FRAM71 : Threads, Articles, Presentations, Manuals, etc.

[J-F Garnier]

(01-16-2021 12:50 PM)Hans Brueggemann Wrote:  [...] the HP-IL module's ROM (as opposed to the HP-71B's SYSTEM ROM) can't be upgraded to later versions by FRAM71(B). this is owing to the internal architecture of the HP-IL module.

Actually, it is possible to upgrade a HP-IL module 1A - more precisely override with the newer version 1B. The newer ROM version (1B) must be installed together with the JPC ROM and placed before the JPC ROM in port order. It can then be checked in the VER$ that the HPIL:1B appears before the HPIL:1A and thus takes precedence. The reason why it works is too long to explain here and is not the subject of this thread.

It is also possible to do it without the JPC ROM, by moving the HP-IL module to port 6 (yes, 6!), this requires an electric modification of the HP-71B board, see here. I did it just to check it works but would not recommend this method.

Anyway, the best solution is to find a module 1B, they are quite common and not too expensive, and this avoids the problems of some modules 1A with the PIL-Box (these problems come from electric/firmware differences of some modules 1A, not from the ROM version).

J-F