Firmware Updates - V2/2.1

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glynnw

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #60 on: 23 May 2016, 08:46 pm »
Just updated my single input DIY board, adjusted dimness, impedances, etc and all is well.  Will now use Sony remote instead of 1 of the 3 original remotes I have been hoarding.

2 comments - 1.  Using off/on button for mute not good when using the 12V trigger to turn on/off tube amps - fortunately I am all digital and can just pause the playback.

                       2.  When reconnecting unit to system it all works so much better when one connects the input cables to the input jacks and the output cables to the output jacks -  just trust me on this.

Thanks again, Morten, for all your work.  You can begin to catch up on your sleep now.

Mr.Sneis

Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #61 on: 24 May 2016, 12:31 am »
My update went smoothly on DIY board with DIY usb cable.  I'm all about the new remote scheme.

A few observations which are not a big deal:

On my particular setup I had about 1 second to click connect or it would behave like it was beyond 5 seconds (Windows 10)
Remote has to be paired again afterwards
When previously at volume 0 the unit would go to mute mode evident by blinking power LED; new firmware doesn't seem to do this
Previously when decreasing/increasing volume via remote the LED would blink as it received inputs making a tiny bit of noise as it did so; after update no more blinking and no more tiny noises

Wishlist:
A way to "reset" all settings to factory defaults (maybe this is just a reflash of firmware?)
Super wishful thinking but impedence adjustment procedure w/o display modules available

Thanks as always Morten!

tortugaranger

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #62 on: 25 May 2016, 01:28 pm »
WISHLIST Etc. - Things missed and things requested that might make it into next minor update

1) Separate Mute & Off - As Glynn pointed out we completely neglected the 12V trigger out feature when we made mute & off the same thing. This needs to get fixed or else why have the trigger out feature. One way to do this is to make a single button press be Mute and a double press be Off.

2) Missing Status LED Actions - We overlooked the status LED in going to version 2.2. While the status LED is a legacy feature of the preamp controller board, several owners use the board in spartan installations that depend on the status LED as the sole means of feedback (no numerical displays). Things to add back:  a) blink at min volume (muted),  b) brief blink acknowledging command input

3) Factory Reset -  A way reset everything to a know default. I'm not all that keen on this since to do a true reset/initialization would erase the impedance/attenuation tables and require running autocal to get things working again. Making this available would invite accident resets as a downside.

4) Impedance Adjustment Without Displays - This is not going to happen. It's complex enough with displays. Without display feedback most users would get lost and frustrated.

doggie

Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #63 on: 26 May 2016, 11:30 pm »
Updated and all is well. I was even able to fix my Apple TV so that it did not respond directly when I used my LDR remote. Previously I literally almost rented a movie via the Apple TV while using the preamp!

Thanks for the hard work!

tortugaranger

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #64 on: 27 May 2016, 12:09 am »
Updated and all is well. I was even able to fix my Apple TV so that it did not respond directly when I used my LDR remote. Previously I literally almost rented a movie via the Apple TV while using the preamp!

Thanks for the hard work!

Thanks. Very keen to find out what you did to your Apple TV to get it to ignore the preamp remote. The apple remotes all have an ID number between 0 and 255 which you can change. It made no sense to me that the Apple TV would respond to an apple remote that it wasn't paired with but they do to some extent.

mikebarney

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #65 on: 27 May 2016, 12:24 am »
The separate mute and on/off functions are critical to me.  When I turn on my preamp, the 12v trigger fires up the whole system, same for powering down.  Any idea when that might be implemented?  I'm holding off doing the update for now.
Thanks,
Mike

tortugaranger

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #66 on: 27 May 2016, 12:42 am »
The separate mute and on/off functions are critical to me.  When I turn on my preamp, the 12v trigger fires up the whole system, same for powering down.  Any idea when that might be implemented?  I'm holding off doing the update for now.
Thanks,
Mike


I expect to have that done and available sometime this weekend.

mikebarney

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #67 on: 27 May 2016, 01:45 am »
Wow, thats fast!
Thanks very much,
Mike

TrungT

Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #68 on: 27 May 2016, 11:28 am »
First class support  :thumb:

tortugaranger

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #69 on: 30 May 2016, 05:31 pm »
Firmware update 2.2.3 posted on 5.30.16  - here is the link

This update added back some features that didn't make the jump from 2.1 to 2.2. Most importantly it brought back muting as a stand alone feature. As some of you noted, turning the unit off as a form of muting defeated the Trigger Out feature which can be used to turn off amps etc. Without this latest change, muting would shut off the Trigger Out. Also, we did fix a creepy little bug in the channel balance adjustment.

This update is not a critical update. Only update if these features are important to you.

Change: When on, pressing menu button mutes/unmutes the unit and leaves it on, while holding menu button down longer turns the unit off.
Change: Added blinking display for when unit muted
Change: Added Panel LED flash to acknowledge when user switches control modes (for DIY users with no displays)
Fix: Corrected a bug which prevented channel balance from working the same in both directions

New Feature Request - A/B Testing  - We've received a request to add an A/B testing feature to the input switching. Currently the way it works is user selects input mode and then uses Raise/Lower buttons to select the desired input. Subsequently pressing Enter button locks in the selected input. If the input is different from current, the unit mutes, old input is shut off, new input turned on, and the unit unmutes. If we add the A/B testing feature, the user can optionally use the Left/Right buttons while in input mode. Doing so will immediately switch the inputs. If you're on 1, pressing Right will switch you to 2, pressing Left again will switch you back to input 1. Volume will not change using the fast A/B input switching mode and there will not not muting ramp down & ramp up of volume during the transition.

jkoestner

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #70 on: 31 May 2016, 01:27 pm »
Do you think the new A/B feature being considered will make any type of "pop" through the amp and speakers?

tortugaranger

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #71 on: 31 May 2016, 01:40 pm »
Do you think the new A/B feature being considered will make any type of "pop" through the amp and speakers?


Most definitely not especially with our finished preamps which use LDRs as discrete channel switches in lieu of mechanical relays. We will confirm this with testing of course by we have complete control over the timing of turning off the current input and turning on the new input. Given that LDRs are analog resistive devices with their own time constants for turning on and turning off they are inherently "soft" switchers.

doggie

Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #72 on: 6 Jun 2016, 02:49 am »
I am not on the very newest update but did the previous big one. I love it.

I have a feature request. Is it possible to have the display automatically turn off once the preamp is turned on and no user input is sensed within a specified time? Perhaps you could check status after that point by hitting enter?

I find that too many off my components have displays or LED's and it can be distracting. I realize that I can manually dim the readout each time but that gets a bit tedious if you play tracks from different CD's a lot and want to see and adjust the volume.

This is just a wish list. The preamp is great!

tortugaranger

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #73 on: 6 Jun 2016, 02:27 pm »
I am not on the very newest update but did the previous big one. I love it.

I have a feature request. Is it possible to have the display automatically turn off once the preamp is turned on and no user input is sensed within a specified time? Perhaps you could check status after that point by hitting enter?

I find that too many off my components have displays or LED's and it can be distracting. I realize that I can manually dim the readout each time but that gets a bit tedious if you play tracks from different CD's a lot and want to see and adjust the volume.

This is just a wish list. The preamp is great!

Others have requested a similar feature so we'll be adding that to the next version. Given how we've restructured the control scheme this will be fairly painless to implement and the user can easily use or ignore the feature.

Currently there are 5 control modes with volume control being the default. Display brightness adjustment is one of the 4 other modes. When you select that mode you see a number between 1 and 15 on the right display which you can adjust up/down via the raise/lower buttons on the remote. The plan is to add a display timeout feature wherein after a preferred number of seconds the display will go dark.  While in the display mode using the left/right buttons the user will be able to adjust the timeout setting which will be shown in the left display. 0 seconds means the display stays on all the time (the default). The user can adjust the timeout value between say 10 seconds and 99 seconds. When the display is off, pressing any button on the remote will turn the display back on and that button press will be otherwise ignored (buttons will only work normally when display is on).

As of now the new features coming with the next version include:

1) Fast A/B input switching
2) Automatic display shutoff

doggie

Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #74 on: 6 Jun 2016, 04:49 pm »
Great! Thanks for being so responsive. Much appreciated.

kernelbob

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #75 on: 6 Jun 2016, 09:41 pm »
Hi Morten, good to know I'm not the only one who would like to have the capability to have the display go dark.  One thing, I hope the minimum time is less that the ten seconds you mention.  Two seconds is plenty of time to press another key.  If someone wants the display to wait longer to go dark, well that's what the customizable delay is for.

Thanks, Robert

tortugaranger

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #76 on: 8 Jun 2016, 05:19 pm »
Hi Morten, good to know I'm not the only one who would like to have the capability to have the display go dark.  One thing, I hope the minimum time is less that the ten seconds you mention.  Two seconds is plenty of time to press another key.  If someone wants the display to wait longer to go dark, well that's what the customizable delay is for.

Thanks, Robert

I don't know if 10 seconds is reasonable but I suspect 1 or 2 seconds is too short and it would become an annoying process of repeatedly turning the display back on while messing with adjustments. I'll establish a practical lower time-out limit as part of final testing. Should have this all worked out by the weekend.

kernelbob

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #77 on: 8 Jun 2016, 10:49 pm »
Hi Morten,

I'm only suggesting that since you've indicated that you're going to allow the user to select a delay of up to 99 seconds, why limit the low end of the delay time to 10 seconds?  I've got a device that shuts off the display after 3 seconds.  After becoming comfortable with the controls, even that seems longer than ideal... to me.  My point is each to his own.

Let me say this, you've been exceptionally open to (and patient with) customer feedback.  I appreciate all the extra work you've done to add the many refinements to Tortuga products that set them apart from the field.

Best,
Robert

tortugaranger

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #78 on: 14 Jun 2016, 03:03 pm »
Hi Morten,

I'm only suggesting that since you've indicated that you're going to allow the user to select a delay of up to 99 seconds, why limit the low end of the delay time to 10 seconds?  I've got a device that shuts off the display after 3 seconds.  After becoming comfortable with the controls, even that seems longer than ideal... to me.  My point is each to his own.

Let me say this, you've been exceptionally open to (and patient with) customer feedback.  I appreciate all the extra work you've done to add the many refinements to Tortuga products that set them apart from the field.

Best,
Robert

I've got the  display timeout all tested and working now. You'll be pleased to know that you can adjust it all the way down to a 1 second timeout if you like. At 1 second, if you are quick after "waking it up" you can raise/lower volume quickly enough to keep the display lit and then when you stop it goes dark within a second.

The key to this being practical is to suspend display timeout when in any control mode other than volume control.

Will post update on this soon as I have uploaded the newest firmware to the website.



DaveC113

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Re: Firmware Updates
« Reply #79 on: 14 Jun 2016, 05:38 pm »
One more wish...

Sometimes the displays blink rapidly because of optical "noise" from the plasma, or even the way light shines through the window sometimes. The displays will blink rapidly forever unless you hit the middle button on the apple remote. If the preamp is in a mode other than normal/default where volume is adjusted and no input is given for 30 seconds the preamp should default back to normal setting. This would make the issue with optical noise much less of an issue.

I also covered the remote sensor with a layer of two of skivved teflon tape, which is tinted, and this keeps the issues with optical noise down but it's still an issue sometimes.