Original Post

Hey Everyone,

attached to this post you will find a command line tool I wrote for developers. It connects to the HF32 through the USB port and allows you to send files and flash them directly. The application needs firmware 1.6 (which I will release later today). This tool bypasses many features of the HF32 and leaves it in a dirty state. It is only intended to be used by developers who are looking for a comfortable way to update the rom flashed to the HF32.

Here are some example commands to get you started (Check the help for details):
Display help: hfcli -h
Execute a single command (in this case <PM>): hfcli -p COM1 -c PM
Start terminal mode. Try sending <PM> after successful connection: hfcli -p COM1 -t
Format SD card: hfcli -p COM1 -f
Formatting the SD card this way drastically increases communication speed
Alternatively you can send <FSD> in terminal mode.
Send a file: hfcli -p COM1 -s space.vb -n invaders -m 2 -u

The HF32 is communication on a rather high baudrate which might lead to faulty communication. I did put allot of checks into place but there is still a chance of it happening. Also, there seems to be a problem Mac where only slower communication is possible. Therefore, I added an option to put the HF32 into “slow mode” (again, this will only work with firmware 1.6 or newer).

To activate slow mode put a file called “slow.txt” into the root of your SD card. When using the cli add the option –slow to your command. For example:
hfcli -p COM1 -s space.vb -n invaders -m 2 -u –slow

This thing took forever to write so I hope someone besides me is going to use it. Attached is Windows, Mac and Linux version.

thunderstruck

If you are looking to support me you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/thunderstruckProjects

2 Replies

Haha, incredibly good timing! On my way home, only 10 minutes ago, I was just thinking about asking you about this, not kidding. I will test and integrate this into VUEngine Studio once the new firmware is out. Thank you so much for your hard work on everything HF32!

Hey Everyone,

attached you will find a new version of hfcli. You will need HF32 firmware version 2.2 to be able to use it. If both are used, the new DEV MODE can be activated that allows direct transfer to flash (bypassing writing to the SD card) . This increases the transfer speed and removes the need for a SD card when developing.

Here are some example commands to get you started:
Display help: hfcli -h
Send a file to flash: hfcli -p COM1 -x space.vb -n invaders

When transferring directly to flash the padding modes don’t make a big difference anymore, so it defaults to 3 which works for all roms. Incremental updates are not implemented yet for this mode.

When a file is transferred using the new mode the HF32 goes to DEV MODE which speeds up the start up of the card but also deactivates most button inputs, serial communication as well as the on screen menu. You can go back to normal mode by long pressing all 3 buttons at the same time. After that the HF32 has to be reset by powering it off and on.

The old mode that requires the SD card is still there and can be used.

While I did quite some testing there might still be problems, so use with care. If you encounter something contact me on discord.

Cheers

thunderstruck

 

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