WATTMETER IeS ISW8000 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2023, 01:06:40 pm
content: Hello everyone! I am looking for the contents of the PIC16C55-RC/SP microprocessor mounted on an IeS isw8000 tabletop power meter located on the front panel (photo); (its marker is: U1)... Does anyone have it?? Thank you in advance for your research...Wouldn't there be a correspondence with POWERTEK???

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2023, 02:40:45 pm
content: Hello everyone! I am looking for the contents of the PIC16C55-RC/SP microprocessor mounted on an IeS isw8000 tabletop power meter located on the front panel (photo); (its marker is: U1)... Does anyone have it?? Thank you in advance for your research...Wouldn't there be a correspondence with POWERTEK???

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2023, 05:32:43 am
content: I have a working IeS ISW8000. However, I noticed that the PIC16C55-RC/SP IC has the "Code Protect" function.If they have programmed these bits, reading the code is almost impossible.

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2023, 06:15:03 am
content: Good morning; I would love to bring it to life, what would be the solution to reading it?

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2023, 06:56:02 am
content: I tried to disassemble the IC in question but it is soldered directly onto the PCB and, to complicate things,the front panel is soldered directly to the main PCB also.To remove this IC it is necessary to completely disassemble the instrument.

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2023, 10:49:10 am
content: Hello again; a huge thank you if you manage to read the file and put it online!!! Thank you for your dedication! Dedicated people are rare these days....Cdt

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2023, 10:55:38 am
content: Is the file sent that of the contents of the µPC? We display “NO FOUND”??

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2023, 11:12:48 am
content: No, no, that attachment is a picture of the inside of my instrument. It is not the code file contained in the micro.I don't know why the image can't be seen anymore. This morning it was perfectly visible.However, as I told you previously, the chances of it being able to read the contents of the micro are slim. Most likely it is read protected.In any case, since the micro is not on a socket, I can't tell you if and when I can do a similar job because it requires a lot of time which I don't have now.

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2023, 11:35:46 am
content: D; ok, I understand... Do what you can; we have all our worries and concerns, it's already not bad to have taken an interest in my problem...Cdt

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2023, 04:41:26 pm
content: Good morning; the photo appears well today....Indeed, it is the front of the wattmeter with the PIC.....

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2023, 08:49:34 am
content: Good morning; Does anyone have a diagram of this device? Thanks for your help!

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2023, 06:29:52 pm
content: The schematics cannot be found online, only the user manual and the program for remote management.Have you tried asking the manufacturer? It appears that the company still exists today.When I purchased the instrument I made the dump of the at27c256 otp eprom and the 93c46 eeprom, I attach the file here in case you need it.What fault does your isw8000 have?

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2023, 03:43:13 pm
content: Good evening; the buttons on the front panel do not react and the device remains stuck on a function; the alphanumeric display works well, the buttons have been checked and are good, as are the tracks and solders... I therefore strongly suspect the PIC of being the fault; but I need its contents...I don't think that the Eprom 27C and the EEprom 93C are the cause of the problem; because I do not have a frozen display nor the lost calibration constants..... I thank you in advance for taking an interest in my problem

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2023, 04:31:55 pm
content: Today I had a moment of time and I extracted IC1, the PIC16C55.I took this opportunity to insert a socket.As you can see from the my programmer's screen the result is what I told you previously:the micro is read protected and there are only zeros in the resulting file.

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2023, 04:49:28 pm
content: D; I suspected it too, with some, you can read, and with others, you can't even with a simple PIC..... So according to you, it's ruined

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2023, 04:52:24 pm
content: I just did a quick look only, but it seems to me that the scanning of the keys is done by the 80C32 micro by one of the two 74HC595 and not by the PIC16C55 micro, it only takes care of driving the display and the LEDs on the front panel.

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2023, 05:03:25 pm
content: The 74HC595 logic circuits have been tested and are ok... I don't believe that the 80C32 is guilty, because nothing seems fixed... The PIC microcontroller must be guilty; but I don't have a schema, and worse, I have no way of having its content to reprogram another one....

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2023, 05:10:48 pm
content: It doesn't cost anything to ask the manufacturer, they may even provide you with the schematics and/or the replacement micro.In the worst case scenario they will tell you no.

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2023, 05:13:18 pm
content: So the manufacturers would have coded the PIC only for the alphanumeric control of the front panel?

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2023, 05:29:49 pm
content: In addition; It's old hardware, and I'm not convinced they still have the PIC program....

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2023, 06:29:50 pm
content: Despite all the torture I did to it today my instrument still works...

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2023, 06:10:24 am
content: Good morning; I tried this morning without the PIC and the wattmeter does not start, no relay switches: which proves that the PIC is the conductor and that it does not only manage the display.... .

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2023, 07:23:47 am
content: In this case the situation is tragic: you need a replacement IC already programmed.No one can give you its firmware only, I don't think even the manufacturer.Or recover another broken instrument but with the PIC16C55 intact.

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2023, 02:07:11 pm
content: Good morning; I tried to contact the mother house this afternoon; without success, because the website in France is still active, but the number is no longer assigned. By doing in-depth research, the company was in receivership in 2017; so they closed! Is there a way to get a technical hotline in Europe? Thanks for your feedback

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2023, 02:28:57 pm
content: Good morning; we can read the contents of the front panel of an agilent 34401a and not that of a simple PIC of a small tabletop wattmeter??

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 29, 2023, 05:49:29 pm
content: Good evening; by trying with the TL866 programmer, would there be any chance of extracting the program??

author: kripton2035
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 29, 2023, 08:30:25 pm
content: if you follow the buttons traces, where do they go on the pcb ?it seems to me also , seeing the pictures, that the pic doesn't handle the buttons.

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2023, 11:42:38 am
content: Good morning; the front microprocessor was removed from the front, result: no start of the device... Which therefore means that it does not only participate in the display of the device, but above all it gives all the instructions necessary for the main board.... The wattmeter would have started without the display if it only controlled the display. It is the program contained in this circuit that I am looking for: the reading would have to be carried out with a TL866, to see if the maskrom does not appear.

author: kripton2035
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2023, 02:20:44 pm
content: removing of the board preventing the device to start doesn't mean the front buttons are controlled by this front pcb !where are the front buttons going to ? just follow the pcb traces to the first component or IC.

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2023, 03:08:36 pm
content: Hello (to kripton2035); do you have the firmware of the microcontroller I am looking for???

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2023, 03:27:23 pm
content: Hello everyone! Can anyone extract this file to help me with my troubleshooting??

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2023, 04:49:56 pm
content: Good evening; SNIFF!!!! No one to help me!

author: Chris56000
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 20, 2023, 12:04:06 pm
content: Hi!I'm afraid no–one can provide you with the code or the hex. dump from a microcontroller that's had the security bits set – they are designed that way otherwise there would be no point in having security bit protection – these microcontroller i.c.'s are designed that erasing the security bit also erases the program contents before they can be recovered!It's very likely that the cause of the fault in your instrument is some other part of the circuit that has stalled the '8032 microcomputer i.c., or you have a fault on a data or control line – if your unit shows "8001" for a few seconds on switch–on before it stalls, the contents of the PIC may well be O.K., but without having your faulty unit in front of me I can't hazard anything other than a very approximate guess at the cause!If the code protocol between the '8032 and the PIC is known, there are experts on this Forum that probably could use "Flowcode" or something similar to try and re–create how your PIC works but it's a very advanced technique I'm not very skilled with!The only way you're going to get a schematic for your Wattmeter is to draw it out yourself, or see if there's anyone local to your country/region that can do it!I could draw the schematic out for you, but I am in the United Kingdom and unless you would be prepared to send it over here, there's no way I can do it or diagnose your fault from pictures alone I'm afraid – I would need the unit in my hands myself to be able to make a correct, complete and accurate drawing of it!I can only suggest buying Mr. Keng Tiong's book – "PCB Reverse Engineering – Re–creating the beauty of the Original Design!" – this book will teach you the basics of what's involved and gives examples!Chris Williams(UK)

author: Chris56000
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 20, 2023, 11:23:52 pm
content: Hi!I have done some research, and there is a (mooted!) procedure that is reputed to work with old generation of Microchip devices – (newer ones fixed this!) but PLEASE BE WARNED – YOU ATTEMPT THIS PROCEDURE ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!a) Connect the Vdd pin of the PIC to a SPDT toggle switch "COM" tag, connect "NC" to +5V and "NO" to your programmers +13V Vpp supply with a diode, anode to +13 V and cathode to the switch "NO" tag ;b) Move switch over to "13V" positionc) Set CP bit to OFFc) Program device without altering any other settings, change switch back to "+5V" immediately programming completes ;e) Remove all power from programmer and leave device for 20 seconds ;f) Attempt to read it again, with +Vdd @ +5V ONLY!This procedure has been reputed to work by destroying the code protection transistors in the device, which allows the internal read control lines to re–enable, which renders the memory contents re–readable again!I EMPHASISE AGAIN THAT YOU ONLY ATTEMPT THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK – IT COULD PERMANENTLY AFFECT THE OPERATION OF THE DEVICE!!If you find this procedure works, DO NOT touch anything on your programmer software interface, YOU MUST WRITE DOWN ALL THE DATA VALUES FOR EACH ADDRESS LOCATION FROM "000" TO "3FF" SEPARATELY ON PAPER, because you will NOT be able to re–read them out from the device a second time!Once you have made a written copy of the recovered data, you can order a new PIC16C55 or PIC16F55 and re–program using the normal procedure!QuoteChris Williams

author: lionelkjh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 25, 2023, 01:47:43 pm
content: Good morning; thank you for this feedback; but I think he will wait very carefully while waiting to have a new PIC recovered from a wreck... Does anyone have this device for the part??