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OpenTracker 2.2.3

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@sandlbn sandlbn released this 01 Nov 02:32
· 18 commits to main since this release
v2.2.3
3af6086

OpenTracker 2.2.3

The current stable release of the 2.x line: an open, community firmware for the original
Polyend Tracker. 2.x brings 16 tracks, three synth slots, stereo samples, Mini-format project
files and USB Storage mode to the original hardware.

OpenTracker is not affiliated with, endorsed by or supported by Polyend.

Files

  • PolyendTrackerOTv223.ptf: the firmware image.
  • OpenTracker-2.2.3-Patches.zip: the preset pack (82 patches: ACD 12, FAT 8, VAP 16, WTFM 30, PERC 16, with eight new synthwave PERC kits). Copy Patches/ to the root of the card and merge it with what is there.
  • OpenTracker-2.2.3-Themes.zip: new, 12 example colour themes. Unzip it to the root of the card; the files land in /Themes.
  • OpenTracker-2.2.3-Projects.zip: the test songs. Copy them to /Projects on the card.
  • OpenTracker-2.2.3-Manual.pdf: the 2.x user manual for this release.
  • SHA256SUMS: checksums of every file. Check them with sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS.

Install

  1. Back up your SD card.
  2. Copy PolyendTrackerOTv223.ptf to /Firmware on the card. Keep the file name as it is: the updater only takes names of exactly 24 characters.
  3. Go to Config > Firmware update, select the image and confirm. If the screen stays dark after the update, press the power button once.

Going back: keep the stock 1.9.2 image in /Firmware and install it the same way. From a running OpenTracker you can also write its file name into /Firmware/ot_restore.txt and power-cycle. Keep only the image you want, plus stock, in /Firmware: the rear reset button installs a .ptf from that folder.

New in 2.2.3

  • Your own colour themes: put a theme file in /Themes on the SD card and choose it under Config > General > Display theme, after Original, Monochrome and Anniversary. A theme is a short text file with lines like accent = #FF2BD6; it starts from a built-in theme and changes only the colours you list. Export theme saves the current theme to /Themes so you can edit it on a computer. A theme that would make text unreadable gets its text colour back from the built-in theme. Without a /Themes folder everything looks as before.
  • 12 example themes in the new OpenTracker-2.2.3-Themes.zip (contributed by AnthonyBerg1983).
  • Steady MIDI clock on the DIN jack: the clock to external synths and drum machines no longer wobbles while you change screens or audition samples on the pads. It now goes out under 1 ms after it is due, also while the screen is busy for seconds. (Reported on Discord.)
  • Pitch bend from a MIDI keyboard: the bend wheel bends notes you play live by up to 2 semitones, on sample instruments, on the synths and on MIDI instruments (the bend goes out on their channel). It is not recorded into patterns. (Requested on Discord.)
  • Stream long samples from the card (optional, Off by default): Config > General > Stream from card (Off / Auto / All) and Stream threshold (5 to 30 s). Long samples load only their start into memory and play the rest from the SD card, so projects with long stems or recordings fit. Editing a streamed sample asks to load it into memory first. With Off, everything works and sounds exactly as before.
  • Sample Loader and streaming: Add follows Stream from card too. Files that will stream are marked with ~, a message says why a file streams, and the card is checked before a long conversion starts. Trim refuses a file too long for the memory straight away, a refused import keeps the slot's old instrument, and a streamed Add no longer pauses to count the free space.
  • Synth stereo: a new Width setting for ACD, FAT, VAP and WTFM, and Stereo for FAT. Both are 0 (mono, the old sound) in every existing patch.
  • Synth Macros: turning a macro by hand takes over from a pattern FX CC at once (the bar turns white).
  • Synth notes in the pattern editor: in edit mode, turning the note encoder on a synth step plays the note for one step and then the patch's release.
  • Sample Editor with full memory: the pads still play the selected part when the sample memory is full. Preview and Apply say "Not enough free sample memory"; "too long" now means only the length limit (about 44.6 s).
  • Stack overflow protection (contributed by syamajala): if the firmware ever runs out of stack, the Tracker restarts and shows a notice instead of silently corrupting memory.
  • No SD card at power-on: switching on without a card no longer shows a crash report; the Tracker waits for a card.
  • PERC sends follow the instrument: a kit's per-drum delay and reverb sends now scale with the instrument's send and with the Delay / Reverb Send step FX. Projects that relied on the old always-on sends need the instrument send raised.
  • CPU meter levels: yellow from 85 %, orange from 93 %, red from 99 % (before: 60, 70 and 85 %, so busy songs that played fine showed red). It is a warning; the voice limiter is unchanged.
  • Song screen progress line also when you play a single pattern.
  • Stack and line-in health on the USB log (contributed by syamajala).
  • Also: granular shading shows the grain that plays, the Sample Loader memory bar follows trim and import, synth names show without stray glyphs, and a display frame that faults on a static screen is redrawn.

Thanks to syamajala, AnthonyBerg1983 and guaka for their contributions.

Still open

A couple of reported Performance screen issues, among them how the global Pattern length behaves in Song mode, need more work and testing. They come in the next release.

The 2.x line

  • 16 tracks: tracks 13-16 work like MIDI tracks.
  • Three synth slots (S1-S3) with five engines of our own sound design: ACD, VAP, PERC, FAT and WTFM. FX columns A-F drive six macros; Volume drives macro 7. A shared pool of 4 voices by default (1-8 in Config).
  • Projects in the Mini's format: 16-track patterns, the three synth slots and .patch files. Older original-Tracker projects open as they are.
  • Stereo samples in one-shot, loop, slice and beat-slice modes.
  • USB Storage mode: the SD card shows up as a drive on a computer (about 1 MB/s).
  • Live resampling (contributed by syamajala): record the mix, one track or Line In into a new instrument while the pattern plays.
  • Exports at 44.1 kHz, a CPU meter, and a voice limiter that only ever cuts synth voices.

Known limitations

  • The synths follow the Mini's parameter sets, but the sound is our own design: close, not identical.
  • The synth voice pool defaults to 4 because of the processor's speed.
  • USB Storage mode: back up the card before first use. Linux systems without a desktop may need partprobe or a re-plug to see the card.
  • Projects saved by 2.x use 16-track patterns. Stock firmware reads only tracks 1-8 of those patterns.
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