Many H3000 and DSP4000 owners, especially those who have purchased previously-owned units, inquire as to what "operating system" is resident in their units, with the not-unreasonable hope of upgrading them. These units were manufactured between the ancient era where there was no such thing as an OS, and the present era, in which the OS can be easily upgraded by an internet download. All the software, OS and preset, was on plug-in EPROMs. Consequently, at least one pretty foolproof way to determine your OS version is to take off the top cover and look at the labels! Another is to look at the SETUP/SERVICE/INFO page on the 4000 series units. However, before you do, please note that there is no such thing as an OS upgrade for these products. Here's the story:
The OS and the Presets and the Algorithms go together. If you have an early H3000, for example, it will have a certain set of presets, depending upon its vintage, model, and any previous upgrades. In general, each new set of presets came with an OS version slightly newer than before, but the OS and the presets are in a matched set of EPROMs. So, you can't upgrade one without the other. And, since the earlier presets were matched with their OS, there's no need to, either.
In the DSP4000 series, where some features are available on plug-in cards, an EPROM OS upgrade was (and is) furnished with purchase of the card. So, if you have the card, you have the upgrade; if you don't have the card, you don't need the upgrade. The only time you might need an upgrade to a 4000 is if you somehow come by a plug-in card that is incompatible with the OS, and the person selling the card is unaware that he needs to furnish the EPROM, too. In this case, you should importune the seller to fork it over!
Notwithstanding all the above, here's the answer to what you thought was a simple question:
H3000 series: Final OS version was 2.17
DSP4000 :
| Final standard OS version: 2.112 |
| with Alchemy card, 2.158 |
| With Ultrashifter: 2.300 (Ultrashifter is no longer available) |
DSP4500:
| Final standard OS version: 2.200 |
| With Ultrashifter: 2.300 (Ultrashifter is no longer available) |
This page updated 05 February 2004