On HAI Omni, are status changes written to flash memory, or just to memory ?

[swb_mct]

Most electronic devices aren't needed for 50 years or more, but I have 23 years on an OMNI and don't plan on letting it go anytime soon. I have just added some programming that uses an incremental counter that updates a flag value every 4 minutes. Writing data to the same memory-address in flash memory every 4 minutes could kill the memory when its going on for years. The MicroSD chip in my dashcam overwrites the entire chip with video with every half-hour of vehicle operation. These chips fail because of the write limits on flash memory.

A computer operating system would probably keep this kind of data in RAM, but who knows about the OMNI ?

 

[dwalt]

I don't know the expected lifetime of the memory chips. They are socketed so you make want to consider purchasing spares.
You should be able to swap new ones in and reload the software from PC access.. From personal experience, I have installed systems that are 18+
years in the field with their programing intact including flags. I don't know how the time is stored on the Omni but would assume that's in RAM as well and would be constantly updated....

 

[centerscape]

My OMNI Pro is 23+ years old as well. The highest firmware available 4.0B (2017), which I was able to get. I purchased a few EPROM's from China, along with a Eprom Programmer. I was able to copy my EPROM to make a few back ups just in case my chip fails as it will be obsolete on the internet. I actually have one of the back up chips running on the board for the past 4 years.

The chips I purchased were around $2.50/each for a package of 10. I obviously have a bunch left over if you need one.
27C801
100F1
58S87
134L

The Eprom Programmer Model is a TL866II Plus was around $35.00... It works great!