lennart rolland
2014-08-20 18:42:06 UTC
Hi all!
This is my first post. I was recommended to ask my questions here after
talking about my project on different CNC related forums, because someone
felt (rightly so) that it would be more on topic here.
So I have these old 1985'ish CNC machines (computer controlled milling
machines for metal). They are of very high quality and was quite popular at
the time. I bought one in need of repairs, and a second one as a spare
parts machine. After getting both of them into physical shape, I needed to
configure the computer controller. Basically this is a large box with a CRT
monitor and some buttons that is used to operate the machine. It has a
registry of around 100 configuration parameters, some that are general
settings and some that are machine specific calibration. When the machine
was new, this data would be delivered on a mini cassette. Unfortunately I
don't have the cassette for any of my machines. It is also possible to load
the parameters from RS232, but it is NOT possible to save the values OUT
via RS232. Finally there is the option of entering them manually through a
very old fashioned keyboard at the front of the controller. Needless to
say, the manual typing takes ages.
After fiddling about for a while it became evident that I would need to
find a quicker way to change and send the configuration settings to the
machine so that I can test the parameters one by one and determine what is
the correct settings. Since I am a software developer at trade, I decided
to make a small GUI where I could change the settings and then export them
directly over RS232 to the machine. But there is only one problem with this
approach: I don't know which format the data needs to be in to successfully
send them over RS232.
I decided to step it up one notch, and peaked inside the computer. To my
supprise the "main" board had an intel 8088 CPU and 4 detachable EPROMS. So
I went straight to ebay and both a cheap EPROM reader (TOP853) and now I
have 4 shiny binary files on my desktop. So now I am looking for clues to
how I can disassemble the data on these chips. In my naive approach I tried
to use objdump -b binary -m i386 -d D0.BIN but it didn't output anything. I
did actually write a miniscule of assembly code back in the day but that
was a very long time ago and I am sure the tools of the trade has come a
long way since then.
So, what would you recommend that I do in my search for intelligence in
these chips? Would it be feasible to run them in an emulator? What
preparations/conversions would I need to perform to have them work? I don't
know much about the object code loading practices that were common in 1985
(or today for that matter). Are there any good graphical dis-assembly tools
that would allow me to browse the instructions and follow the jumps around
and look at segments of data etc?
I am on Ubuntu, but I have a windows box handy as well.
All tips and tricks are welcome.
Thanks!
This is my first post. I was recommended to ask my questions here after
talking about my project on different CNC related forums, because someone
felt (rightly so) that it would be more on topic here.
So I have these old 1985'ish CNC machines (computer controlled milling
machines for metal). They are of very high quality and was quite popular at
the time. I bought one in need of repairs, and a second one as a spare
parts machine. After getting both of them into physical shape, I needed to
configure the computer controller. Basically this is a large box with a CRT
monitor and some buttons that is used to operate the machine. It has a
registry of around 100 configuration parameters, some that are general
settings and some that are machine specific calibration. When the machine
was new, this data would be delivered on a mini cassette. Unfortunately I
don't have the cassette for any of my machines. It is also possible to load
the parameters from RS232, but it is NOT possible to save the values OUT
via RS232. Finally there is the option of entering them manually through a
very old fashioned keyboard at the front of the controller. Needless to
say, the manual typing takes ages.
After fiddling about for a while it became evident that I would need to
find a quicker way to change and send the configuration settings to the
machine so that I can test the parameters one by one and determine what is
the correct settings. Since I am a software developer at trade, I decided
to make a small GUI where I could change the settings and then export them
directly over RS232 to the machine. But there is only one problem with this
approach: I don't know which format the data needs to be in to successfully
send them over RS232.
I decided to step it up one notch, and peaked inside the computer. To my
supprise the "main" board had an intel 8088 CPU and 4 detachable EPROMS. So
I went straight to ebay and both a cheap EPROM reader (TOP853) and now I
have 4 shiny binary files on my desktop. So now I am looking for clues to
how I can disassemble the data on these chips. In my naive approach I tried
to use objdump -b binary -m i386 -d D0.BIN but it didn't output anything. I
did actually write a miniscule of assembly code back in the day but that
was a very long time ago and I am sure the tools of the trade has come a
long way since then.
So, what would you recommend that I do in my search for intelligence in
these chips? Would it be feasible to run them in an emulator? What
preparations/conversions would I need to perform to have them work? I don't
know much about the object code loading practices that were common in 1985
(or today for that matter). Are there any good graphical dis-assembly tools
that would allow me to browse the instructions and follow the jumps around
and look at segments of data etc?
I am on Ubuntu, but I have a windows box handy as well.
All tips and tricks are welcome.
Thanks!
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "N8VEM" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to n8vem+unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/***@public.gmane.org
To post to this group, send email to n8vem-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/***@public.gmane.org
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/n8vem.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "N8VEM" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to n8vem+unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/***@public.gmane.org
To post to this group, send email to n8vem-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/***@public.gmane.org
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/n8vem.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.