4 Commits
Author SHA1 Message Date
serversdownandClaude Opus 5 701af47170 docs(series4): generate IDF filenames rather than detecting record type
Closes the record-type gap flagged earlier, and corrects the premise behind it.

Series III does NOT detect record type from file content --
event_file_io.derive_record_type_from_filename() reads the last character of
the extension (M529LKIQ.G10H -> H -> Histogram). Nothing in the codebase infers
record type from content, for either family.

Nor is there an obvious type field to find in an IDF: the first 64 bytes of a
histogram and a waveform are byte-identical, and they diverge at ~0x0947 into
wholly different structures rather than differing by a flag.

The answer is the Series III pattern -- generate the name. Series III has
blastware_filename(); Series IV needs the same, and its convention is far
simpler:

    <serial>_<YYYYMMDDHHMMSS>.IDF{W,H}     e.g. UM12947_20260923163319.IDFW

against Series III's <letter><serial3><base-36 stem><AB0T ext>.

All three inputs are already available on a direct download: serial and
timestamp from extract_binary_metadata(), and type from the chain walk (SUB
0x0A returns 0x1E for a histogram, 0x00 for a waveform). Verified on all five
bench events -- generated names match real production-store filenames byte for
byte, so a directly downloaded event can be filed under exactly the name Thor
would have given it and /db/import/idf_file needs no change.

The type still comes from the protocol rather than the payload, so a
downloader must carry it out of the chain walk; losing it means losing the
ability to name the file.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01Ru8Lg9HkkYvX9VWWo65SmL
2026-09-23 19:50:45 -04:00
serversdownandClaude Opus 5 02ed22f561 docs(series4): firmware static analysis, and all five bench events decoded
Solo session while the bench was unattended. Read-only throughout.

Architecture: ColdFire/68K, big-endian, Freescale MQX RTOS -- not ARM as the
vector table first suggested. The tell is 4E 5E 4E 75 4E 56 (UNLK A6 / RTS /
LINK A6) throughout both images, plus an MQX_OK assertion.

CB vs BD: a byte diff is useless (68% of bytes differ -- separately linked
builds, everything relocated). A string-set diff is position-independent and
shows 17,128 strings shared, with almost every "unique" string being the same
message at a different source line:

    CB:  MONITOR[3268]: STATUS_BATTERY_LOW
    BD:  MONITOR[3258]: STATUS_BATTERY_LOW

Consistently 10 lines apart across five different MONITOR messages, so one
~10-line block differs in the monitor module and essentially nothing else. The
only functional string unique to either build is CITIZEN (a printer brand) in
BD. This corroborates the bench A/B from the other direction: the split is a
tiny code delta, not two protocol stacks.

The SUB dispatch is a 68K switch jump table, so byte-pattern hunting will not
isolate the write opcodes -- that needs a disassembler.

Call-home config field names recovered from the firmware's own debug dump:
Enable, DialString, Retries, SessionTimeout, WaitForConnection, WarmupTime,
PowerSave -- seven fields for the 126-byte SUB 0x2C block. SessionTimeout and
PowerSave have no Series III equivalent, and Series III's scheduled-time fields
are absent, consistent with scheduling moving into the THOR-downloaded
scheduler. AT+CSQ is present, so the firmware speaks AT to the modem directly.

All five bench events downloaded and decoded over USB: each arrived at exactly
its declared size, every channel equal length, timestamps sequential.

Two gaps recorded:

- No content-based record-type discriminator. read_idf_file() dispatches on the
  .IDFH/.IDFW filename suffix, which does not exist over the wire, and the
  first 64 bytes of a histogram and a waveform are byte-identical. The protocol
  supplies one instead: SUB 0x0A returns 0x1E for a histogram and 0x00 for a
  waveform, so the type must be carried from the chain walk.
- The 0x0C peak float runs 2-5% above max(Tran,Vert,Long) and is not the vector
  sum either. Its offset was inferred from a byte marker rather than
  established, so it may not be the peak at all. Marked do-not-rely-on.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01Ru8Lg9HkkYvX9VWWo65SmL
2026-09-23 19:14:26 -04:00
serversdownandClaude Opus 5 23cdbef737 docs(series4): setups are files; and the length field is a uint16
Two findings and one correction.

CORRECTION: the probe response's data length is a uint16 BE at payload[8:10],
not a single byte at payload[9] as an earlier draft claimed. That reading is
right only while the high byte is zero. For SUB 0x1A the real length is 0x082C
= 2092; read as a byte it gives 44, a 47x under-read.

Setups are FILES, not a config block. Series III has one compliance config you
overwrite; Series IV keeps named .MMB setup files on an on-device filesystem
with a current-selection pointer -- csetup.MMB, factory.MMB, and callhome.MMB
for the call-home config. Names up to 20 chars. Filesystem primitives exist
internally (NS_ReadFile_internal / NS_WriteFile_internal / NS_SeekFile_internal)
but no generic file-transfer command is exposed on the wire, so setups are
unlikely to be pushed as raw .MMB blobs over the protocol.

SUB 0x1A reads the whole active setup in 2,092 bytes -- structurally close to
Series III's ~2,126-byte compliance block -- carrying the setup FILE NAME, all
four title note/value pairs (Location, Client, Company, General Notes), the
sensor location, and per-channel labels with units. Note LMic and SMic
(linear and sound-level microphone variants) which Series III does not have.

That is the read half of setup management, so a setup can in principle be
round-tripped. The write half has not been attempted.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01Ru8Lg9HkkYvX9VWWo65SmL
2026-09-23 18:55:20 -04:00
serversdownandClaude Opus 5 71f19c90d1 docs(series4): SUB 5A streams the .IDFW file verbatim -- read path complete
The complete read path now works with no Instantel software in the loop.

Three divergences from Series III, all simplifications:

- No arming sequence. Series III ignores a 5A probe unless preceded by
  1E / 0A / 1E(0xFE) / 0C / 1F(0xFE) / POLL x3. The Micromate answers a bare
  5A request with nothing before it.
- The offset word is a LENGTH, not a position: 0x1000 + 2*pages, where
  pages = ceil(event_size / 512), and event_size comes from the chain walk.
  ONE request returns the entire event -- no chunk loop, no STRT end-offset
  parsing, no TERM frame. Over-requesting is safe; the device caps at the
  real size.
- Params are the Series III probe form: [0x00][key4][6 x 0x00].

The payload is the .IDFW file byte for byte. It begins 00 12 01 00 00 00
"Instantel\0" -- _THOR_PREFIX + _INSTANTEL_TAG from micromate/idf_file.py --
and the first 32 bytes are identical to a production .IDFW from the store.
Responses are DLE-stuffed, so destuff before locating the file (11,781 raw ->
11,049 destuffed for an 11,032-byte event).

End-to-end: event 055d4a82 downloaded over USB and fed straight to
read_idf_file() yields serial UM12947, timestamp 2026-09-23 16:33:19, and
3072 samples on all four channels. Cross-check: the 0C record reports a
stored Vert peak of 1.3720 for this event; the decoded samples give 1.3706 --
two unrelated paths agreeing to 0.1%.

Consequence: no new codec work is needed. The bytes off the wire are the same
bytes thor-watcher forwards today, so /db/import/idf_file ingests a directly
downloaded event unchanged.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01Ru8Lg9HkkYvX9VWWo65SmL
2026-09-23 18:40:54 -04:00
+265 -4
View File
@@ -197,7 +197,12 @@ Series III reads.
### The probe response carries the data length ### The probe response carries the data length
Series III hardcodes `DATA_LENGTHS` per SUB. On the Micromate the **probe Series III hardcodes `DATA_LENGTHS` per SUB. On the Micromate the **probe
response tells you**, at `payload[9]`: response tells you**, as a **uint16 BE at `payload[8:10]`**:
⚠ **Corrected 2026-09-23.** An earlier draft read this as a single byte at
`payload[9]`. That is right only while the high byte is zero, and it is
catastrophically wrong for `SUB 0x1A`, whose real length is `0x082C` = **2092**
— read as a byte it gives **44**, a 47× under-read. Always read the pair.
| SUB | command | `payload[9]` | Series III constant | | SUB | command | `payload[9]` | Series III constant |
|---|---|---|---| |---|---|---|---|
@@ -208,7 +213,7 @@ response tells you**, at `payload[9]`:
| `0x2C` | call-home config | `0x7E` | `0x7C` ✗ **differs by 2** | | `0x2C` | call-home config | `0x7E` | `0x7C` ✗ **differs by 2** |
| `0x08` | event index | `0x5A` | — | | `0x08` | event index | `0x5A` | — |
| `0x1E` | event header | `0x08` | — | | `0x1E` | event header | `0x08` | — |
| `0x1A` | compliance config | `0x2C` | — | | `0x1A` | compliance config | `0x082C` (2092) | — |
| `0x0A` | waveform header | `0x00` | — (no event context) | | `0x0A` | waveform header | `0x00` | — (no event context) |
| `0xFE` | full config | `0x00` | — (see note) | | `0xFE` | full config | `0x00` | — (see note) |
@@ -524,6 +529,264 @@ Diffing the two images should isolate exactly what the CB/BD split changes —
we know the wire protocol is not it, and the flags byte (`0xC5` vs `0x03`) we know the wire protocol is not it, and the flags byte (`0xC5` vs `0x03`)
gives a concrete anchor to search for. gives a concrete anchor to search for.
## `SUB 0x5A` — bulk download. It streams the `.IDFW` file verbatim.
**The complete read path works with no Instantel software in the loop.**
### It needs no arming sequence
Series III ignores a `5A` probe unless preceded by
`1E → 0A → 1E(token 0xFE) → 0C → 1F(token 0xFE) → POLL × 3`. The Micromate
answers a **bare `5A` request** with nothing before it. That whole ritual is
gone.
### The offset word is a LENGTH, not a position
This is the key divergence. Series III walks chunks by absolute flash
address, stepping `0x0200` per request. On the Micromate the offset word
requests *how much to send*:
```
offset_word = 0x1000 + 2 × pages pages = ceil(event_size / 512)
```
| `offset_word` | pages | destuffed file bytes |
|---|---|---|
| `0x1002` | 1 | 518 |
| `0x1004` | 2 | 1,030 |
| `0x1006` | 3 | 1,541 |
| `0x102C` | 22 | **11,033 — the whole event** |
`event_size` comes from the chain walk (the 4 bytes after the key in
`1E`/`1F`). **One request returns the entire event**; there is no chunk loop,
no `STRT` end-offset parsing, and no `TERM` frame. Over-requesting is safe —
`0x1030` (24 pages) returned exactly the same bytes as `0x102C`, so the device
caps at the real size.
Params are the Series III *probe* form: `[0x00][key4][6 × 0x00]`.
### The payload is the `.IDFW` file, byte for byte
```
[18-byte frame header] [ .IDFW file ] [chk] [ETX] ← raw wire
^ destuffed offset 16
```
The file begins `00 12 01 00 00 00 "Instantel\0"` — `_THOR_PREFIX` +
`_INSTANTEL_TAG` from `micromate/idf_file.py`. The first 32 bytes are
**identical to a production `.IDFW`** pulled from the store.
⚠ Responses are DLE-stuffed. Destuff before locating the file, or the raw
byte count overshoots (11,781 raw → 11,049 destuffed for an 11,032-byte event).
### End-to-end proof
Event `055d4a82` downloaded over USB and fed straight to `read_idf_file()`:
```
serial UM12947
timestamp 2026-09-23 16:33:19
samples Tran 3072 Vert 3072 Long 3072 MicL 3072
peaks Tran 0.2433 Vert 1.3706 Long 0.2672 in/s
```
All four channels equal length, and the timestamp matches the `0x0C` record
for the same key. **Independent cross-check:** `0x0C` reports a stored peak
of **1.3720** for this event; the decoded samples give **1.3706** — two
unrelated paths agreeing to 0.1%.
**Consequence:** no new codec work is needed. The bytes off the wire are the
same bytes `thor-watcher` forwards today, so `/db/import/idf_file` ingests a
directly-downloaded event unchanged. Everything the IDF decoder already does
per-sample-exact applies.
### What a full read now looks like
```
1E → first key + size
0C(key) → project/client/operator, timestamp, peaks
5A(key, 0x1000+2×ceil(size/512)) → the whole .IDFW
1F → next key + size (until null sentinel)
```
## Setups are FILES, not a config block
Series III has one compliance config you overwrite. Series IV keeps **named
setup files on an on-device filesystem**, with a pointer to the current one.
From the firmware:
```
csetup.MMB the current setup
factory.MMB Factory Default Setup File
callhome.MMB call-home config is a file too
"Current Setup File: " "Can Not Delete Active Setup File"
GetSelectedSetupFilePathName() CSelectSetupFiles CSaveSetupFile
```
Names are up to 20 characters and may contain spaces, hyphens, underscores.
The unit's help text describes selecting, renaming and deleting them, and the
event list records which setup file produced each event.
Filesystem primitives exist internally (`NS_ReadFile_internal`,
`NS_WriteFile_internal`, `NS_SeekFile_internal`), but **no generic
file-transfer command is exposed on the wire** — the only file-transfer string
is `CMD_STOP_CALLHOME_FILETRANSFER`. So setups are unlikely to be pushed as
raw `.MMB` blobs over the protocol.
### `SUB 0x1A` reads the whole active setup — 2,092 bytes
Structurally close to Series III's ~2,126-byte compliance block, and it
carries everything a setup consists of:
- **the setup file name** — `Univ of Pitt-1st Yr. Housing-Loc1 Ruskin.MMB`
- all four title note/value pairs — `Location`, `Client`, `Company`,
`General Notes`, with their strings
- the sensor location string (`Loc 1`)
- per-channel labels *and units*: `Tran in./s.`, `Vert in./s.`,
`Long in./s.`, `Mic psi (L)`, `LMic psi (L)`, `SMic (A)`
Note `LMic` / `SMic` — linear and sound-level microphone variants that
Series III does not have.
This is the **read half of setup management**, and it means a setup can be
round-tripped: read the active config, modify, write it back. The write half
is not yet attempted.
## Static analysis of the firmware (2026-09-23, solo session)
### Architecture
**ColdFire / 68K, big-endian, Freescale MQX RTOS** — not ARM as the vector
table first suggested. The giveaway is the function epilogue/prologue
`4E 5E 4E 75 4E 56` = `UNLK A6` / `RTS` / `LINK A6`, littered through both
images, plus an `MQX_OK` assertion string.
### CB vs BD: the same source, ~10 lines apart
A byte diff is useless — **68% of bytes differ** because the two are separately
linked builds with everything relocated. A *string-set* diff is
position-independent and tells the real story: **17,128 strings shared**, and
almost every "unique" string is the same message with a different source line
number:
```
CB: MONITOR[3268]: STATUS_BATTERY_LOW
BD: MONITOR[3258]: STATUS_BATTERY_LOW ← consistently 10 lines apart
```
The offset is exactly 10 across `STATUS_BATTERY_LOW`, `STATUS_BATTERY_CRITICAL`,
`Battery Critical Exit Monitor`, `histogram interval size of 0` and
`Offsets by channel` — so one ~10-line block differs in the monitor module and
essentially nothing else. The only functional string unique to either build is
`CITIZEN` (a receipt-printer brand) in BD.
**This corroborates the bench A/B from the other direction:** the CB/BD split
is a tiny code delta, not two protocol stacks. Whatever drives Instantel to
ship two downloads, it is not a different wire protocol.
⚠ The `SUB` dispatch is a 68K switch jump table (`CMPI.L` bounds check →
`MOVE.W (table,PC,Dn)` → `JMP (d8,PC,Xn)`). Byte-pattern hunting will not
isolate the write opcodes — that needs a real disassembler.
### Call-home config field names, from the firmware's own debug dump
```
CallHome.Enable = %s
CallHome.DialString = "%s"
CallHome.Retries = %d
CallHome.SessionTimeout = %d
CallHome.WaitForConnection = %d
CallHome.WarmupTime = %d
CallHome.PowerSave = %s
```
Seven fields, which is what the 126-byte `SUB 0x2C` block has to encode. Note
`SessionTimeout` and `PowerSave` have no Series III equivalent, and Series III's
scheduled-time fields (`time1/time2 hour/min`) are absent here — consistent
with Series IV moving scheduling into the THOR-downloaded scheduler instead.
Also present: `AT+CSQ` (signal quality), so the firmware talks AT to the modem
directly.
## All five bench events, downloaded and decoded
Read-only, over USB, no Instantel software:
| key | declared size | got | decoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| `055d4a81` | 4,076 | 4,076 | histogram, 1 interval, 16:33:16 |
| `055d4a82` | 11,032 | 11,032 | waveform, 3072 × 4 ch, 16:33:19 |
| `055d4a83` | 11,502 | 11,502 | waveform, 3072 × 4 ch, 16:33:27 |
| `055d4a84` | 13,424 | 13,424 | waveform, 3072 × 4 ch, 16:33:34 |
| `055d4a85` | 8,746 | 8,746 | waveform, 2048 × 4 ch, 16:33:36 |
Every event arrived at exactly its declared size, every channel came out equal
length, and the timestamps are sequential across the recording session.
### Record type + filename: generate it, don't detect it
`read_idf_file()` decides waveform vs histogram from the **filename suffix** —
and there is no filename when downloading over the wire.
⚠ Worth correcting a natural assumption: **Series III does not detect this from
content either.** `event_file_io.derive_record_type_from_filename()` reads the
last character of the extension (`M529LKIQ.G10H` → `H` → Histogram). Nothing
in the codebase infers record type from file content, for either family.
And there is no obvious type field to find. The first 64 bytes of a histogram
and a waveform are byte-identical; they diverge at ~`0x0947` into wholly
different structures rather than differing by a flag.
**The answer is the Series III pattern — generate the name.** Series III has
`blastware_filename()`, which builds a name from serial + timestamp + type.
Series IV needs the same thing, and its convention is far simpler:
```
<serial>_<YYYYMMDDHHMMSS>.IDF{W,H} e.g. UM12947_20260923163319.IDFW
```
versus Series III's `<letter><serial3><4-char base-36 stem><AB0T ext>`, where
the stem is base-36 of seconds-since-1985 ÷ 1296.
All three inputs are already available on a direct download:
| input | source |
|---|---|
| serial | `extract_binary_metadata()` — decoded from the IDF header |
| timestamp | `extract_binary_metadata()` — same |
| **type** | **the chain walk** — `SUB 0x0A` length `0x1E` = histogram, `0x00` = waveform |
Verified against all five bench events: the generated names match the
convention of real files in the production store byte for byte. A directly
downloaded event can therefore be filed under exactly the name Thor would have
given it, and `/db/import/idf_file` needs no change at all.
⚠ The type still comes from the *protocol*, not the payload — so a downloader
must carry it out of the chain walk. Losing it means losing the ability to
name the file correctly.
### ⚠ Unresolved: the `0x0C` peak float
The float32 extracted from `0x0C` runs 2–5% above `max(Tran, Vert, Long)` from
the decoded samples:
| key | `0x0C` float | max channel |
|---|---|---|
| `…81` | 3.5152 | 3.4419 |
| `…82` | 1.3720 | 1.3706 |
| `…83` | 2.3542 | 2.2227 |
| `…84` | 3.5152 | 3.4419 |
| `…85` | 0.4227 | 0.4198 |
It is not peak vector sum either (computed PVS runs *higher* than both). The
field may not be the peak at all — its offset was inferred from a byte marker,
not established. **Do not rely on it** until it is pinned properly.
Worth noting the histogram (`…81`) and the loudest waveform (`…84`) report
*identical* peaks to four decimals, in both measures. That is self-consistent:
the histogram's single 1-minute interval spans the whole thumping session, so
its maximum should equal the loudest event in it.
## ⚠ Untested and unsafe-until-agreed ## ⚠ Untested and unsafe-until-agreed
Nothing below has been sent to a unit, and nothing should be without an Nothing below has been sent to a unit, and nothing should be without an
@@ -538,8 +801,6 @@ explicit decision:
Also unknown: Also unknown:
- Whether `0x10` bytes inside request params need stuffing - Whether `0x10` bytes inside request params need stuffing
- Whether the bulk waveform stream (`5A` on Series III) exists here, and
whether it is the transport for `.IDFW` bodies we already decode
- Everything about the **call-home session** — the device-initiated direction - Everything about the **call-home session** — the device-initiated direction
has not been observed at all. Specifically: how a unit announces itself, has not been observed at all. Specifically: how a unit announces itself,
and **how it learns an event was accepted so it stops re-sending it.** and **how it learns an event was accepted so it stops re-sending it.**