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AB06069 • Page 9

Section V – Firmware Upgrade Procedure

AccuLoad III.net Firmware Upgrade Procedure

Overview

The AccuLoad III.net has Flash based internal non-volatile memory to store and execute the ﬁrmware; this allows

the ﬁrmware to be upgraded without replacing EPROMs as in the past. The new ﬁrmware will be downloaded to the

AccuLoad from AccuMate using TCP/IP. Either the Ethernet communications port or a SLIP serial port (TCP/IP over

serial) may be used for the transfer.

Firmware Revision Upgrade Key

To upgrade a board with a new revision of software, a factory supplied key will be required. This key will have the

following information encoded in it:

• MAC address for board being upgraded

• Revision of rmware to be installed

• Current number of arms

• New number of arms

When a ﬁrmware upgrade is required, the factory must be supplied with either the current key for each board or the

MAC address, current revision, and current number of arms allowed for the board(s) being upgraded. A unique key

is required for each board. This key will give the ability to upgrade the ﬁrmware to the new revision. A new key will

also be required if the upgrade is to increase the maximum number of arms only.

Each key will only be valid for a unique KDC.net board and also for a speciﬁc revision of ﬁrmware. It will be the re-

sponsibility of the customers to save these keys in case the ﬁrmware needs to be reloaded with the same revision

of ﬁrmware at a future time.

AccuMate will prompt for the key prior to upgrading the ﬁrmware. The AccuLoad will decode the key and if the MAC

address doesn't match the actual MAC address of the board, the new ﬁrmware will be rejected. Also if the current

number of arms doesn't match what the board actually has, the ﬁrmware will be rejected. If the key is valid, the

AccuLoad will allow the upgrade to proceed and will also update the maximum number of arms allowed.

The AccuLoad provides a diagnostic to display the current key used (Diagnostics/AccuLoad Information). The

customer should record this value in case they would need to re-install the same ﬁrmware version at a future time.

Procedure for Upgrading Firmware

Note: Prior to upgrading the ﬁrmware, be sure to backup and save all conﬁgurable ﬁles such as the .A3X data ﬁle, Equations, Reports,

Translations and Driver Databases.

1. The key and .bin ﬁle should be placed in the same directory where the AccuMate Application program

resides. The default directory for AccuMate is C:/Program Files/Smith Meter/AccuMate for AccuLoad

III.net.

2. The communications link parameter (System 731) must be at highest security level otherwise the AccuLoad

will not allow the ﬁrmware to be upgraded.

3. Open AccuMate.net and open a data ﬁle (with .a3x ﬁle extension).

4. Go to Tools on the menu bar, and click on Upgrade Firmware. See Figure 1. Upgrade cannot be

accomplished until AccuMate is online and connected to the AccuLoad.

5. Isolate the ethernet port and all other serial ports from any other activity before performing the upgrade.

FMC Technologies Smith Meter AccuLoad III.net User Manual

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