Note: the source code is cloned from the original repository: https://github.com/LinuxSheeple-E/GREFwTool which no longer exists. Since this code is very useful for updating/downgrading firmware in the supported scanners, I have made it available here.

This code has not been forked to allow PSR-800 or Pro-688 scanners to be upgraded to the WS-1080 firmware (although that was one of the original uses).

GREFwTool

This tool is a simple application that can update the firmware and set the time for some GRE based scanners. Currently this includes the PSR-800, Pro-18, Pro-668, and WS-1080.

Installation

Installation of the tool is done by double clicking on the install file and following the menus and prompts of the installer.

Using The Program

The various functions are enabled and disabled based on the state of the tool and scanner. The Settings dialog can only be displayed when the tool is disconnected from the scanner. The Firmware Update function is only enabled when the scanner is connected in CPU Update Mode, and the Connect function is used to establish communications.

Settings

The Settings dialog is used to set the type of scanner and the serial port used for communications with the scanner. Information about the serial port selected is displayed.

Scanner Type is set to the scanner hardware being used with the tool.

Firmware defaults to the same selection as the Scanner Type. It is used for a very experimental transcode feature that allows firmware files to be used between some scanner types. See the Firmware Transcode section below.

Protocol Debug is used for displaying scanner protocol for debugging purposes. It displays the information sent and received over the serial port on the display screen of the tool.

Set Time and Date

Use the Set Time function to set the scanner to the same time and date as the computer.

Firmware Update

Updating the firmware on the scanner is split into two tasks, downloading the firmware, and updating the scanner. This allows the user to go back to an earlier firmware version by starting at step 2.

1. Use the Download Firmware function on the tool to download the firmware file from the website. The tool will display the change information about the firmware. Currently there is no check if the firmware version is already downloaded.

2. With the scanner powered off and unplugged from the USB, put the scanner in CPU Update mode. This is done by pressing the Menu button on the scanner and plugging the scanner into the computer while holding the Menu button. The menu button is released after the scanner is plugged into the computer and the computer detects the scanner.

3. Plug the scanner in the USB Port. Wait until the computer detects the scanner and sets up the port. Use the Connect function on the tool to connect to the scanner. The display on the tool should show firmware version information and the scanner being in CPU Update Mode.

4. Use the Firmware Update function on the tool to update the scanner. Select the firmware file in the file dialog. The display and a progress dialog should update with the progress of the update. The tool will disconnect from the scanner when the update is complete.

Failed updates will put the scanner into CPU Update Mode when powered on. Retry the Firmware Update from step 3. The scanner can only be powered off in CPU Update Mode by disconnecting the usb connection and removing one of the battery cells in the scanner.

Firmware Transcode

This is a very experimental feature that allows using firmware from another similar scanner. It does this by transcoding the firmware file so the bootloader of the scanner will accept it. Otherwise the bootloader will erase the current App firmware and not save the new App firmware.

The main usage is to add WS-1080 features to different models. This can have limitations due to missing or different hardware between the two scanner models. The Pro-668 and WS-1080 are basically the same hardware platform. The PSR-800 has a different charging circuit than the WS-1080, so in-scanner charging should be turned off. The Pro-18 has the same in-scanner charging limitation as the PSR-800, plus it does not have the three color alert led.

Using WS-1080 firmware, or other firmware not meant for the scanner, does not grant any support from the manufacturer of the firmware used. It also makes any reporting of bugs and problems found invalid, since the problem could be due to running the firmware on a different hardware platform.

The PC Application (EZ-Scan, etc...,) for the loaded firmware has to be used to gain maximum benefit with the loaded firmware. Updating to WS-1080 firmware will require a DSP update, and the PC application for the WS-1080 is required to update the DSP. The SD Card may need to be initialized in the new PC Application to set new parameters.

Do not update the CPU by using CPU Update in the PC Application! This will result in the CPU firmware being erased and the scanner will power up in CPU Update Mode. The tool will have to be used to reload the firmware and fix the problem.

Compiling The Source

The application was compiled using Qt Version 5.7.0. The installed QT Creator was used as the IDE for code development. Qt Installer Framwork was used to create the installer. Make sure the Qt Installer Framework bin directory is included in the PATH variable of the Qt Build Environment.

Source code is available at: https://github.com/philcovington/GREFwTool There are two project files, GREFwTool.pro to build the tool, and GREFwToolInstaller.pro to build the windows installer. The project files assume that the application and installer are built using a shadow build. The build directory is named build and is under their respective project directory (GREFwTool\build and GREFwTool\installer\build).