Scan*Star(tm) Application Note #5 AOR-8000 Frequently Asked Questions Copyright (C) 1995 by Signal Intelligence - All Rights Reserved Scan*Star is a trademark of Signal Intelligence. In February 1995, Signal Intelligence added support for the AOR- 8000 to the Scan*Star Commercial Edition software package. The AOR-8000 is a unique product in that it includes features not found in other computer controlled radios. The purpose of this application note is to provide answers to some common technical questions that have been asked. For more information on Scan*Star, contact Signal Intelligence at 1-408-926-5630. What's an EEPROM? An EEPROM is a memory chip that does not re- quire a battery to retain information. This type of chip is widely used in consumer electronics to hold data that must be saved after power to the unit is switched off. The EEPROM in the AOR-8000 holds 32,768 bytes of data. What's in the AOR-8000 EEPROM? The EEPROM in the '8000 has all programmed information, including frequencies, modes, search ranges, lockout lists, control settings and the band plan. In fact, the EEPROM in the AOR-8000 holds ALL data that must be retained after the radio is turned off. Interestingly, the EEPROM data contains several persons names, presumably the names of the engineers who developed the '8000. What's not in the AOR-8000 EEPROM? The program code that actually runs the microprocessor is not in the EEPROM. Neither is the "Welcome to the world of AR8000 receiver" message. The only text messages found in the EEPROM are the alpha channel tags. Why do some people know so much about the EEPROM? The cloning feature that allows one AOR-8000 to copy itself to another unit is easily "spoofed". It's fairly easy to write a computer program to "pretend" that it's a second AR-8000, allowing the EEPROM contents to be copied to a disk file on the PC. A number of people have done this, and there have been numerous public dis- cussions about what each byte in the EEPROM is used for. Scan*Star uses this technique. Why did AOR include the clone feature? While an interesting fea- ture, few peop le will buy more than one AR-8000. It's likely the real reason for including cloning is to simplify the manufactur- ing process. Many countries around the world (U.S. included) have band restrictions. Band utilization varies from country to coun- try and region to region. The cloning feature allows AOR to manufacture a single hardware design that can be customized for the destination market by a simple process prior to shipment. Are the units shipped to different countries all the same? As far as we know, yes. The only difference being what's programmed into the radio EEPROM prior to shipment. There have been revisions in the hardware design, but this is to be expected. Do the computer interfaces impact capabilities? The computer interfaces sold in the U.S. and other countries, while different, are not much more than level converters. The U.S. unit, sold by EDCO, provides the squelch signal on an RS-232 lead. This speeds up scanning when under control of a computer. Otherwise, no other differences have been noted. Are there hidden, undocumented commands? Yes. This is a common practice in consumer electronics, especially ones that include complicated control programs. Their purpose is to support the development and testing of the product. Debug commands are often retained in software after a product ships to help resolve prob- lems that show up later. As far as we know, there are at least three other commands, besides the SI command mentioned in the U.S. documentation. Can the EEPROM contents be altered? Yes. Scan*Star Commercial includes a feature that uses the cloning process to copy the EEPROM to the computer. Once on the computer, the data in the EEPROM image file can be viewed or changed, and then cloned back into the radio. Any byte in the EEPROM can be changed. This feature must be used with caution, since any of the operating parameters of the radio can be changed, and could result in improper operation. Can the band plan be altered? Yes. Scan*Star Commercial will decode the band plan from the EEPROM image file and present it in a formatted edit screen. You can add, remove or change entries. Scan*Star includes a North American band database, and this feature allows you to look up specific bands in the database and transfer the data to the AOR-8000 band plan.