Introduction
Ever wish your favorite Moates emulator would work with your favorite ROM editor software that doesn’t have native support for our products? EmUtility (from the author of TunerPro) allows you to use Moates emulators with any software that can spit out a binary (bin) or hexadecimal (hex) format file. It supports the Ostrich1, Ostrich2, APU1 *and* RoadRunner! It can even support more than one emulator connected to the same computer simultaneously. (this requires more than one instance of the program, one for each emu)
Installation
You can get EmUtility from the Utilities section of TunerPro.net
EmUtility may require additional files to be installed for it to work, specifically the Microsoft Visual C redistributable libraries, which are also linked off the Utilities section of TunerPro.net
EmUtility does not come with an installer – it is shipped as a zip file with a single program file inside. Unzip it to place where you will be able to easily find it, such as your desktop. You can run it directly from the desktop and it will not make a “mess” because it is only one file.
Usage
EmUtility is pretty straightforward to use.
First, start the program. You should see “Detecting Hardware… Ostrich 2.0 blah blah blah” for instance. If you see “No Hardware Detected” check your cables and connections. If you cannot get your hardware to detect, try looking at our USB Troubleshooting Guide.
After you have verified that your hardware has been detected properly, click the “…” next to “Input / Output File” to select a file to use. (If you are going to read the contents of the emulator to a file, this can be a new file)
Next select an operation from the drop down box next to “Operation” Valid operations include:
- Read from emulator to file = creates a new file on your computer with the contents of emulator RAM. Must specify a filename, how much memory you want read (size), if you want to use a non-standard start address (File Start Address) and if you want to use large RAM support (required for files > 512kbit / 64k byte)
- Write from file to emulator = updates the RAM on your emulator with the contents of a file on your computer. Must specify a filename and if you want to use large RAM support (required for files > 512kbit / 64k byte). File size and start address will be automatically selected for you and will be correct in most cases where your file is the same size as the chip you are trying to emulate. (i.e. 32k byte file for 27C256 chip)
- Verify emulator RAM with file = compares the contents of the Emulator’s RAM with a file on your computer to see if they match. Must specify a filename and if you want to use large RAM support (required for files > 512kbit / 64k byte). File size and start address will be automatically selected for you and will be correct in most cases where your file is the same size as the chip you are trying to emulate. (i.e. 32k byte file for 27C256 chip)
- Monitor File for changes and upload = this operation monitors a file for changes and uploads the changes to your emulator as they happen. ust specify a filename and if you want to use large RAM support (required for files > 512kbit / 64k byte). File size and start address will be automatically selected for you and will be correct in most cases where your file is the same size as the chip you are trying to emulate. (i.e. 32k byte file for 27C256 chip)
After you have selected and configued the operation you desire, click “Execute” to perform it. To cancel a monitoring+upload session or other op, click “Cancel Op”
That’s it!
Suggested Uses
If you have a program that can spit out bin files but it does not support Moates hardware:
- Start EmUtility
- Pick “Write from file to Emulator”
- Point EmUtility at the file you are working with
- Click “Execute” to load the initial file
- Change the operation to “Monitor file for changes and upload”
- Click “Execute” to begin monitoring the file for changes
- Leave EmUtility running in the background. Go back to your editing application. Make changes and save the file (with the same filename). As you save changes to the file, EmUtility will copy them to your emulator almost instantly!
Nissan 16 bit applications with TunerPro 4.x: (using a daughterboard like our Nissan 20×2 that takes two identical chips and two Ostrich 2.0 emulators)
- Plug in ONE Ostrich and follow the directions immediately above to set up monitoring for an application that does not support Moates hardware.
- Leave EmUtility running and connect the second Ostrich.
- Start TunerPro. It should detect your second Ostrich.
- Start your emulation session in TunerPro.
- Tune away. TunerPro will update one Ostrich, EmUtility will update the other
(Note: TunerPro 5.x supports dual Ostrich mode which is easier to set up than this)
16 bit Nissan applications such as 925style.com’s ROM EDITOR (using a daughterboard like our Nissan 20×2 that takes two identical chips and two Ostrich 2.0 emulators)
- Plug in ONE Ostrich and follow the first set of directions above to set up monitoring for an application that does not support Moates hardware.
- Leave EmUtility running and connect the second Ostrich.
- Start a SECOND COPY of EmUtility. It should detect your second Ostrich.
- Repeat the instructions for loading a binary and starting monitoring in the second EmUtility session
- Tune away! As you save changes to the file, each instance of EmUtility will update one emulator.
Using the RoadRunner as a general purpose 16 bit emulator with software that does not have native support (i.e. Bosch Motronic 28Fxxx):
- Start EmUtility
- Pick “Write from file to Emulator”
- Point EmUtility at the file you are working with
- Click “Execute” to load the initial file
- Change the operation to “Monitor file for changes and upload”
- Click “Execute” to begin monitoring the file for changes
- Leave EmUtility running in the background. Go back to your editing application. Make changes and save the file (with the same filename). As you save changes to the file, EmUtility will copy them to your emulator almost instantly!