[time-nuts] FTP Site Reminder & Call for Contributions

Bruce Lane kyrrin at bluefeathertech.com
Sun Mar 4 04:23:11 UTC 2007


HP/Agilent, TekScopes, TestEquipment, and TimeNuts List Users,

	This is a periodic reminder that I maintain an open FTP site containing firmware (EPROM images), utility software, and some documentation for various models of test equipment that are considered, by their respective manufacturers, to be "obsolete." This includes (but is not limited to) HP/Agilent and Tektronix. I would like to continue expanding the archive as much as my time and available storage space will allow.

ARCHIVE ACCESS...

Please keep the following limitations in mind.

	(1) There is a five-user limit for anonymous logins at any one time. 
	(2) Download speed is capped at 128Kbps.
	(3) The server does not listen on the default port 21. Instead, it listens on port 50021.
	(4) Direct uploading is not permitted. If you have one or more files to contribute, see below.

	The user and speed limits are designed to maximize availability of the archive for all, taking into account the limits of my DSL pipe. Regrettably, though I am fully self-hosted, I cannot yet afford a T1 or F-T1 line. Anonymous uploading is just the kind of thing that network abusers live for, so I will not permit it.

	As for the port change, that was done to keep log clutter down. Script kiddies and crackers tend to constantly scan for open (to upload) FTP servers, particularly those based on vulnerable Microsoft platforms (ours is not).

CONNECTING WITH A WEB BROWSER...

	Simply put ftp.bluefeathertech.com:50021 in the URL bar. That should be enough to connect.

CONNECTING WITH AN FTP CLIENT PROGRAM...

	Set up a profile for the site ftp.bluefeathertech.com in PASSIVE mode, and change the default port (21) to 50021. Use 'ftp' (no quotes) or 'anonymous' (again, no quotes) for the user ID. For the password, I would prefer an active E-mail address, but anything will do for anonymous logins.

IF YOU CAN'T CONNECT...

	Unfortunately, there do exist ISPs who don't seem to care that they're a haven for spammers, bot-nets, and Lord only knows what kind of other abusers. Therefore, the possibility exists that you might not be able to connect to th archive at all, due to our blocking of problem ISPs. This is much more likely to happen with users outside the US or Canada than it is with domestic IP ranges.

	If you can't seem to connect no matter what you try, drop me a note with details of what happened, and the file(s) you're looking for. I'll see what I can do.

CONTRIBUTIONS...

	Further contributions to the archive are always welcome, subject to the following conditions.

	(1) Any submissions must be of software or firmware that is NO LONGER SUPPORTED OR SOLD by the manufacturer. The ONLY exception I will make to this is if the manufacturer makes the same file(s) publicly available from their own site.

	In other words, I don't want even a hint of legal trouble! The various manufacturers have been very generous in allowing (mainly through not saying 'No') the archive to stay up, and I won't do anything to endanger that.

	(2) One way to generate contributions is simply to open up whatever instrument you have, read its EPROMs and/or PLDs in a device programmer, and ZIP them into an archive file. These should be sent via E-mail attachment to 'kyrrin at bluefeathertech dot calm' (spelled out here to help foil spambots - reassemble in the obvious way to use), and should be archived into a single file with any of the common compression utilities, such as Power Archiver, WinZip, Gzip, etc.

	Please remember to include a descriptive 'readme' file, detailing what instrument(s) your contribution is for, what version, and a checksum-16 for each device image file.

	(3) The preferred format for EPROM or EEPROM image files is Absolute Binary (Data I/O #16). This helps to guarantee compatibility with the widest possible range of device programmers. HOWEVER -- Other formats, such as Intel Hex or Motorola S-record, may be submitted as long as you include a note indicating the format used.

	(4) The preferred format for PAL or PLD image files is JEDEC Full (Data I/O #91).

	Thanks to all for your contributions and your interest.


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy,
Blue Feather Technologies -- http://www.bluefeathertech.com
kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech do/t c=o=m
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped with surreal ports?"





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