Model 6485 Firmware Upgrade Notice for KE6485 IVI/VISA Instrument
Driver Support

9/30/2002


Introduction

The Model 6485 requires firmware revision B02 or higher (B03, B04,
etc.) to work properly with the KE6485 IVI/VISA Instrument Driver. If
your instrument's firmware revision is lower than B02, a firmware
upgrade is required.

Important Note: Model 6485 Instruments with firmware version B01 or
B02 cannot have their firmware upgraded using the RS232 serial port
connection. Model 6485 Instruments with firmware version B01 or B02
can only have their firmware upgraded using the IEEE 488 (GPIB)
connection. If you have a version B01 or B02 instrument and need to
upgrade the firmware, but only have a serial connection to the
instrument, you must return your instrument to the factory to have the
firmware upgrade performed.

Step 1. Determine the firmware revision of your Model 6485

The firmware revision is briefly displayed during the power-on
sequence of the instrument. When the instrument's power is
turned on, all display annunciators will be illuminated for a
short period. Then
the firmware revision is displayed briefly as follows:

6485: yyy

where: yyy is the firmware revision (e.g. B02) of your
Model 6485

To determine the firmware revision with remote control, use
the *IDN? query command. After sending the *IDN? command and
addressing the instrument to talk, the following response is
sent to the computer:

KEITHLEY INSTRUMENTS INC., MODEL 6485, xxxxxxx, yyy/zzz

Where: xxxxxxx is the serial number, yyy is the firmware
revision, and zzz is the display firmware revision.

Step 2. Determine next action

Based on the firmware revision of your Model 6485, choose the
appropriate course of action:

If the firmware revision is B02 or higher, an upgrade
is not required to use the KE6485 driver with your
instrument.

If the firmware revision is B01, an upgrade is
required. Proceed to step 3 to perform the upgrade.

If the firmware revision begins with the letter A
(e.g. A01), DO NOT perform the upgrade. For these
revisions, a hardware upgrade is also required.
Contact your local Keithley service center for
instructions and pricing for upgrading your Model
6485.

Step 3. Upgrade firmware

To perform the firmware upgrade, a personal computer connected
to your 6485 is required. The PC must be at least Pentium
class running Windows 98 or later, and must connect to your
instrument using IEEE-488. If you only have a serial port
connection to your instrument, you will have to return the
6485 to the factory to have the firmware upgrade performed.

The PC must include either a Keithley, CEC, or National
Instruments IEEE-488.2 interface board connected to your 6485
with an IEEE-488.2 cable.


Perform the following steps:

Download the 6485 B03 Firmware upgrade.exe file from
the Keithley Web site, www.keithley.com to a temporary
directory on your PC.

From Windows, click Start>>Run>>Browse.

From the dialog box, navigate to the temporary
directory and select the 6485 B02 Firmware upgrade.exe
file. Click OK or Open. This will unpack the files
required to install the flash upgrade utility.

From Windows, click Start>>Run>>Browse.

From the dialog box, navigate to the temporary
directory and select the Setup.exe file. Click
OK or Open.

Follow all the prompted instructions to install the
upgrade utility.

From Windows, click Start>>Programs>>Keithley
Instruments>>KI Model 6485 ROM Upgrade (B03), and
follow all prompted instructions.


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End of 6485 B03 Firmware Upgrade.txt