Red Rob Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Becasuse of my work I have to use Apple Mac computers at home. I also have an ECoS 50200 (colour) for my model railway. My ECoS is still running the 3.11 system that it had originally, but I want to upgrade it to the latest version. I have tried this by studying the instructions on the ESU website, but had no success. Has anyone had success downloading the update on to a Mac computer and, in turn, getting that update on to the ECoS? I use a computer for work, so understand enough about them to do my work, but if anyone has successfully been able to get the update on to the ECoS via the Mac I'd appreciate some tips on how to do it — preferably in words of one syllable or less as my eyes tend to glaze over whenever I'm bombarded with too much technical data and jargon. Many thanks. R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adc Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Hi, Just performed the update to 3.5 on my ECoS unit using my MacBook Pro. Here's how I did it, but as usual your mileage may vary and you follow these steps at your own risk: Connected the laptop to my router using wifi. Connected the ECoS to the router using a cable, before turning the ECoS on. Turned the ECoS on and let it startup. Used the ECoS configuration screens to get the IP address that the router assigned to it. You get this from the second bottom tab on the Setup 1 screen. The IP address is displayed in the greyed out boxes on the first row. For mine this was 192.168.0.9 Used Safari to access the ECoS but putting the ip address in the address box. (This can be slow) This loaded the start screen for the ECoS, click on the British flag to get the English version. Selected the Firmware update button. Clicked the Choose File button and selected the ECoS_update_3-5-0.bci file that is in the zip file downloaded from ESU. Clicked the Send Button and waited for what seemed like a very long time before the ECoS started to perform the update. Once the update was complete the ECoS rebooted ready for use. When I say that step 9 took a long time, I did actually think that the file hadn't been sent as nothing on the web page update to say it had been but it had just slowly. ESU could do with updating this bit to make it a bit more user friendly. In theory I understand that you should be able to directly connect the Mac via a network cable to the ECoS but I have never managed to get that to work. Hope this helps. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelcliffe Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 To connect directly from computer to ECoS by cable you probably need a "cross over" ethernet cable, rather than a straight one. Then you will need to set the IP addresses to be compatible with each other; either by manually entering the IP address into both computer and ECoS, or by manually setting the address on computer, plus running a DHCP service on the computer to allocate an IP address to the ECoS. Some computer operating systems make this easier than others, but its potentially messy and needs un-doing to connect the computer back to anything else. If you have a physical router handy with at least two ethernet ports (many domestic types have four ports), then its easier to use cables into the router. The router hands out IP addresses to both computer and ECoS, and all just happens without faffing. - Nigel (too many decades faffing with computers and networks, so knows some of this stuff ). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
10000 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Used Safari to access the ECoS but putting the ip address in the address box. (This can be slow) I have been finding Safari to be very slow these days when updating firmware on NAS or download from net so tend to use Firefox or Opera for those activities. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingUnderground Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 My one and only Apple computer was an Apple 3, and that died almost 20 years ago. So I have no experience of upgrading the ECoS Firmware via an Apple. However I have updated my ECoS and ECoS 2 many times with a Windows PC. So here's some general observations that you may find helpful. You can only see and download the Firmware upgrades from the ESU web site if you are a registered ECoS user. ESU are still supporting the old ECoS 1, so there are two versions of each release of the Firmware, one for the ECoS 1 (a.k.a. ECoS 50000) and the Maerklin CS1, the other for the ECoS 2, (a.k.a. ECoS 50200). Make sure that you download the correct version as due to the different hardware in the ECoS 1 and ECoS 2, they are not interchangeable. The Firmware file that you download from the ESU web site is a Zip file, so you will need some sort of utility to unzip it if the Apple OS doesn't have that as standard. Inside the Zip file there are normally 3 files, one is the Firmware, which has the file extension ".bci" and the other two are the release notes, one in german, the other in english. These are ordinary text files with the file extension ".txt". Do make sure that you do actually unzip the file. Once you have unzipped the Zip file it is the ".bci" file that you load to the ECoS through your Apple using its web browser. I believe the Firmware is actually written in Linux, so it shouldn't matter whether you use a computer running the Apple OS, any flavour of Windows, or Unix/Linux, as the operating system on your computer plays no part in the upgrade process other than running your web browser. You do not have to download and install every Firmware update between 3.1.1, which I think you said was the version supplied with your ECoS, and the latest version 3.5.0. Each Firmware version is a complete copy of the Firmware and from version 3.1.0 for the colour ECoS 2, or 3.0.0. for the mono ECoS 1, does not depend on a previous version being installed. So you should be able to go straight to 3.5.0. ESU have indicated that the next Firmware release will be 3.6.0 which may be out sometime in the Autumn, they have not been more specific than that. They have given no hints as to what it may include. EDIT: Two other points, before you start the upgrade: do take a backup of the ECoS configuration before you start, and do remember to remove the backup batteries, and then to replace them after the Firmware upgrade is complete. The ECoS does report progress via the web browser, but also watch the ECoS screen as sometimes the web browser fails to update after the ECoS reboots. The update process should take about 5 minutes, IIRC. If your browser is still showing "Unable to display web page" or the Apple equivalent, after the ECoS has rebooted and is showing the two speedo dials on its screen, press the refresh button on your browser to get it to reload the ECoS's own internal web page. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelly Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I've come to this thread just now as I too, had problems following the ECoS manual (section 24) in relation to updating firmware to 50200 with a Macbook Pro. The manual is wrong! My son the computer science undergrad. has corrected it AND IT WORKS. Here's how: Download the firmware software from the ESU website-you need to have registered your unit. 1. Buy a cross-over male to male ethernet cable-Maplins. Connect Mac to ECoS 2. Go to system preferences (Mac) and select Network. 3. Click on the small + icon (just above the padlock icon,bottom left) and select Ethernet 4. Identify fig. 121 p41 and copy settings as printed to your Mac (NB. the IP address 10.0.0.2 is supposed to be different from that used in line 7 below) 4. Identify fig.122 page 41 of ECoS manual. Type 10.0.0.3 in IP address line on the ECoS (ignore what the manual says) 5. REMOVE tick icon from box DHCP server 6 Turn off ECoS and restart 7. When ECoS has rebooted, refer to para.24.2 p41 and type http://10.0.0.3 in Safari or other browser. Hit the return button 8. Fig 123 p42 should appear on the ECoS screen 9. Press Firmware update button, locate the downloaded firmware using the browse button. Then press SEND (there is no TRANSMIT button) and NOTHING SEEMS TO HAPPEN-no animated icon to signify activity. But it is happening The unit then takes care of itself and updates. I have written this mainly for myself so I know where to find it next time after my son has flown the nest. Hope you find it useful Neil Neil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingUnderground Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 The IP addresses in the ECoS manual are illustrative as they entirely depend on how you connect your ECoS to the computer, and to some extent the computer to which you connect it. IP addresses starting 10.x.x.x tend to be reserved for private networks, much the same way as 192.168.x.x addresses, except that addresses starting 10. tend to be used in large corporations for their own internal networks whilst those starting 192.168 tend to be used by DHCP servers intended for use in small office and domestic (SOHO meaning Small Office or HOme) settings. You might find this article in Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserved_IP_addresses relevant. The process you have described is identical to that set out in the manual for direct connection, but I agree it could be made a bit clearer. The only difference is the IP address as Windows direct connections tend to be in the range 169.254.x.x, or at least that's what my Windows 7 laptop does when directly connected to my ECoS. The key is making sure that the IP address on your ECoS and your computer, irrespective of the make or operating system of your computer, are both unique but still within in the same range. Using a router which has a integrated DHCP server means that the router does all that for you, and all you have to do is read off the IP address the server has given the ECoS from the ECoS and enter that address into the address bar in the browser on your computer. If you use direct connection where there is no DHCP server then you need to set up the IP addresses on the ECoS and the computer yourself, or you make the connection and find out what IP address the computer's ethernet port is using and manually set up the ECoS to use an IP address in the same range. For instance, if your computer's ethernet port IP address starts 10.0.0 then your ECoS's IP address must also be set to start 10.0.0 as well. So 10.0.0.99 for your computer and 10.0.0.98 for your ECoS would work, as would 192.168.8.104 and 192.168.8.183, or 169.254.87.211 and 169.254.87.4. The key is that both addresses must be in the same range, e.g. 10.0.0.X or 192.168.8.X or 169.254.87.X where the value X must be between 1 and 254 and a different value for the computer and the ECoS. You then enter the IP address you've given the ECoS into the address bar on your browser and you'll see the ECoS's own internal home page. There's no magic, the ECoS is just another computer that happens to use Linux as its operating system. Apple products use OS whatever and Windows computers use Windows 98SE, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, or 8. The process is the same and applies when connecting any computers together to form a network. By the way I'm not a computer science graduate, just someone who has 2 computers and an ECoS at home and set up my first home network over 10 years ago to share the dial up internet connection on my computer with my daughter's computer. Apologies if this seems complicated, but I thought it was worth clarifying the principles as it does seem to be the area that people have the most trouble with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jens Vesterdahl Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Several times I've had trouble with Safari when working with the ECoS, so I always use Firefox just to make sure. The real nuisance in the process is that nothing seems to happen until it's done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelly Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 without wanting to get into a computer forum debate, (not being computer literate), I only described a method that worked for me. "Tis a shame that Going Underground didn't give us the benefit of his knowledge earlier. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingUnderground Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 without wanting to get into a computer forum debate, (not being computer literate), I only described a method that worked for me. "Tis a shame that Going Underground didn't give us the benefit of his knowledge earlier. I have been explaining this to people both on here, and on the ESU users forum for the last 4 years, thus http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/64315-connecting-ECoS-esu-to-windows-vista/ Is that early enough for you? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelly Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Yep- just linked to the thread- The original posting asked for idiot proof guidelines. Your reply referred to Windows Vista I saw no talk through fix... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingUnderground Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Yep- just linked to the thread- The original posting asked for idiot proof guidelines. Your reply referred to Windows Vista I saw no talk through fix... Did you actually follow the link in the RM web post through to the ESU users forum? Because the need to have the IP addresses in the same range is mentioned very clearly in my posts on there. You did see a talk through fix as far as concerns Windows users, but I guess you weren't able to apply that in the Apple context. I don't normally reply to comments about Apple products as I don't have one. I can't recall you posting on RM web or the ESU users forum that you were having trouble, but I may have missed that. Perhaps I need to become a mind reader. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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