Howto: U1272A firmware update with U1177A bluetooth adapter

[bernroth]

Hello!
This is unsupported by Agilent but works quite well:

To update the firmware on your U1272A multimeter (or similar) you have to use the IR-USB cable.
If you happen to own already a U1177A bluetooth IR adapter, you can use it to update the firmware.

We expect the bluetooth adapter to be installed properly in windows and have a COM port assigned.
You can pair the device with your Mac, too and then map the serial port into a virtual machine (this is how I did)

First of all you have to setup your multimeter to use 19200 baud on the IR interface.
Then switch the U1177A to setup mode, open a serial terminal program (teraterm, putty or hyperterminal work fine) and enter "ATL2"+Enter (without quotes)
This command will set the adapter to use 19200 baud on the IR interface.
See http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/U1177-90002.pdf for more details.

Last step: Download the agilent firmware update for your multimeter, install the software and let it search your meter.
When you click on start, the software will switch the meter to FW update mode ("Pro" will be shown in the display) and download the software.

Wait and do not power off Then the meter will reboot and you will have the newest version installed.
Doing so I upgraded my meter to the latest 2.04 firmware.

Attention: No warranty, don't blame me for having bricked your meter

Sidenote: A pitfall is not to set the bluetooth adapter to 19200 baud. I did so and was stuck in "pro" mode 
The meter will communicate fine with 9600 baud but when switching to the bootloader, it will use 19200 baud!
I had to investigate a bit but finally found the solution by altering the speed on the bluetooth adapter and restarting the agilent sw update software.
It detected that the meter was in "uploading" mode and I could finish the process successfully.

Hope this helps 

Best regards,

Bernhard

[beyondcrazy]

Hello,

Has anyone else been able to upgrade their firmware using the bluetooth adapter? I can get the logging s/w working on both the PC and my phone, and can connect to the bluetooth adapter via putty, set commands, etc. But I can't get the actual firmware s/w to load. It just doesn't seem to communicate.

I've tried just about every combination of baud rate in the meter, bluetooth adapter, and the win7 comm port configuration. The "connection" light stays solid for about a second when I try to connect, then goes back to blinking. The upgrade s/w never reports finding the device. It acts like it's connecting, them disconnecting due to a data exchange problem. Strange that the logging s/w is fine.

I tried resetting both the meter and the bluetooth adapter, and only ran the ATL2 command to adjust the speed (which seems to work according to ATI1). New batteries, etc. adapter in both setup and on mode.

Meter currently has 2.00 fw.

Thanks!
Jon

[sonic]

The "connection" light stays solid for about a second when I try to connect, then goes back to blinking. The upgrade s/w never reports finding the device.

I have the same problem trying to bring my U1253B from 2.19 to 2.26

[rowant]

I was able to update my U1253B to 2.26 using the U1177A bluetooth adapter.

The firmware updated doesn't appear to search the bluetooth comm ports (the link LED on the BT adaptor never goes solid which it does when the COM port is opened), and it only lists physical com ports in the selector box. So I thought i'd try trick it by using COM port redirectors.

Specifically I used CommTunnel ( http://www.serialporttool.com/CommTunnel.htm ), and Virtual Com Port Driver ( http://www.insys-icom.com/icom/en/Knowledge-Base/LAN-WLAN/VCom ). Both are free..

First follow the instructions in the original post to set the BT adaptor to 19600, ( ATL2 ). Also set the DMM itself to 19600 in Setup, save the setting and restart the DMM.

I setup CommTunnel EP1 to connect to the first bluetooth COM port at 19600bps, 8n1, then setup EP2 as TCP Server, any port. Then hit start.

On Virtual Com Port Driver I setup COM9 to point to localhost and the port I set in CommTunnel EP2.

The firmware updater didn't list COM9 in the dropbox box, but it did use open it and was able to connect to the DMM. Hitting update firmware finally worked

It's a bit messy, but quicker than buying the USB cable and waiting a day..

[rdubelectronic]

Don't do THIS procedure.

I tried it:
RESULT: METER DEAD, black screen. Cannot be turned on anymore. Nothing.

It recognised the meter, started the software update. Then it gave an firmware update error.
And as usual with failed firmware updates: DEAD
 

[sonic]

It worked for my U1253B.
But it seems dangerous then.

[rdubelectronic]

I now see that you updated a
U1272a

I have "had" a U1273A.

Update failed miserably.
And after further searching the internet someone else had the same problem.
And he contacted agilent. Response BER

Beyond Economic repair

 

[crispy_tofu]

Oh my... that's no good. 
If OP is still around, maybe he should edit his post to emphasise that it's highly dangerous.

[rdubelectronic]

Tried about just everything, meter is totally dead
Only shows "D...."

And bluetooth link cannot be established anymore.

What a pitty, it was a nice DMM