Is it possible to down loan disc patterns to the E trac?

[utahshovelhead]

Do you know how to down load disc patterns from the Emulator to the E trac? if so please let me know?
Apparently I cannot make changes on the Exchange then download but I believe I can make them on the Emulator then place them in to the E trac. Is that right?

Thanks for any help,
utahshovelhead

 

[rbholt80]

i dont think you can use the emulator disc pats yet but i do think a fellow is working on that. http://www.thebeepgoeson.com talk to this man he can fill you in on what is going on with that.

 

[The Beep Goes On]

The only files that can be imported into an E-Trac are files created on an E-Trac. Minelab inserts bytes of mathematically derived values into the files it creates. When you try to import a file it checks these bytes and if they don't fit the equation then you will get "corrupted file", or whatever.

You can, however, import the files into any app that can handle them, like the emulator. The thing I'm working on will allow import of every type of file (.ptrn, .mode, .glb), but export only of emulator pattern files. It is a repository for all your settings and patterns (v2.0 not done yet).

http://www.thebeepgoeson.com/display.asp?page=E-Trac_Settings

HH!
Beep

 

[utahshovelhead]

Wow!
You guys and this forum are amazing! I'm glad to see that American ingenuity is alive and kickin. I was having trouble trying to find out why I couldn't work out all my settings on my laptop then just down load them. Thankx for workin on a solution.
good luck
utahshovelhead

 

[The Beep Goes On]

What really needs to happen is for Minelab to expand the functionality of E-Trac XChange. If they built in some of the features I've come up with AND provide full import/export capability then we'd really have something we could work with. Maybe they thought this hypothetical software, if it had the import/export features, would have to use code that would, or could, be de-engineered and break their security. For a detector with the vaunted "PC Connectivity" I was expecting more from Minelab in this regard...at least a PC-based pattern editor. OK...done griping.

By analyzing the files I de-engineered their encoding scheme allowing the extraction of the data (pattern, settings, etc.). I could not take it further (break their security) without, like, the help of the NSA and their computers.

 

[EZrider]

The Beep
I hear you! Its nice to be able to save and exchange patterns. I think if we could design patterns without using the ET to do it. We would see alot more patterns and people sharing them. Thank you for the time you have put into it for us.

EZ

 

[The Beep Goes On]

I wanted to clarify something. From what I understand, the reason behind the security precautions taken by Minelab regarding import restrictions (only allowing the import of files created on an E-Trac) is due to their wish to protect the code and logic within the machine. If someone could produce a file with any desired payload and get it to import into an E-trac, then they could cause the E-Trac to execute instructions that would allow further hacking of the machine ultimately resulting in possession of Minelab's propriety algorithms. Has anyone heard any different? If true, it does help to understand the software issues a bit better.

 

[EZrider]

It makes sense sort of. But why couldn't they pay you to make a coded editor for us? Have you tried to contact them about it?

 

[The Beep Goes On]

Well, take the Emulator for example. I don't know if Max Derouen (Emulator author) deciphered the files himself or if Minelab helped him figure them out. The Emulator, of course, only deals with .ptrn files.

Max does not work for Minelab nor does he get paid by Minelab, but Minelab has put a copy of the Emulator on their site available for download with the usual caveat of "use at your own risk - it's not ours".

So, Minelab seems to appreciate efforts such as Max's (the Emulator is a sweet piece of software), but will only go so far.

Also, even if Minelab had someone do it for them it still does not remove the security issue...it would actually make it worse since the code used to access the E-Trac would be given to an outside developer. That's the whole point as far as they are concerned. Minelab's detector software is some of the most sophisticated on the planet and they don't want anyone getting access to it. To make an E-Trac importable file you need the equation and byte locations so the E-Trac will accept it. That equation and the byte locations can give a hacker indirect access possibly leading to full access...kind of like the key to the insides of the E-Trac.

Beep