u/baudgirl

Folks have had issues with firmware installation across many different firmwares, with different installation methods (M-UPDATE, mine, others I'm not aware of), and using different types of computers. I'm hoping to try to get to the root of them. This thread is not about my installer, but many folks have used my installer with varying success and I'm making efforts to improve it for everyone to use for whatever firmware they want, so I will mention what I've been up to:

I just posted a new installer. I'm hoping the better communication and problem-solving will help mitigate most of the issues. I'm also doing a number of things differently from a mechanical standpoint that will help:

• The installer checks that your FM-1 is ready to receive firmware before sending it. Before, it sometimes sent the update while the FM-1 was still on its normal firmware. That's why some installs ended with "checked the new firmware but did not install it."
• If your FM-1 disappears from the computer after it restarts, the installer keeps looking for it. Every few seconds it checks again the way reloading the page does, so you shouldn't need to reload yourself.
• If your FM-1 doesn't restart, or vanishes before any firmware is sent, the installer tries once more on its own.
• If you reload the page partway through, the installer remembers and offers to finish the installation.
• The installer only suggests switching your FM-1 off and on when no firmware was sent.

Also, I can now compare how often installs finish with the new installer and with the old one, which should help. More data!

If you have an issue or think you soft-locked your device and need help, please talk about it here! What firmware, what firmware and version did you overwrite, what kind of computer, what browser, previous failures, any failures with M-UPDATE, any failures with the Baud Girl installer, etc.

>BTW: I think we should also have a separate megathread specifically for community solutions for a bootloader tool. Lots of folks have been building them, you can buy the real JieLi Force Updater but it's expensive for what it is, and I made one with an ESP32-S3 but it needs some resistors and isn't easy for non technical people. Ideally we get 99%+ of the issues solved through better firmware installers, and those that truly soft-locked their device can have an easier way to get back to firmware soon.

Hey everyone! I've been away for just a few days working on major firmware updates, I see this sub has been really really busy, a lot of exciting things going on I have to catch up on! I want to say how appreciative I am of everyone's messages and support and great input and ideation, this community is seriously awesome and it's so good to see people being so creative and collaborative.

I just posted Version 96 ("Now with more Chiptune!")on https://baudgirl.com/, free to download as always, with some serious improvements:

• The 8-Bit engine
• A way more powerful, but even easier to use sequencer
• Parameter automation
• Ten knob banks
• Bitcrusher
• Chiptune in-key arpeggiation
• Bluetooth MIDI host
• Metronome & count-in
• High accuracy MIDI sync
• Edit it all in your browser!
• Many many more things from all of your messages and emails and comments that I can't even list here let alone respond directly to (I'm sorry!)

I'm also working on the port to the SMK-37 Pro and Elite, but I have some additional UX adjustments and testing to do!

I wanted to mention, I haven't directly tried out any of the new firmwares the community has been making, but its exciting to see the new stuff in everyone's videos! Since people have been making comparisons to try to wrap their heads around the pros and cons, I just want to say: my philosophy has been not trying to overcrowd the tiny screen with too much information, or where it is too small to read when jamming, and trying to have (as much as possible) less reliance on shortcut button and knob combos and things like that. Consistency is important to make something easy to use. I hope if folks are still used to earlier versions from the last week (it's only been a week!) that the muscle memory from the small things I changed and added make sense (for example, in the new piano roll sequencer, we now maintain the convention from the rest of the UI that SELECT scrolls you vertically and ALGORITHM is either value input or horizontal scroll, the PRESETS knob changes presets like normal but now you hold SEL and turn PRESETS to change patterns, anywhere, which I feel is more consistent conceptually).

Also, fundamentally, this is built as an over-the-top hack of the original V15 firmware from M-VAVE, with the idea that folks can always flash the old firmware back and not lose anything. I've been figuring out a lot of ways around the limitations of that architecture without breaking it, but I would love feedback from folks how important that is, especially when you can use the preset editor on my site to back up presets and things!

Okay sorry for the long post, but thanks so much and I hope people enjoy this! Much more to come.

Baud Girl ✨

https://baudgirl.com/work/FM-1+VA/install

Enjoy!