This post is in the category of ... I doubt anyone else will need this but if you do, here it is!
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The 1660/1670 series logic analyzers have the ability to do disassembly of captured microprocessor code for a number of processors.
HP provided a number of "inverse assemblers" which could be leaded onto the logic analyzer to make analysis of the captured data more readable.
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If needed, you could also write your own disassembler. HP provides the? "HP 10391B Inverse Assembler Development Package"?which has the compiler for the disassembler (asm.exe) and a program to download the resulting file to the logic analyzer using an RS232 connection (ialdown.exe).
These are old 16 bit DOS programs that don't run on Windows 10 or 11 machines but do run on DOSBox on Windows, Mac or Linux.
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Unfortunately, the asm.exe program produces a relocatable (.r) file that will not run directly on the logic analyzer.
The program that does run is created (with a final linking step) by the individual logic analyzer when the ialdown.exe program transfers the .r file. This means that one can't just transfer the file from the DOS machine to the logic analyzer (on a floppy or via FTP say).
(This is probably so that the one compiled file can be used on several analyzers with different architectures).
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When debugging, I connect the logic analyzer to my Linux computer using the Ethernet connection. The logic analyzer acts as an X windows client and opens a window on the Xorg server running on the Linux machine. This means I can control the logic analyzer using the GUI on the Linux machine which is really convenient (compared to the front panel buttons). I can also use FTP to transfer files to and from the logic analyzer. I do not need to connect GPIB or RS232 from the logic analyzer to the computer.
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Recently, I needed to modify one of the inverse assemblers. I did this, ran asm.exe on DOSBox to create the relocatable file but then I had to rig up and configure an RS232 connection (and DOSBox) to use ialdown.exe. This was doable - but a real pain.
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It turns out that the functionality (transfer and file linking for the particular logic analyzer) of ialdown.exe can be achieved using GPIB and Telnet commands.
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In case, in the unlikely event that anyone else needs to do this, I've written a program to transfer the relocatable file to the logic analyzer via Telnet rather than RS232.
It's on github:
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Michael
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