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Circus Arrhythmia FM 0.2.2 release notes
Circus Arrhythmia FM is custom firmware for the Novation Circuit Rhythm. It ships as a patcher: you apply it to your own copy of
the official firmware file on your own computer, then send the result to the unit. No Novation firmware is included.
Arrhythmia is not affiliated with or endorsed by Novation or Focusrite. The device name says only which hardware this
is for.
0.2.2 builds on 0.2.1. The changes are in the synth page, the output level of the synth and the modules.
Changes since 0.2.1
New
- Synth page as a view. Shift + Track 8 opens the synth page. It has two pages
(synth page):- Page 1, chords: notes per press, chord type, In key, minor or major, voicing, poly, octave.
- Page 2, scale: row 1 turns scales on or off for track 1 to 7, row 2 selects the scale, rows 3 and 4 set the key.
- Down shows page 2. Up shows page 1. The page opens on the last page you used.
- A view or track button (for example Note, Sample, Mixer, Track 1 to 8) closes the page. The unit goes to that
view or track. The button press is not lost. Play and Rec operate while the page is open. - Clear + macro sets that macro of the synth page to its default: tune 64, modulator attack 0, modulator
decay 64, modulator floor 127. - Lights. The exit buttons and Shift keep their normal lights. Track 8 is magenta. Up or Down is green when
there is a page in that direction. Clear keeps its normal light (dim red when that light is off) and is red
while you hold it. While you hold Shift in the normal views, Track 8 is lit.
- Module files over USB. The firmware can write module files to the folder
Moduleson the microSD card. The
module files web pageweb/modules.htmluses this function. It lists the files on the card in the order of the
picker, with the pad of each file. It writes, verifies, replaces and deletes files. You do not need a card reader
(add modules with the web page). - Published modules on the website. The 10 module files of the release are on the website. The module files
web page writes them to the card with one button each. They keep their numbers, so each goes on its pad. - New name. The project is now Circus Arrhythmia FM, with a new logo. The build names stay arrhythmia-firmware
and arrhythmia-devkit.
Changed behaviour
- Synth output 4 dB down. The fixed decrease of the synth output is now 4 dB. It was 7 dB. The synth is
approx. 3 dB louder than in 0.2.1. Set the balance with track 8's mixer level
(output level). - Eight scales. arrhythmia-firmware has eight scales. It has no Phrygian and no Lydian. A project that has
Phrygian plays and shows natural minor. A project that has Lydian plays and shows major. The project keeps its
stored value. The SysEx scale command refuses Phrygian and Lydian on arrhythmia-firmware
(scales). arrhythmia-devkit keeps all ten scales. - Scales on page 2. Scale, key and the tracks with scales are on page 2 of the synth page. In 0.2.1 you held
Shift to select scale and key, and Track 1 to 7 turned scales on or off. Now Track 1 to 7 close the page and select
that track.
Known issues
- Macro 1 light at step 8 to 9. On track 8, the light of macro 1 can flicker when the sequencer goes from step
8 to step 9. The cause is not known. - Crackle on the tested unit. A sample was heard crackling on the tested unit with the stock firmware 5706.
The cause and extent are unknown. - All known issues of 0.2.1 stay: see the 0.2.1 release notes.
Test status
On the unit, with development builds that have the code of 0.2.2 except the final light changes:
- Install and health report: pass.
- The synth plays on track 8: pass.
- Synth page: Up and Down, the layout of both pages, the exit buttons and their lights, Note exit from the normal
and the expanded Note view, Track 8 lit while Shift is held, Clear + macros 1 to 4, tune saved and loaded with the
project: pass. - Card writer with the module files web page: write, verify, list and delete module files, and write a published
module again with its button: pass. The picker shows a written file and starts it: pass. - Output level: measured on the unit against the 7 dB decrease of 0.2.1. Six capture comparisons on development
builds showed about 3 dB more level than 0.2.1. Live settings were not fully established across boots, so this
was not a complete headroom test.
The public image itself was not run on a unit. The final light and list-order changes (Clear and Shift lights on
the synth page, list order on the module page) were tested in emulation only.
In emulation only: the module functions and synth page functions not named above.
Not measured: the processing time of the synth on the unit, as in 0.2.0.
Install
Use the installer page, as for 0.2.1: install guide. An earlier Arrhythmia release updates
the same way.
| Build | Number | SHA-256 of the patched .syx |
|---|---|---|
| arrhythmia-firmware | 7339 | 7aadbde0811a77b23c05a06fca34c36d27d98c98945f3f587bb8d7ccf63fc822 |
| arrhythmia-devkit | 7228 | 66e1872c45b742992bdead24ebcbaffb9634d13b0a2db36caf5f2d1e6dd8354d |
arrhythmia-devkit 7228 is unchanged from 0.1.0 and is released again.
The version query (SysEx 70) ends 00 39 2B for 7339 and 00 38 3C for 7228. In bootloader mode the pads show
73 39 for 7339. The release file is release/v0.2.2.json. The files of the earlier releases stay in the repository
as their record.
Input: the official Circuit Rhythm firmware 2.0.1, build 5706 (SHA-256
11d604a6b6bef0d41378da03718658c7fe9c959ac24e7fef6563796b9932afaf), on a unit with bootloader 4799. The installer and
tools/crpatch.py refuse any other file.
Source
The ARM source is in patches/src/. The DSP source is in tools/dspvoice207m4/. It is the DSP source of 0.2.1
(tools/dspvoice207rel/) with one change: the output level constant. The
rebuild steps describe how image 7339 rebuilds from this tree with the official
firmware 5706 file as the only firmware input.
Licence
MIT (see LICENSE) for the Arrhythmia code and documents. Novation's firmware is not included and not
covered.