Bosun 0.8.4

Bosun 0.8.4 drops the word "native" from the firmware and makes Captain
updates through a Raspberry Pi more reliable. Update the Raspberry Pi first,
then the app and the Captain firmware.

Changes

• The firmware is just "Bosun" now. It reports its plain release (0.8.4
  instead of 0.8.3-native), the USB device is named "MIDI Captain Bosun",
  and the firmware download is Bosun-0.8.4-firmware-update.zip. "Native" only
  told this firmware apart from the CircuitPython one, which Bosun no longer
  ships. The app also shows a Captain that still runs an older release without
  the suffix. Profiles, bindings and settings are not affected. Windows can
  keep showing the old USB name until the pedal is unplugged and plugged in
  again.
• Updating the Captain through a Raspberry Pi no longer stops with
  "picotool failed: No accessible RP-series device in BOOTSEL mode". The Pi
  opened the Captain a few milliseconds after it entered its bootloader, before
  the device was ready, and gave up at once. It now keeps trying for a few
  seconds. When it stopped, nothing had been written and the Captain returned
  to its previous firmware.

A Raspberry Pi that still runs 0.8.2 or 0.8.3 accepts the 0.8.4 firmware
package, but update the Pi first to get the fix above.

Downloads

System	Package	Installation
Windows x64	Bosun-<version>-portable-x64.zip	Extract the whole ZIP and run Bosun.exe. Requires WebView2.
macOS, Apple Silicon (untested)	.dmg	Open it and copy Bosun to Applications.
Linux x64 (untested)	.AppImage	Make it executable, then open it.
Android 10 or later	bosun.apk	Install the APK; connect over USB-OTG or through a Pi hub.

The release also carries the offline setup guide
(Bosun-0.8.4-setup-guide.html), the Raspberry Pi setup package
(Bosun-0.8.4-pi-setup.tar.gz), the firmware update package
(Bosun-0.8.4-firmware-update.zip), the browser Stage (Bosun-0.8.4-stage.zip)
and SHA256SUMS.txt.

Testing

Both changes come with regression tests in the firmware, Desktop and Raspberry
Pi test suites. The update stop was reproduced and diagnosed on a 10-switch
Captain behind a Raspberry Pi 3.

Everything else is unchanged from
0.8.3.

Bosun is free software under the
GPL-3.0-or-later
license.

Bosun 0.8.3

Bosun 0.8.3 fixes bugs found in 0.8.2 and makes Stage steadier on rig
changes. Update the app, the Captain firmware and the Pi components together.

Stage

• Rig changes no longer look like a reload. The Morph bar used to vanish
  for a moment, so the switch grid jumped; the title showed the bank/slot
  number and every switch label blanked to "-". Now the layout stays put, the
  new rig's name appears at once, and the switch tiles keep their labels,
  unlit and inactive, until the new rig's assignments arrive. Effects still
  light up only when the Kemper reports them. BPM and the tuner no longer
  blink out, and a tuner you closed stays closed.
• A clearer Morph bar: a framed readout with larger text and a thicker
  bar. Unknown replaces ? (the Kemper does not report its Morph
  position, so Bosun only knows what it sent), and a Controls button
  replaces +. The controls stay open across rig changes.
• Stage appearance has new Morph bar and Morph controls sections
  for the size and font of the bar text and of its controls.

Fixes

• Restoring a large backup over the active profile no longer stops
  part-way. A restore first deletes the profile's patches, then wrote each
  backup patch as an unsaved change, and the Captain keeps at most 128
  unsaved changes: a backup with more than 128 patches stopped at the 129th.
  Each restored patch is now saved as it is written, so Discard can no longer
  drop a restore either.
• Android: accented names no longer arrive corrupted when a character is
  split across two USB transfers.
• Android: commands are no longer lost after a slow USB write. When a write
  ran out of time part-way, the app sent the whole command again and the
  Captain received it garbled. The app now sends only the missing part.
• Android: device detection falls back to the USB vendor ID when the
  Kemper or the Captain does not report its name yet.
• Quick setup waits for the Captain to confirm each binding, reports a
  failure instead of success, and also writes the patches linked to the open
  one by a locked column.
• First-run setup derives the profile ID from the whole profile name
  (typing "Live rig" gave the ID "l") and keeps it within 32 characters.
• Kemper identity: when the identity request cannot be sent, the Captain
  reports a MIDI send failure instead of a storage error.

Downloads

System	Package	Installation
Windows x64	Bosun-<version>-portable-x64.zip	Extract the whole ZIP and run Bosun.exe. Requires WebView2.
macOS, Apple Silicon (untested)	.dmg	Open it and copy Bosun to Applications.
Linux x64 (untested)	.AppImage	Make it executable, then open it.
Android 10 or later	bosun.apk	Install the APK; connect over USB-OTG or through a Pi hub.

The release also carries the offline setup guide
(Bosun-0.8.3-setup-guide.html), the Raspberry Pi setup package
(Bosun-0.8.3-pi-setup.tar.gz), the firmware update package
(Bosun-0.8.3-native-update.zip), the browser Stage (Bosun-0.8.3-stage.zip)
and SHA256SUMS.txt.

Testing

Every fix comes with a regression test in the firmware, Desktop or Android
test suites. The Android fixes have not been tried on a phone yet. The Stage
rig change was recorded frame by frame on a 10-switch Captain and a Kemper
Player at the Pi panel's 1920 x 440.

Supported hardware, setup and known limitations are unchanged from
0.8.2.

Bosun is free software under the
GPL-3.0-or-later
license.

Bosun 0.8.2

Bosun is open-source firmware and companion apps for the PaintAudio MIDI
Captain, built to control a Kemper from the floor. This is the first
official release.

What you get

• Captain firmware for the 10-switch RP2040 MIDI Captain with 8 MiB flash.
  Footswitch press, release, hold and double-tap actions, LED colours, a
  configurable Captain screen, up to 125 banks and 625 patches, setlists and
  two expression pedals with calibration and curves.
• Kemper engine for the Kemper Player and the Kemper PROFILER family
  (Head, Rack and Stage, MK1 and MK2, Performance or Browse mode). Bosun keeps
  a two-way session with the Kemper: rig names, effect states, tuner, Morph,
  looper, tap tempo, BPM and the wah/volume indicator follow the amp.
• Generic MIDI profiles for any other MIDI device: CC, Program Change with
  bank select, notes, delays and multi-message macros.
• Bosun Desktop (Windows) and the Android app to edit profiles,
  patches, banks, the Captain screen and settings, with configuration export
  and import and a live MIDI monitor.
• Stage, a large-format view for a phone, tablet, computer or HDMI display:
  current rig and bank, effect switches, a fullscreen tuner, Morph controls and
  bank preselection, with adjustable fonts, sizes and colours.
• Raspberry Pi hub: the Pi hosts the Captain and the Kemper over USB,
  relays MIDI between them, shares the pedal on the local network and drives an
  HDMI display with Stage, behind a quiet boot with the Bosun logo. An optional
  Wi-Fi hotspot works without a router.
• Safe installation and updates: Desktop installs Bosun directly over
  factory firmware and updates it over USB or through the Pi. Every write is
  preceded by a verified full-flash backup, checked by full readback and
  followed by a configuration check; a failed update restores the original
  firmware automatically where possible.
• Bosun Stand, a 3D-printable display stand for the 10-switch Captain.

Downloads

System	Package	Installation
Windows x64	Bosun-<version>-portable-x64.zip	Extract the whole ZIP and run Bosun.exe. Requires WebView2.
macOS, Apple Silicon (untested)	.dmg	Open it and copy Bosun to Applications.
Linux x64 (untested)	.AppImage	Make it executable, then open it.
Android 10 or later	bosun.apk	Install the APK; connect over USB-OTG or through a Pi hub.

The release also carries the offline setup guide
(Bosun-0.8.2-setup-guide.html), the Raspberry Pi setup package
(Bosun-0.8.2-pi-setup.tar.gz), the firmware update package
(Bosun-0.8.2-native-update.zip), the browser Stage (Bosun-0.8.2-stage.zip)
and SHA256SUMS.txt. Keep the app, Captain firmware and Pi components on the
same release.

Supported hardware

• PaintAudio MIDI Captain, 10 switches, RP2040 with 8 MiB flash.
• MIDI Captain Mini 6: included, but untested on real hardware.
• Kemper Player over USB; Kemper PROFILER Head, Rack and Stage over USB or
  two-way MIDI DIN. PROFILER support is experimental; Head/Rack/Stage hardware
  validation is pending.
• Raspberry Pi with Raspberry Pi OS (Debian Trixie) for the hub, tested on a
  Raspberry Pi 3.
• Any MIDI device through Generic MIDI profiles.

Get started

Open Setup guide in Bosun Desktop, or follow the
illustrated setup guide and FAQ.
It covers six setups: the Captain directly on the Player, with Android, with a
computer, with a Pi, with a Pi and an HDMI display, and a Pi with Android over
Wi-Fi. Firmware installation and updates are described in the
update and recovery guide.

Tested on hardware

The complete 0.8.2 build was installed and tested on a rig with a Raspberry Pi 3
hub, a 10-switch MIDI Captain and a Kemper Player, both connected to the Pi by
USB:

• The Pi was installed from the 0.8.2 setup package, including the quiet boot
  logo, the Stage kiosk and the display mirror.
• The Captain was updated to 0.8.2 through the Pi with a verified full-flash
  backup. Its profile, settings and every patch read back identical.
• With the Kemper Player profile, every rig change was confirmed by the
  Kemper's rig name, in about one second each, and effect switches were
  confirmed by the Kemper in under 0.2 s.
• The MIDI monitor, profile storage (including bank 125 and accented names) and
  Stage on a 1920x440 HDMI display were checked on the same rig.

Switches were activated through Bosun's switch-activation command rather than
pressed by hand. Expression pedals, the Captain's screen and a Kemper PROFILER
(Head, Rack or Stage) were not part of this run.

Known limitations

• The Mini 6 has not been tested on a real pedal yet.
• Desktop is tested on Windows; the macOS and Linux builds are untested.
• Firmware installation and updates need Bosun Desktop; Android edits and
  shows Stage only.
• First installation from factory firmware was hardware-tested on Windows from
  PaintAudio 5.15; other stock versions and interrupted-write recovery remain
  unverified on hardware.
• The Morph bar shows the last position Bosun sent, not the Kemper's measured
  Morph position.
• Bosun Stand has been checked in CAD; physical fit and load testing are still
  to be done.

Bosun is free software under the
GPL-3.0-or-later
license.