Iyonix TRM

Anybody know if an Iyonix Technical reference manual is publically available and if so where from?

I’m fairly certain I have one in Castle’s “box of old Iyonix stuff” that we inherited. Unfortunately, Steph’s moved all of that to various places whilst she redecorates, so I may need to go on a treasure hunt. But, yet, it did exist, and was/is a physical product.

I’m fairly certain I have one in Castle’s “box of old Iyonix stuff” that we inherited.

If you’re talking about a big chunk of dead tree there should be an electronic copy too. Might be nice have that readily available.

I’m fairly certain I have one in Castle’s “box of old Iyonix stuff” that we inherited. Unfortunately, Steph’s moved all of that to various places whilst she redecorates, so I may need to go on a treasure hunt. But, yet, it did exist, and was/is a physical product.

Well, if you do find a copy at some point and I could get hold of a copy/look see, that would be famtastic.

Was there any update to this? I thought I had seen an online copy from somewhere, but I don’t remember where now…

@ Theo

Was there any update to this? I thought I had seen an online copy from somewhere, but I don’t remember where now…

If you need a copy I have one digital, let me know I can put it somewhere on my server for downloads (if this doesn’t break any copyright and such).

Is it not something we can host here? There’s quite a few of us that are after the TRM, so we can fix and keep them running.

Is it not something we can host here?

Oh, that would be a question for the copyright holder. Hmm, let’s see – second post in the thread?

@Paolo I would be interested. Although perhaps you and Andrew should talk to get it officially released, since presumably ROD now holds the copyrights and would thus be able to relicense it as freely distributable.

@ Jon

Is it not something we can host here? There’s quite a few of us that are after the TRM, so we can fix and keep them running.

No problem at all for me (and I agree that here should be the right place for all RO5 related documentation), I’ll send an email to Andrew to check if I can share it or not. If I can I’ll put it on my server for downloads and then someone can put it here.

@ Theo

Although perhaps you and Andrew should talk to get it officially released, since presumably ROD now holds the copyrights and would thus be able to relicense it as freely distributable.

Agreed, emailing Andrew now guys.

Is the Iyonix TRM available anywhere now?

I still have the Iyo that I got from Andrew Rawnsley with no audio that I’d like to get sound from. I did fit a SB card and I can get sound via that, but not ‘System’ sounds.

More pressing for me is my now non booting Iyo. It booted fine until revisiting my attempt to get SCSI working using an Acorn AKA32 and the RISC OS OPEN SCSI rom. After fitting that the Iyo refuses to boot, even after removing the podule.

Edited to ask, on a related matter, just in case I need to know, is the procedure for flashing the Iyonix via the serial port documented anywhere?

I owned an Iyonix, if I remember correctly the update is done via the JTAG interface (in the center of the card).

@ Mike

Given it seems too hard to get people here together to actually get stuff done (sorry for the comment sligthely on the complaining side), roughly 3 years ago, I have decided to build a (crazy) large project to collect and process RISC OS knowledge and process it so that I can then reuse portions of that large knoweldge (through my servers) to generate AI agents and specialized GPTs.

I do have an experimental GPT that has almost complete knowledge of the Iyonix PC (that means more info than what youll find in a TRM), but it needs “human debugging”, so, if you are willing to help (aka send feedback to improve, not just take and do not contribute back), I am very happy to give you access to the current development to it.

It can assist with a lot of problems on the Iyonix as well as understanding the board design and more, it can also help debugging issues with the podule expansion that the Iyonix allow users to use.

Please send me an email here if you wish to have access to it (again it’s in development state!):

https://paolozaino.wordpress.com/contact/

HTH and best of luck solving the issues you’re having!

Please send me an email here if you wish to have access to it (again it’s in development state!)

Thank you Paolo, will do.

I owned an Iyonix, if I remember correctly the update is done via the JTAG interface (in the center of the card).

Hi Jean-Michel. By card, do you mean motherboard? Socket PL4000?

Hi Mike,
Alas I don’t remember, I thought I had files/photos, but I can’t find them.
If you have a photo I can maybe help you.
With my Iyonix, hard firmware updates were not possible remotely. John Balance did them at home or during shows.
At the time with a PC and a parallel interface you could use the JTAG interface. I still have this interface, but I can’t find the software to use it from Windows, sorry.
I remember that the order of the cards on the PCI connectors also had an importance, to be tested!

@ Jean-Michel and Mike

From the knowledge in the AI (please do NOT follow these steps blindly until we have debugged the knowledge!):

prompt:

My Iyonix is not booting up RISC OS, so how do I upgrade it in the FlashROM?

response:

If your Iyonix PC is not booting, you can flash the FlashROM with the latest version of RISC OS using an external tool such as the **ARM Multi-ICE** interface or a CFI-compliant EPROM programmer:

### 1. Multi-ICE Method
The **Multi-ICE** (EmbeddedICE debugging and programming tool) connects to the Iyonix PC through the JTAG port, allowing firmware updates directly on the hardware without requiring RISC OS to be running.

- **Hardware**: Connect the Multi-ICE interface unit to your PC’s parallel port and to the JTAG connector on the Iyonix PC.
- **Software Setup**:
  1. Start the Multi-ICE server and configure it to communicate with your Iyonix.
  2. Run AXD (ARM Debugger) on your workstation.
  3. In the command window, input the necessary initialization commands for the flash update:
     ```plaintext
     > obey raminit.log
     > lb "FlashProg,ffd" 0xc0000000
     > lb "TROM,fe5" 0xc7c00000
     > br 0xc00000a0
     > pc 0xc0000000
     > go
     ```
   - A successful update will show `R0=0`.

### 2. CFI-Compatible EPROM Programmer
Alternatively, you can use an EPROM programmer compatible with **AMD-style flash memory** and **CFI (Common Flash Interface)** standards. 

- **Setup**:
  - Ensure the programmer supports the **Am29LV640D** flash memory type used in the Iyonix PC.
  - Attach the FlashROM chip to the programmer and initiate the flash process with the updated firmware image.

These methods should allow you to restore or upgrade RISC OS on your Iyonix PC even when it’s not bootable.

As for Multi-ICE:

prompt:

What is Multi-ICE?

response:

**Multi-ICE** (short for *Multiple In-Circuit Emulator*) is an ARM Ltd. tool for hardware debugging, testing, and firmware programming. It connects to ARM-based systems, like the Iyonix PC, through a JTAG interface, which allows for direct access to the processor and memory components on the device.

### Key Features of Multi-ICE:
1. **Hardware Debugging and Programming**:
   - Multi-ICE enables developers to run low-level diagnostics, set breakpoints, and directly modify registers and memory.
   - Through JTAG, it accesses embedded systems' internals, which is essential for troubleshooting when the OS fails to boot.

2. **Firmware Updates (Flashing)**:
   - Multi-ICE can upload firmware or boot code directly to the FlashROM. For the Iyonix, this capability is useful to restore or upgrade RISC OS even if the machine cannot boot on its own.
   - This direct memory access avoids the need for a running OS, allowing for repairs on otherwise unresponsive systems.

3. **Broad Compatibility with ARM Processors**:
   - Multi-ICE supports a wide range of ARM processors and cores, including the ARM v5 architecture in the Intel XScale processor of the Iyonix PC.

### Practical Requirements:
   - **Software**: Multi-ICE software tools include a server to manage connections and a debugger (such as ARM’s AXD debugger).
   - **Connection**: It requires a physical JTAG connector on the target device, along with Multi-ICE-compatible cabling.

In summary, Multi-ICE is a specialized tool for development and recovery tasks on ARM devices, crucial for low-level firmware programming and recovery on the Iyonix PC.

Does that helps to remember? It is also aware of some of the PCI cards that potentially could be used to debug hardware problems, but I need to test themfirst, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to share the info on here and leave them forever without proper testing first

@Paolo
Very good response from your AI, well done for keeping these archives.
I didn’t have a Multi-ICE and I used:
https://www.elektormagazine.com/magazine/elektor-200209/17317

@Mike bonne chance!
If you are interested in this interface, it is free.

I wonder if one of the Stardot group could make some Pcb’s available to program the Iyonix.

Was there ever any updating software for the Rpc to drive it’s printer port?

I suppose now a USB connector would be used instead of the parallel / printer port.

Is there a copy of Castle’s PC jtag Iyonix updating software around ?

I mentioned the TRM and software to John Ballance this morning whilst discussing something else. Hopefully he’ll respond to me or post a response here.

I wonder if the ‘Ti’ board has a ‘Jtag’ port and if so what software is used to drive it?

I presume the RiscPc had a ‘Bed of nails’ system :-) (ie a collection of testing pins )

John came back and confirmed no TRM exists, they never created one. He also confirmed JTAG was used to flash initially and is going to see if he still has the software/instructions.

Paulo – could you send me what you have please?

Your “response” above relies on the “Transfer” ROM. Which is a stop-gap ROM until the GPU is known, at which point the GPU model needs to be “hard-baked” into the ROM and it reflashed (see the ROOL ROM with regard to this). I’m not sure if that ROM is publicly available.

The “CFI-Compatible EPROM Programmer” response doesn’t point out that the Flash chip is an SOP package and would need removing from the board with a heat gun first.

As a side-note those AMD parts are unreliable, I’ve had two fail on-board and from a fresh batch I purchased from a major supplier, several were faulty when I tested them. Avoid reflashing Iyonix is my advice…softload instead.

@Jean-Michel

If you are interested in this interface, it is free.

I would certainly be interested in the device. As things stand I’m not in the position of needing to use one yet but you never know. Are you offering yours or maybe you know where I can get hold of one?

@Jon

John came back and confirmed no TRM exists

That’s odd. There must at least have been schematics created. Hey ho.

Paolo’s tool is great but without reference material such as schematics etc it’s still poking around in the dark to some extent. Myself, I need as much light as possible :-)

@ Jon

Paulo – could you send me what you have please?

I can give you access to the AI, the knowledge base I created (the graph DB) has been generated out of a lot of different sources some not even remotely related to Castle or RISC OS (the AMD, the Intel original sources etc.), the mailing list, me asking questions to others. I no long keep that stuff after my old server died, sorry, but the graph DB is now fueling OpenAI, so it uses ChatGPT as a “query generator” if you wish and then runs searches on my DB and formulate human readable answers.

Again, if you want access send me an email usign this link please: https://paolozaino.wordpress.com/contact/

(sorry just an easy way for you to send me an email and me not having to publicly share the address on here)

Your “response” above relies on the “Transfer” ROM.

Thanks for the feedback, adding your notes in the graph DB tonight!

As a side-note those AMD parts are unreliable, I’ve had two fail on-board and from a fresh batch I purchased from a major supplier, several were faulty when I tested them. Avoid reflashing Iyonix is my advice…softload instead.

Very true, and as a side note I use soft-load on mine as well.

Anyone with knowledge of the Iyonix: please feel free to test the tool and provide feedback and help! We need a repository of information that is outside of copyright issues and that has more data than originally contained in the old TRM CD (and also, my TRM CD stopped working few years ago, so, even the folks with the TRM CD please make sure you help, you may not have that data for long!)