FNIRSI GC-01: Recovery

[morganatOmmo]

I just tried to update from the original vendor code to the latest update (I didn't see the note about using the initial version, before updating, until it was too late).

Sadly, my unit is now bricked and won't instantiate a UCB drive to allow further updating.

My device uses the CH32F103 MCU, from WCH, not the GD one - is this a direct equivalent? Will I be able to program the image that I should have initially programmed onto the device via the SWD interface?

Thanks!

[Gissio]

If you did not tinker with the device at a hardware level, I don't think you need to reflash the bootloader.

Some users mentioned that they had to press the right/settings key before plugging in USB. Have you tried this, or tried other key combinations?

If that doesn't work, open your device, unplug the battery connector from the main board, remove the button battery, and try plugging in USB.

[Gissio]

I'm sorry but this forum is dedicated to Rad Pro, not to general geiger counter issues. I suggest getting help in specialized forums like https://www.radmon.org, for instance.

[Gissio]

Try flashing V1.5!

[Gissio]

You can get it here: https://github.com/Gissio/radpro/tree/main/docs/devices/FNIRSI%20GC-01/firmware

[Gissio]

I'm glad you fixed it. In short, Rad Pro will be available for GC-01. Til then, watch the GitHub project so you get notified when it is ready.

[Gissio]

Rad Pro 2.0beta19 for the FNIRSI GC-01 has been released! You can find it here: https://github.com/Gissio/radpro/releases

Remember it is beta software, so there is room for improvement.

[Gissio]

It would be an honor.

But please consider the following things when reviewing Rad Pro for FNIRSI GC-01:

• Please (!) make it clear that a Windows computer is necessary to install Rad Pro on the FNIRSI GC-01. The GC-01 bootloader does not support macOS/Linux. I wouldn't want to receive a flood of complaints because this is not clear.
• Please make it clear that Rad Pro is currently in beta. It would also be nice if you tell people to subscribe to the repository so they get notified of new versions.
• Maybe you find this fact interesting: Rad Pro's user interface is based on a design system used in the maritime industry (www.openbridge.no). That means that all the work from the OpenBridge team makes it easy to use Rad Pro in field conditions.
• Have you been able to test USB data communications to download the datalogs?

[Gissio]

I like honest. But also well-intentioned. If you find a flaw, I would appreciate reporting it here before telling your audience.

Forget about the data logging for now.

[Gissio]

Data logging should work right now. It just happens that nobody tested it so far.

So, if you would like to be the first betatester, here are the steps:

• In Rad Pro, go to Settings, choose Data logging and select the data logging interval of your liking. Wait some time to get some data.

• In Windows, open the Device Manager.

• With your device on, connect it to your computer. In the Device Manager a new USB Serial Port should appear under Ports (COM & LPT). Take note of the COM port.

• Download the radpro-tool (it's in the releases: https://github.com/Gissio/radpro/releases)

• Open a terminal (cmd.exe).

• Run this command:

  [path to radpro-tool-1.0.exe] --help

This should show you all the options.

For example, to download the datalog, you need to type:

[path to radpro-tool-1.0.exe] -p COMx --download-datalog [filename]

Where COMx is the COM port you took note of previously, and [filename], the filename with the downloaded datalog. It is best to name it with .csv extension, so you can open it in any spreadsheet editor.

Please keep in mind that these tools are intended for people with some programming skills. Perhaps you can convince the people at https://sourceforge.net/projects/geigerlog/ to add support for Rad Pro (should make downloading and processing datalogs much easier).

[Gissio]

Hello there,

I'm sorry but I forgot to notify you that we've found a bug in data logging. I am in the process of fixing it.

Once it is ready, I'll let you know.

[Gissio]

The font is Roboto (https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Roboto?query=roboto).

A reference to Gissio is more than enough!

[Gissio]

Indeed.

[Gissio]

I think your video captures the essence of Rad Pro.

Can you hold a day or two? Data logging with a proper data logging software is almost ready!

[Gissio]

That sounds great.

Btw, I just finished adapting GeigerLog to Rad Pro. I will probably release the next version tomorrow.

You can read more about GeigerLog here:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/geigerlog/

The user interface is not very good, but the program does its job, and it also features interesting data processing tools: Poisson histogram fit, FFT regularity analysis and custom averaging, among others.

[Gissio]

A question: in your video you mentioned that the battery lasts only 24 hours.

I found this actually surprising, as I do two things the original firmware doesn't:

• The MCU is set to sleep mode whenever possible, reducing average power consumption by 15 mA.
• The display is set to sleep mode when off (the original firmware does not use a power saving mode), reducing average power consumption by 10 mA.

Could you install the original firmware, max out display brightness and measure the current at the battery? Could you wait for the display to go to sleep and measure again? Could you repeat these measurements with Rad Pro?

By the way, there was a power problem with beta23: the device would continue draining the battery even if it was turned off (this was fixed in 2.0rc1). But I think this is unrelated to what you are reporting.

[jonwhite227]

Hi, I seem to have bricked my GC-01. I followed the steps in Studio 326's video, but as soon as I dragged the firmware file into the USB window the display went off, never to return.

I have tried all the suggestions on here, and from Studio 326 - re-installing V1.05 of the firmware, installing newer version of firmware (checking that the processor etc. is correct), resetting the unit with the reset switch and centre button pushed down, disconnecting both batteries, but I have not had a peep out of it since. I can get the USB window to popup but that is all. If I reconnect the battery and connect to USB, I get a message 'the device connected has malfuntioned'. I can disconnect battery and do it all again, but it just goes round in circles with nothing appearing on the display. Have tried USB 2 and USB 3 connection and holding/not holding centre button while updating.

The GC-01 was bought in November 2023 and was running 1.6-2 firmware and a J614 tube, which I have swapped out with a J321 tube. It was working fine, if a little over sensitive with the new tube, displaying around 3x background, compared to my 'proper' yellow July 2022 model (0.45uSV instead of 0.14uSV).

Does anyone have any ideas to bring it back to life, or have I got a spare J321 tube and a nice blue paperweight? Any suggestions are very welcome!

[Gissio]

Hi Jon,

what OS does your computer have? What MCU does your GC-01 have? According to many user reports, the GC-01 requires a Windows computer for the upgrade to work.

In case you've already tried from Windows and were not able to flash any firmware: in a few days I'll publish instructions for recovering FNIRSI GC-01 devices. For this to work, you'll need an STLINK dongle and a 4-pin header.

[jonwhite227]

Hi, thanks for your reply. I am running Windows 10 and my GC-01 has the CH32F103R8T6 MCU.
Is the 4 pin header male or female (pins or socket)?

[dc1rdb]

Hi Jon, that depends on your cable to the ST-Link. I've soldered a male header onto my board.

[Gissio]

Jon:

can you go to "Security" and draft a new "Security Advisory"? Send me your email address so I can contact you. Your email address won't be published.

[Gissio]

Closed as all issues have been solved.