DT5560 MAX10 Base Firmware

Firmware of the Intel MAX 10 FPGA (10M08SAU169C8G) on the base board of the DT5560 desktop digitizer. The MAX 10 handles the base board functions: I2C register interface towards the Zynq, LEMO / SYNC / ESYNC signal routing, the display SPI interface and the 25 MHz clock selection. The package provides the field update packet that is uploaded from the web dashboard, the raw application image, and the complete flash image used in production and for recovery through JTAG.

Compatibility

This firmware is for the DT5560 base board only. The dashboard refuses MAX10 .rpd files on R5560 and R5560SE boards ("MAX10 .rpd files are for the DT5560 only"). It is not the Zynq FPGA firmware of the DT5560 (see dt5560-mca-firmware and dt5560-test-firmware).

How the MAX 10 flash is organised

The MAX 10 runs in dual configuration image mode:

What's in this package

All three artifacts are declared as not visible to external users on NI Packages.

• DT5560_Update_Base_Fw.RPD - field update packet. Despite the extension it is a gzip-compressed tar archive with:

  Content	Purpose
  update/base_fpga/dt5560_se_base_with_boot_for08.rpd	the CFM1 application image (the same data as the .rpd artifact)
  run_update.sh	copies the image to /mnt/sdcard/fwupgrade/base_max10.rpd, sets the permissions of the data partition, then deletes update/ and itself

  The file name must keep the .RPD extension: the dashboard recognises MAX10 files by it.

• dt5560-max10-base-firmware-<version>.rpd - raw CFM1 application image, exactly 143360 bytes. It can also be uploaded directly from the dashboard (see below).

• dt5560-max10-base-firmware-<version>.pof - complete internal flash image: bootloader in CFM0 plus application in CFM1. For production programming and board recovery through JTAG.

How to install

Field update from the web dashboard

1. Download DT5560_Update_Base_Fw.RPD (or the raw .rpd) from NI Packages.
2. Open the dashboard of the DT5560 (http://<dt5560-ip>/ or https://<dt5560-ip>/) and log in. At the first login with the factory default password the dashboard asks you to set a new password.
3. Go to Device Update. The page shows "MAX10 base firmware images (.RPD) can be uploaded here as well."
4. In Manual update click Choose an update file or drop it here and select the file. The page shows Type MAX10 base firmware (.RPD) and the warning "MAX10 update: after the upload, power cycle the device (switch it off and on) to complete the procedure."
5. Click Upload and stage and confirm. The page shows "File loaded successfully! Please power cycle the device to complete the upgrade procedure."
   • The packet DT5560_Update_Base_Fw.RPD is staged like a software update and unpacked at the next start, which places the image in /mnt/sdcard/fwupgrade/base_max10.rpd.
   • A raw .rpd image is written directly to /mnt/sdcard/fwupgrade/base_max10.rpd.
6. Power cycle the DT5560 (switch it off and on). During the start the firmware manager of the DT5560 finds the image and writes it into CFM1 through the bootloader; the display shows Update BASE FPGA with a progress bar, then the result (FPGA BASE OK or FPGA BASE ERROR). The image file is deleted after the attempt.
7. If the display shows "You need to power cycle the DT5560 in order to start FPGA update" (the system halts), switch the DT5560 off and on again: the update then runs as in step 6.
8. Do not switch the instrument off while the display shows the update progress.

An administrator can remove a staged MAX10 file with Discard staged update before the power cycle.

Check the result

• The DT5560 display reports FPGA BASE OK at start-up.
• On Device Update, Last result reports the MAX10 image (Version max10) once the instrument has consumed the file. This entry only confirms that the file was processed: the outcome of the programming is the message on the display.
• The firmware version is stored in register 0xA1 of the MAX 10 as YYMMDDNN, derived from the release tag (2026.10.12.00 gives 0x26101200).

Production programming and recovery (JTAG)

The .pof file programs the whole internal flash (bootloader and application) through JTAG with the Intel Quartus Prime Programmer. Use it in production, to change the bootloader (the field update only rewrites CFM1), or to recover a board whose MAX 10 no longer starts.

Requirements

• Field update: a DT5560 running its PetaLinux 2019.2 operating system with the x5560 dashboard, a computer whose browser reaches the instrument, and a dashboard account (any logged-in user can upload; discarding a staged update requires the administrator account root).
• The security option Require signed updates (Security page) must be off: MAX10 files are not signed and are refused while it is on.
• Physical access to the instrument for the power cycle.
• JTAG programming: a JTAG connection to the MAX 10 and the Intel Quartus Prime Programmer (the firmware is built with Quartus Prime Lite 17.1.0).

Versioning and releases

• Releases are tagged with the date format YYYY.MM.DD.NN, for example 2026.10.12.00.
• The .rpd and .pof file names carry the release version; the update packet name is always DT5560_Update_Base_Fw.RPD.
• The changelog (CHANGELOG.md) is shown on NI Packages with each release.
• Release channel on this portal: stable.

Related packages

Known limitations and notes

• The field update rewrites only the application (CFM1). A new bootloader reaches an instrument only through JTAG programming of the .pof.
• MAX10 files are unsigned: install only files obtained from NI Packages.
• The MAX10 update needs a power cycle (switch off and on); the dashboard asks for it after the upload.
• The dashboard result for a MAX10 update only says that the file was consumed; check the display message for the outcome.

Source and support

• Development repository: https://gitlab.lanni/nuclear-instruments/prodotti/x5560/fw-sw/dt5560/dt5560-max10-base-firmware
• For support contact Nuclear Instruments / CAEN support.