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Engineering information
Upgrading from 1014 to 1026
1014 and earlier used an unlocked bootloader. If the
firmware is 1014 or earlier you will first have to run the Bootloader
Updater. This will update your Screenblock, download 1026 and allow
further updating to 2001 and beyond.
>
Download
Bootloader updater version 1.0
Current measurement
A diagnostic tool is available that will record the current measurements
in a simple text file. The Screenblock must be have it's lid off
and be connected to the computer with an RS232 cable.
> Download Current measurement 5.0
How current sensing works
Early versions of Screenblock had great trouble measuring whether the
screen was ON or OFF. It wasn't until firmware version 2000 and
hardware version 020 that we got this right. Dave did a brilliant
job in devising a statistical approach to setting the threshold level.
The problem that Dave solved was defined by
this spreadsheet. The power being used by the screen is measured
correctly and expressed as a value from 1-35, where 0 is no power and 35
is about 2 amps. After a reset, the threshold is set to a value of
10. As usually TVs consume upwards of 20 on this scale when ON and
around 3 when OFF, the threshold value of 10 is about right.
However, as the TV is turned ON and OFF, the firmware works out what is
the minon and maxoff readings and adjusts the threshold accordingly (see
formula below). Every night, the readings minon and maxoff are
deleted so the threshold may be recalculated during the course of the
next day. The results of this can be seen in
a
spreadsheet that gives readings of all the screens at Tony's home.
Software updater
The software updater (for the latest version, see the
download page),
can be set to calibrate Screenblock and change the hardware settings.
To get these extra facilities, run the updater with the switch SetHW.
Calibration
Due to component variations, we have introduced a calibration procedure
into the manufacturing process. When the Software Updater is run
with the switch SetHW, the calibration process is made available.
It asks that you connect firstly a 40W light bulb and then a 100W light
bulb. Based on the information gained from this test it
automatically calibrates the Screenblock.
How to display current consumption
1. Remove the lid of the Screenblock
2. Press the Allowance and Override buttons for 5 seconds
3. The readings are obtained by pressing the +/- buttons,
then:
00XX=current power
consumption
10XX=threshold
20XX=maxoff
30XX=minon
40XX=maxon
How is the threshold set?
Threshold=((minon-maxoff/2)+maxoff
What are the reset settings?
Screenblock is reset by removing the lid and pressing On & Override for
5 seconds, then:
00XX=0000
10XX=1010
20XX=2000
30XX=3000
40XX=4000
Manual threshold
setting
1. To get into the manual setting routine, the cover must be off and say
'On & Allowance' are pressed simultaneously
2. The current threshold is displayed (default=0010)
3. Press the +/- buttons to set a new threshold number (1-31)
4. Press the 'On' button to save & exit. The 'Allowance'
and 'Override' buttons cancel the change & exit.
5. A dot appears on the screen (as before) to indicate the
manual setting is in place.
6. A reset removes this manual setting.
Personalised cards
Screenblock owners will telephone us and say that they want a different
screen time to the standard allowances and don't understand the
instructions for programming their own timeslots. Our means of
resolving this situation is to ask them what times they would like the
screen to be on, program a personalised card and send it to them.
We charge a fixed amount for this service.
>
Download
instructions for personalised card programming
>
Download program
for personalised card programming (note: the switch /custom
must be added to the command line)
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