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Updating Firmware

Jared Boone edited this page Jul 26, 2015 · 28 revisions

The PortaPack has its own firmware, which needs to be flashed into the HackRF One SPI flash.

Tools

You will need a few tools installed on your computer before you begin.

  • dfu-util - Used to load and run the stock HackRF firmware from RAM.
  • hackrf - All you need is the host tools, specifically, hackrf_spiflash.

Getting the Firmware

You may download a pre-built firmware package, or build your own firmware.

Flashing

If you downloaded the pre-built package, change directories to where you unzipped the package.

If you built your own firmware, the files you need are in the firmware/ subdirectory of your local portapack-hackrf repository.

You will need two files: hackrf_one_usb_ram.dfu, which is the stock HackRF firmware, which provides a means to program the SPI flash. The SPI flash will be programmed with the second file, called portapack-h1-firmware.bin.

To install the firmware into the HackRF's SPI flash, hold down the HackRF's DFU button and plug the HackRF into a USB port on your computer. After the HackRF is plugged in, you may release the DFU button.

Use the DFU utility to download the hackrf_one_usb_ram.dfu image file into the HackRF:

dfu-util --device 1fc9:000c --download hackrf_one_usb_ram.dfu --reset

Then, erase the HackRF SPI flash and write the PortaPack code into SPI flash:

hackrf_spiflash -w portapack-h1-firmware.bin

Unplug your HackRF from your computer, wait a few seconds, and plug it back in. You should now be running PortaPack code.

Restoring HackRF Firmware

To replace the firmware on the HackRF's SPI flash with the stock HackRF firmware, plug the HackRF into USB power while holding down the DFU button. Then run:

dfu-util --device 1fc9:000c --download hackrf_one_usb_ram.dfu --reset

The HackRF firmware is now running from the microcontroller's RAM. Do not reset the HackRF at this point. Flash the HackRF firmware thusly:

hackrf_spiflash -w hackrf_one_usb_rom_to_ram.bin

Once this command completes, you may either unplug the HackRF or press the RESET button, and the HackRF firmware will run from the flash memory.

Docuemnt TODOs

  • Diagram of DFU button location

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