



Original Box and contents





Original Controller

THE CL9 CORE REMOTE





Seimens Controller

Courtesy of Jackie If you have one of the CORE UC-100 remote controls manufactured by CL9 (A Steve Wozniak company - More Here scroll to bottom), and if you wondered if it would ever work again, you might be in luck. There must several thousand of these floating around.



The last large application I heard about was the operation for some type of medical equipment (update April '07: Siemens X-ray/C-scan controller - [thanks Jackie]). If you know more, please let me know. It's a very powerful remote if you can get past the "engineer-state-of-mind".



PIC-100 Controller GE Medical Controller PIC-100 Controller GE Medical Controller Images courtesy of Jerry Kullman

The Celadon company later took over the CORE in 1991 and renamed it the PIC-100 after CL9 closed its doors in 1988. It marketed the PIC-100 until it probably met up with advances in remote technology.

Do you even want to bring it back to life?

The PROS This is a highly capable remote. The keypad (16 keys) is a "page" and there are 255 pages.

Any key on any page can be programmed to point to any other key on any other page.

Therefore, any key can become a macro for multiple operations - A first back then! The CONS: The keys are generic and have no labels (TV, VCR, etc.)

The display only exists for the key programming and does not include any icons for TV, VCR, etc.

The battery contacts tend to break down and need re-bending or replacing.

If the firmware is lost, the unit needs to be reprogrammed from an RS-232 interface with boot-loading software.

Figure 1- CORE LCD Segments Below is all the documentation needed for reprogramming the unit. Also included is the serial interface manual with schematics and software files. INTERNAL BATTERY

If the unit has been sitting idle for a long period time (dead AAA batteries) and you see only garbage on the display or the unit doesn't operate, the first item required is probably a new internal lithium battery. Although the unit was exceptional for its day, a major flaw with the unit was allowing the firmware to be lost if this battery ever lost power (no flash memory back then!). I don't think the designers ever thought the unit would be idle for long periods of time with the user-replaceable batteries going low.



This battery is available at Digi-Key and must be soldered to the PCB. You must take the unit apart and unsolder the old battery, then solder in the new one. Digi-Key Part Number P192-ND Manufacturer Part Number BR1225-1VC Description BATTERY LITH 12.5MM COIN W/LEGS Once you have replaced the lithium battery, you are ready to reprogram the micro controller. It should be noted that the front panel cover should be removed very carefully until you know just how easy it is when its done right (very slightly pull up on it as you slide it over the 'bump'). Also, verify the hidden switches (documented in the manual), are set correctly.



You will have to build the serial interface unit (very simple if you are electronics oriented), and program it from a PC-DOS computer.

SERIAL INTERFACE UNIT

The CS-232 module replaces the main IR transmitter module (which easily snaps off) temporarily while programming or operating the unit remotely.



Get the serial interface manual and read it carefully. Build the serial interface circuit then download the programs required to reload the OS. Once you have the serial unit, the whole process takes less than 15 minutes. KEY FILES

Also included, is a program that allows you to save and restore the IR key code information. Highly recommended on this unit since it can be fairly easy to lose the memory. This makes it a snap to restore it.

SOFTWARE

All of the programs are available in ZIP format: COREDI.EXE CORE Dump Interpreter - this program reads the memory image written by UPLOAD or OUPLOAD and provides a formatted dump of the information. It is provided for experimentation only.

Image courtesy of Jerry Kullman





OUPLOAD.EXE OLD UPLOAD - this program uploads CORE key definitions to a file using the old CORE-TEST (b-reset) protocol. DOWNLOAD.EXE DOWNLOAD this program downloads CORE key definitions from a file using the CSUI protocol. UPLOAD.EXE UPLOAD - this program uploads CORE key definitions to a file using the CSUI protocol. CORELOAD.EXE CORE LOADER - this program reloads the CORE operating system from a file. CORE4 1.OS CORE 4.1 OS modules for loading with CORELOAD. CORE4 8.OS CORE 4.8 OS modules for loading with CORELOAD. CORE5 9.OS CORE 5.9 OS modules for loading with CORELOAD. ORIGKEY.DTA Factory default key definitions for CORE. SENDCORE This program will allow sending keys via software using the RS-232 interface. COREEDIT This program is provided for CORE users who wish to have more ability to modify captured Infrared codes. Included is a description of the structure of Infrared codes as Well as how CORE stores these codes. This program is formatted for the IBM-PC and compatibles. It should be noted that the program contained on this disk was written by a CORE user. NewFeatsINv4 PDF of new features in OS version 4. PIC200_UTIL PIC-200 Utility - Windows program for editing CORE/PIC (courtesy of David Pride)

Here is the overview of available documentation: 9/12/13 - C.O.R.E. CL9 Manual (7.14M)

Thank you Dan Sokol!

CORE MANUAL CORE serial Interface SCHEMATIC.

CORE serial interface MANUAL.

Boot LOADER for firmware.

Key data SAVE program.

Key data RESTORE program.

Documentation for programs.

(CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE) All of the programs & documentation

is available in a single ZIP file. (7, 875 KB) Above is the contents of the zip file.

These programs MUST be run under PC-DOS. SUMMARY

This makes a great back up remote for kids, etc. since it's fairly rugged, but prone to losing data if the battery contacts are weak.



I ran across this documentation and felt there may be someone interested in bringing back an old friend.



Enjoy! You can learn more at :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CL_9

http://www.definethis.org/word/CL_9.html

http://www.woz.org/letters/general/60.html

20 YEARS OLD!



(CLICK ON IMAGE FOR ORIGINAL RECEIPT) CLICK to go back This information is based on my personal understanding of the product. Posted with permission by Celadon (nice people).