ASTRIBANK_HEXLOAD(8)

💖 ASTRIBANK_HEXLOAD — the astribank_hexload(8) page, bestie edition ✨

okay so. you opened the astribank_hexload manpage. welcome. this is the Xorcom Astribank (xpp) firmware loader and she is iconic and also extremely specific about her flags. let's get into it 🎀

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

astribank_hexload -D device-path -F [options] hexfile

astribank_hexload -D device-path -p [options] hexfile1 .. hexfile4

astribank_hexload -D device-path -O [-A] [-S span-specs] [options]
imagefile

astribank_hexload -D device-path -o [options]

astribank_hexload -D device-path -E [options] hexfile

astribank_hexload -h

six whole moods. pick one. 👑

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

astribank_hexload is a second-stage firmware loader for Xorcom Astribanks. second stage. she's not the opener, she's the main character who shows up after. 💅

ngl, some very old models use fpga_load(8) instead. that legacy tool hasn't been used for several releases, fr fr. you can find it in version 2.6 and below of dahdi-tools. so if you're on anything modern, she's retired, she's living her best life, don't @ her. 🙈

the astribank_hexload(8) program is used to load a file in the Intel HEX format into a Xorcom Astribank. and she can load either an FPGA firmware or a PIC firmware. versatile queen. she's normally run by the script xpp_fxloader, so half the time you won't even be the one calling her — the script is. 🦋

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• -D device-path — Required. the device to read from/write to. this is bus_num/device_num, where bus_num and device_num are the first two numbers in the output of lsusb(8) or dahdi_hardware(8). on older versions of this tool you needed a complete path to the device, which would be /dev/bus/usb/bus_num/device_num, or /proc/bus/usb/bus_num/device_num. glow-up behavior honestly ✨

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💜 One of the following is required 💜

like. you literally have to pick one. no vibes-only runs.

• -F — the firmware to load is a FPGA firmware.
• -p — the firmwares to load is are PIC firmwares. all (typically 4) should be on the command-line. yes the original says "is are". we respect her grammar journey. 🫶
• -O — the firmware to load is an Octasic echo canceller firmware image file.
• -o — don't load firmware. just print the version number of the currently-loaded Octasic echo canceller firmware. she's just looking, not touching. 👀
• -E — the firmware to load is a special EEPROM burning one. 🔥

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⭐ Other options ⭐

• -v — increase verbosity. may be used multiple times. stack her. she gets louder every time.
• -d mask — set debug mask to mask. default is 0, 0xFF is "everything". all the tea, all of it. 🍓
• -h — displays usage message. the classic "help me help you" flag.
• -A — when loading a Octasic echo canceller firmware, set the channels of the first Astribank module to use aLaw (G.711a). this is what you'd normally use for BRI and E1. if not set, the default is mu-Law (G.711u), which is what you'd normally use for FXS, FXO and T1. pick your law wisely bestie, it's giving telecom. 📞
• -S span-specs — this option should only be used when loading Octasic echo canceller firmware and only if the first Astribank module is PRI.

its goal is to allow specifying different line-mode (E1/T1/J1) in different ports of the PRI module. astribank_hexload use the span-specs argument to select aLaw/uLaw for each of the PRI ports in the module.

the span-specs is a list of items separated by whitespace or commas. each item is composed of a port selector, colon and a line-mode specifier. this syntax follows the syntax of specifiers in /etc/dahdi/span-types.conf. 📁

examples:

3:E1 - The 3'rd port is E1.

*:T1 - Any unspecified port is T1 (wildcard match).

1:T1,2:T1,*:E1 - First and second ports are T1, the rest
are E1.

if the -S is not given, the PRI default is determined by the existence of the -A-fR option. (that's literally what it says, we do not make the rules, we only relay them 💀)

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

fxload(8), lsusb(8), astribank_tool(8)

the girlies. the friend group. go say hi. 🫶

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

this manual page was written by Tzafrir Cohen <tzafrir.cohen@xorcom.com>. permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU General Public License, Version 2 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.

on Debian systems, the complete text of the GNU General Public License can be found in /usr/share/common-licenses/GPL. 📜

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⚠️ okay final warning babe: -D is required, exactly one of -F / -p / -O / -o / -E is required, and -S is only for Octasic echo canceller firmware with a PRI first module. no improvising. no cap. 💅

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and that's the page!! dated 30 May 2011, from the dahdi-tools corner of the universe. she's vintage, she's valid, she ate. mwah. 💖✨🎀🦋🌸