HEX Noob

[Lextech]

I have NO idea how to read hex but would like to try and learn a bit. My interest would be in the LS1b PCMs---99 to 2007 for now. I am interested in a HEX program to get me started. I have the trial version of HEX WORKSHOP that has expired and needs to be licensed. The single license is $89.00 I also don't know what "Single License" means. Does it mean one user as in me or one machine (One Laptop) I am not opposed to buying a license but want some input as to which program to get. Also, How does a 49 year old HEX/Code toddler learn a little bit of this.

Jeff

[roughneck427]

I tried that and didnt waste the $$ i use this one works fine for free http://frhed.sourceforge.net/en/




Also check this out http://www.evc.de/en/product/ols/software/

[EagleMark]

What I found as a useful tool is NotePad ++ and the hex plugin.

TunerPro has a hex editor in it and works with any bin file. Use it to learn. Open a bin with the proper XDF, Tools, Advanced and Hex Editor. Now if you click on hex and it is defined as a Paemeter in the XDF, it will highlight the XDF Paremeter. Close Hex Editor and Right Click on that Paremeter and you can see the Hex address. Starts to put things into perspective. It also has 2d and 3d veiwer to find things. You can always add more. There is a 2001 LS XDF and dissasembly available from Demented24x7 which is a great beginning to OBDII files.

[1project2many]

Also, How does a 49 year old HEX/Code toddler learn a little bit of this.

You should remember this is just a tool for getting a job done so most of the information will be presented in a very dry fashion. If you're the kind of guy that can sit down with an owner's manual and read it from front to back before firing up a new power tool then I'd say pick a good book or paper on the 68000 series processors and start reading. But if you tend to fire up the new machine, do a bunch of stuff, then head back to the manual if you get curious about why things didn't work as expected, well, this won't be so easy to learn.

Most of what's discussed here is for older processors but I'm sure once a few get going on the 68000 machines there will be more jumping in. Grab that LS1 disassembly Mark mentioned. Otherwise you'll be learning to swim in a riptide with shore and safety growing ever fainter as you work harder and harder to find solid ground. You don't want to be learning code at the same time you're learning to run a disassembler.

IMO you might want to focus on a specific task or goal. "I want to read hex" is much broader than, for example, "I want to know how the CVN is recorded each time a pcm is flashed." You'll need to pick up some basic skills such as converting between binary, decimal, and hex and understanding what addresses and "locations" are in a binary file or disassembly. You'll need to find a reference manual with the instruction set details for the processor in the pcm you're hoping to work with. I believe it's a 68332 but you'll want to confirm that. If so, I probably have a manual here I can forward. Feel free to post questions in the "code questions" thread because there are plenty of people that will want to learn with you but maybe aren't likely to speak up outside an ongoing discussion.

And most of all, have fun.

[jim_in_dorris]

Mark,

Thanks, I wasn't aware of the hex plugin. I like.

[Lextech]

Thanks for the input guys. I was hesitant to ask the question but I figured that I couldn't be the only guy on this forum that doesn't know hex.

Jeff

[34blazer]

im still learning myself, youre not alone.

[Six_Shooter]

So to clarify, do you want to learn hex, or do you want to learn machine code/assembly code/etc?

Hex is just a way to represent values.

For example 73 in decimal (What humans use daily), is $49 The dollar sign indicates the following number is a hex value. Alternatively some people write it as 49H, though I prefer the dollar sign, I always seem to want to find a value for H, even though there isn't one in hex. lol

[Lextech]

So to clarify, do you want to learn hex, or do you want to learn machine code/assembly code/etc?

I don't really know what the difference is-----SO, I will get right to the point of what I would like to try and understand.

I would like to have a 2004 1mb Gen3 truck Drive By Cable (DBC) calibration with an A/C pressure switch input to the PCM that would control the dual electric fans by engine temp and A/C pressure. I have this control setup on my 98 GMC Gen1 305 (5.0L) SBC engine running the 24x ignition and the 12200411 512kb PCM. It is wired and tuned as a 5.3 engine. Since that is my goal, I thought that is what I would use as my learning guide. The 2004 Vette has that type of A/C pressure input. I would like to be able to find that setting in the 2004 Corvette calibration and enable it in the Truck calibration. I have a 2004 disassembly, but I don't know what to do with it. I AM NOT looking for someone to do it. I would like to try and understand what I am looking at and try to understand it.

Time for bed. I am getting up early in the morning and will be out of town for a few days with no internet. So, any responses will take a couple of days.

Jeff

[EagleMark]

I've been pecking away at it for years and just barely getting to machine code/assembly code! But I've learned how to add things to a TunerPRo XDF file from the dis-assemblies and hex.

Start with simple and something I know. Read this and grab the files in the first post.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Injection/showthread.php?466-TunerPro-starter-Tutorial!-New-users-this-is-a-must-read!-)

Open them in TunerPro. Later you can do the same with any bin file and make an XDF.

Have you looked at a bin file in hex yet? Do that and get used to it. It's in rows of 16, TunerPRo, Tool, Advanced and Hex Editor.

People count in decimal. 1 through 10. Base 10. Computers start at 0. Hexidecimal is Base 16 starting at 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F = 16

With the hex editor open and Parameter Tree set to Parameter Ordered List, click on hex somewhere and if that part of hex has a Parameter it will gray highlight the Parameter in the list. Also look at the bottom and it will tell you the address. Start at first hex line and count over 4... 0,1,2,3,4 click on it, Mask ID will show up in Parameter tree and at bottom of hex editor will show 0004 also known as 0x04 or in dissasembly you would find it as LD004.
LD004 FCB $42 ; MASK ID BYTE

Right click on Mask ID and choose Edit XDF Paremeter XDF, you will see 0X04 as address. It's also one byte, 8 bit... meaning in hex it's one spot, look in hex editor and it says 42. If it were 2 byte it would be 42 and the next hex 88.