel.

That brings up a horrible thought. What if Paul protected and locked up all his work with encryption and strong passwords? That might explain why Uniden appears to be at a dead end with picking up where Paul left off.

 

[slicerwizard]

The SYSID is the 1100 in the middle of the string (12h). We know that the actual SID is 13.

No, you don't. You haven't established whether the system is a Motorola Capacity Max system or some other vendor's TIII system.

 

[slicerwizard]

That brings up a horrible thought. What if Paul protected and locked up all his work with encryption and strong passwords? That might explain why Uniden appears to be at a dead end with picking up where Paul left off.

Right. During his protracted battle with cancer, no-one thought about moving forward...

 

[eorange]

Who the heck would want to work for Uniden, now? They're not exactly overflowing with an abundance of new products.

 

[bob550]

We see management benefiting from this. They can and will be able to say "we listen to our customers' we care not only about the initial sale but the future enjoyment of our products.

Listening to their customers and implementing suggested improvements is one thing. Outsourcing what is customarily theirs is a step they may not be willing to take. Your best chance may be to offer your services to them in a consulting role. That way, Uniden gets to keep their brand image intact while incorporating useful firmware changes they didn't have the wherewithal to produce.

 

[gary123]

iMONITOR.

Its all public domain. No financing needed. I and others volunteer our time the same way everyone does here.. By posting topics and replying to them. Since the discussions are open to all there is no need to protect the work. This falls into the category of "to turn on the unit push the on button." you can do with it as you want. All indications are that Uniden is not going to be of assistance in the foreseeable future. We are now progressing with the idea of post an issue solve an issue and hope that someone will be in a position to implement it.

werinshades.

I like that "help me to help you". Except we are going to do this Uniden or no Uniden. The reply above states our current plan of action do something and hope it has a positive effect. NO we do not hope or want Uniden to contact us behind the scenes. Over and over we have stated this is a public project that is not going to change. If we were interested in a private group we would have gone that route and not started anything that would indicate its existence. Ahh time line good question here is a good answer I hope How does immediately sound? We are already discussing the incorrect SID on TIII issue. Once a solution is agreed upon we move on to the next. We are ready for more issues to be posted.

slicerwizard.

That is is a very astute observation. Yes we have to know all about a specific system and the capture in order to interpret it properly. It is foolish to assume anything. In this case the hardware seen in use was Hytera and Kenwood. Comparing the off air data with other systems was also used. BUT the fact remains that this could easily be a one off network or something using early system hardware/firmware or propriety configurations.
To be honest something we did not think about. If that is the case then this thread has had its first success. The identification of a new or one off TIII system variation. That is supported by the hardware and known to have a SID display issue. This is exactly the type of discussions the thread wants.

 

[belvdr]

Except we are going to do this Uniden or no Uniden.

Maybe I missed it. Are you saying if Uniden doesn't supply their code then you're going to create from scratch?

 

[gary123]

bob550.

We doubt Corporate would be open to private consultation. This is not the goal here. We would love to work with Corporate but the process has so many road blocks that it may not be practical. But never say never. Even if this thread gets corporates attention then we have achieved something.

belvdr.

no what we meant was we are going to continue to discuss and work on fixes/upgrades and new features here in the thread even if Uniden chooses not to assist.

 

[gary123]

A general comment about Paul (UPMan). We all miss him and what he has done for the community. In our small way we are trying to pick up the torch he so tragically had to place down.

 

[kruser]

Can changing certain aspects of firmware code void the radios FCC Certification that allows you to legally operate the device?

I know some 3rd party hardware changes can void the FCC certification and make a radio or other certified device technically illegal to operate but I've never looked into firmware changes causing a device to no longer be FCC certified.

 

[Trucker700]

Quick question. You have posted a couple of code examples to fix existing issues.
Does that mean you and the group you represent have already reverse engineered the firmware?
James

 

[gary123]

kruser.

No it cant no hardware changes are made its 100% software. So FCC and other hardware certifications remain intact.

Trucker700.

good catch James. No we have not reverse engineered anything the code provided is an illustration of the programming step(s) needed to correct the issue. All code posted will of a similar nature unless we get permissions.

 

[slicerwizard]

No it cant no hardware changes are made its 100% software. So FCC and other hardware certifications remain intact.

So modify the firmware to open up the cell band and see how that flies...

 

[garys]

If memory serves, way back in the early/mid 1990s the firmware that allowed Uniden scanners to decode first Motorola and then EDACS signals was developed by private parties who then sold it to Uniden. I don't know if that is a viable route here, but might be better than trying to fiddle with firmware that can destroy the functionality of very expensive scanners.

 

[werinshades]

As it was previously mentioned, once you have something workable, a You Tube video would be good to see.

 

[bearcatrp]

Just curious how to install said firmaware update? You need Uniden key for the install AFAIK. But will watch this thread for interested in any fix to make our investment better.

 

[Trucker700]

Posting the steps to fix an issue ( to me ) shows you know the steps in code that created the issue. To do that you would need to have some kind of source code to work from. And that to me, would be the firmware in the radio. Otherwise, it is a guess as to where the problem is and how it occurred.
Maybe Uniden's developers will chime in and verify your sample code.
James

 

[werinshades]

"Voyager/Airspy/Bearcat Joe", is working on important things like new firmware for the hardware for new production scanner models in the future. He's taken all the suggestions from the "Help me,help you" thread and is working with firmware developers to improve on a future product, while deceiving the current SDS scanner owners into believing he was working on bug fixes. He's a little too busy for us right now to comment..