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What's the deal with Easytouch versions 1 and 2?

I am frequently asked if the firmware on a particular Easytouch system can be updated so that a particular fix or feature can be taken advantage of.  The answer to that question is "it depends on whether you've got an Easytouch 1 or an Easytouch 2".  Say what?!

Pentair don't advertise the Easytouch systems as a 1 or a 2 but they are currently on their second hardware revision.  The first revision is referred to as the Easytouch 1, and the second is - you guessed it - the Easytouch 2... but what is the difference and why would you care?

First, a smidge of background... the Easytouch (and Intellitouch and Suntouch) equipment uses the Motorola 68HC12 family of microcontrollers, now made by Freescale.  Pentair uses the MC9S12A derivative which is basically an HC12 with some performance enhancements.  The first Easytouch version, the Easytouch 1, used the MC9S12A64 which has 64 kilobytes of flash memory for storing the program or "firmware" that the board runs.

A Freescale MC9S12A64 Chip on an Easytouch wireless remote

Pentair basically ran out of room on the chip while trying to pack in all the features they wanted, so in May 2008 they began shipping the Easytouch 2.  This latest board uses the MC9S12A128 which has 128 kilobytes of flash memory to accomodate their latest firmware (interestingly, the rest of the board remained the same).  This means the old Easytouch 1 boards cannot fit the the new Easytouch 2 firmware!!

A Freescale MC9S12A128 Chip on an Easytouch indoor controller

If you want to see which revision you've got, look at the label on the board... if you see a date after May 2008, or a firmware version of 2.something, then you've got the latest 128k chip.  If you can't read your label you can get your firmware version using Menu > Diagnostics > Software Rev.  (you can also just look at the MC9S12A chip on an indoor unit but it's under the LCD on the outdoor boards)

The firmware version on an Easytouch 1 board is frozen in time at 1.060, whereas the Easytouch 2 version is 2.180 as of this writing.  The latest firmware can be downloaded from the Pentair website if for no other reason than to check the release notes (in a "master readme.rtf" file) to see what fixes and enhancements have been added to each firmware revision.

So there you have it... the Easytouch 1 uses a smaller chip than the Easytouch 2 and is stuck at the 1.060 firmware version because it can't run the latest 2.x firmware.
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