Making our own standalone firmware update

[gary123]

A new bootloader would be by its nature compatible with the firmware payloads. Some processors have a forced boot to 'core' mode (OTW again) that would let you force write the RAM to all FF eliminating a brick condition. We have thought of that but thanks for mentioning it. The current though process on loading firmware is. enable a sub boot mode (update mode) read a designated block, write the block to a unused address group. Then daisy chain the blocks until update is completed. If there is enough ram we would go the option of do that for the full file. Do an integrity check. then reboot to new firmware memory. We are also looking at using that nice big chunk of memory on the SD card.

For the non technical. Think of it like this two blocks of memory A and B. A has the current firmware B is where the new firmware is going. B is programed with sections 1 -10 of the new firmware one section at a time. Each section is checked to be sure there are no errors. Once all 10 sections are uploaded the hardware is told restart using block B. Future updates would use the same steps but with block A, back and forth and so on. If there is not enough on board memory in the processor then we may have to look at using the SD card as temporary storage for the process.

Here is a freebie for Uniden. If you are running short of available memory or size considerations in expanding the FW. You can use the SD stick like suggested above. Mapping a protected block is coding 201

 

[radio3353]

radio3353.

This is a legal set of definitions. We are NOT lawyers so have to speak in generalities based on our understanding. The right to repair allows the owners of the hardware to do repairs on their hardware without being in violation of user agreements. Without that right technically you cant even take the screws out. The right to repair MAY be extended to "I can put whatever software I want into the unit" for MY own personal use. Since we would not be using Uniden's embedded software or firmware??????. Again this depends on post 132 and bootup code and processes.

Everyone here would love to have these issues clarified but so far its such a grey area all we can do is be open so there is no confusion.

I agree with everything you said, especially the part about 'for MY own personal use." So, why are you here with a plan to distribute this intended new software/firmware to the public?

I think I will now just sit back and watch the show until it crashes and burns. Have fun and I hope you and your group do not get hurt. I love innovation as much as anybody else (I made a career of it in manufacturing engineering) , but you better be careful whose toes you step on. One lawsuit can ruin you if you are not incorporated or an LLC with legal representation to shield yourself from personal liability. Your cavalier statements about 'grey area', being open, thinking Joe Bearcat and RR moderators can somehow guide you in this, etc concern me that you are plowing ahead before understanding the legal ramifications of altering intellectual property (Mr. G notwithstanding.) But, you are as tired of hearing that as I am of saying it. So, bye bye and best wishes.

 

[Outerdog]

What @radio3353 said, plus.... this condescending attitude won't win you any friends. Nobody likes a smart ass.

Here is a freebie for Uniden. If you are running short of available memory or size considerations in expanding the FW. You can use the SD stick like suggested above. Mapping a protected block is coding 201

 

[donc13]

End of story....

The AMBE+2™ voice coding Technology embodied in this product is protected by intellectual
property rights including patent rights, copyrights and trade secrets of Digital Voice Systems, Inc.
The voice coding technology is licensed solely for use within this Communications Equipment.


The user of this technology is explicitly prohibited from attempting to extract, remove, decompile,
reverse engineer, or disassemble the object code, or in any other way convert the object code into
a human-readable form.


US Patent Nos #7,970,606, #6,912,495 B2, #6,199,037 B1, #5,870,405, #5,826,222, #5,754,974,
#5,701,390, #5,715,365, #5,649,050, #5,630,011, and #5,517,511. microSD is a registered
trademark of SanDisk Corporation.
HomePatrol is a registered trademark of Uniden America Corporation, Irving, Texas.
At Uniden, we are always improving our products. This manual may not contain the latest
improvements to this model. Check our Owner’s Manual downloads at www.uniden.com for the
latest updates.

 

[gary123]

Outerdog.

We did not intend to be condescending, our intent was to indicate a possible option for greater flexibility in upgrades.

radio3353.

Making an option public just gives people the choice. The points you make are what is of very real concern to not only us bit to anyone considering doing any type of changes.

 

[gary123]

Well its been an interesting experience. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the thread so far. Thank you very much for the comments from some of you that are obviously very knowledgeable, we are considering them carefully as we continue to rethink our direction. We also continue to encourage anyone to contribute to the thread with their expertise, opinions and thoughts.

 

[xilix]

A couple of thoughts on contacting Uniden on this:

1. Every corporation in the United States is required to have listed a publicly available "registered agent". This is the person who agrees to accept legal documents (Summons, subpoenas, etc) on behalf of the corporation. A Google search for Uniden's registered agent would provide a legal contact at Uniden.

2. Perhaps when writing to them (and if you agree with this concept), offer that members of your programming team would agree to sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for access/permission to work on their firmware. At this point, all they can do is say "no", so it's worth asking.

This sounds like an exciting project with lots of potential, especially if Uniden could be brought on board.

There's a similar project that was undertaken for the Radioddity GD-77 dual-band/DMR 2-way handheld radio. opengd77.com is the home of the project and they have done extensive work on the radio to add many more features and make it more ham friendly. I am convinced that this project contributes to the sales of these radios. So this has been done before, and with great success (just not with a large US Corp involved.).

Good luck !

 

[WX4JCW]

My AES key is the same as the combination to my luggage.

thats a huge freaking padlock lol

 

[n3617400]

- identify the processor used (not hard looking at the hardware will reveal that) 100% legal

Renesas RX family CPU + Renesas SH family CPU

ps. funny topic

 

[gary123]

n3617400.

Thank you for confirming the processor information.

 

[One13Truck]

I’m a bit late on this one but all I want is to somehow hack into the timing in the newer models to allow the alert light to remain on the ENTIRE time there is an active transmission just like the older models did.

I know the WHY the newer ones don’t do this but still hate it. I set those alert lights to certain colors for a reason. It’s very frustrating to look over to look for that light only to find it’s gone out already.

 

[Ubbe]

to somehow hack into the timing in the newer models to allow the alert light to remain on the ENTIRE time there is an active transmission

I agree but there is that patent issues on most things that doesn't work as we want them to. It would be great if Uniden had their different code modules encrypted, like DSP decoding, scan routine and so on, but had the bindings between them open source. Then we could take all parameter outputs from one module and modify them before sending them into the next module, which could even be a new user created module.

As long as it is the user that changes a function it shouldn't be any patent issues involved.

/Ubbe