chabes13 hours ago
Digital modules from Mutable Instruments (and related clones + offshoots) use audio-based data transfer for firmware updates.

Interesting way to give the consumer the ability to change the firmware without having to access the back of the module (there's a way to use a serial JTAG adapter as well).

https://github.com/pichenettes/mutable-dev-environment?tab=r...

scarecrowbob12 hours ago
As I understand it, transferring data as audio goes back quite ways, right?

I had a Commodore 64 that could use phillips tape. I'm drawing. blank, but IIRC there were musical instruments (maybe the roland juno 60?) in the 80s that were storing their data as audio, too.

somat11 hours ago
Here, this is a lot of fun.

http://www.whence.com/minimodem/

scarecrowbob9 hours ago
I mean, I'm thinking about upgrading from my tech license so I can start playing with digital modes on HF radio...

damn, this thread is making me feel old...

bobmcnamara11 hours ago
Kansas City Standard was delivered on cheap records through the mail
socks13 hours ago
Hey ericlewis - this is cool! Can I ask how you figured it out?! Doing this for my PO-33 was on my bucket list. I thought I might have to resort to voltage glitching to get a firmware dump, which is currently beyond my skills.
svantana2 hours ago
Unfortunately I think only a few of the PO's support this transfer method, and I don't think the 33 is one of them. They were never meant to be updated at all, as I understand it.
chr15m11 hours ago
Me too, have been trying to crack this for so long!
reerdna9 hours ago
I was able to get part way some years ago by demodulating the bitstream with gnuradio and then making small changes (like replacing one note with the next higher one) and noting the differences. So that is one possible, but probably too inefficient way.

I never got close to finishing or publishing anything. Awesome to see this released and I'll have to play with it!

gxd14 hours ago
This reminded me of when people used to transfer games over the radio: https://www.racunalniski-muzej.si/en/40-years-later-a-game-f...
c-c-c-c-c11 hours ago
> A user you’ve blocked has previously contributed to this repository.

I see that claude’s been in here as well.

nosrepa11 hours ago
I didn't think I'd see something on the PD squad before I saw it on HN!
larme15 hours ago
That's amazing. I wonder how accurate is the synth engine?
smlacy13 hours ago
The synth engine is an implementation of https://soniccharge.com/microtonic Not sure what "accurate" means in your context though?
girvo12 hours ago
How closely it replicates microtonic's, would be my assumption
PunchyHamster12 hours ago
Looking at this I can only think one thing: "Just put USB-C in, the connector is ten cents and it's far more convenient than hipster shit like this, you pretentious fucks"
mobiledev20149 hours ago
This was released in 2017 for one thing. Considering that enough people are still interested in it a decade later they probably did something right.
Gigachad12 hours ago
Pretentious hipster shit is their whole brand.
kmeisthax15 hours ago
> The PO-32 is not receiving finished drum audio when you transfer a sound or a pattern. It receives structured data:

Wait, isn't this what MIDI is for?

Elidrake2414 hours ago
Sure, but being able to share the 'data dump' at the end of a Youtube Video is so much more fun/likely to be used.

https://youtu.be/TLzAyouLQxw?si=mm6goX-cMyEZkwOI&t=102

itishappy13 hours ago
It's sending sound parameter information (e.g. filter cutoff at 12khz, resonance at 1.6, Q of 0.89) along with note information (e.g. start playing note A4 with velocity 80). You could absolutely use a MIDI CC channel to convey this information. The OP-32 chooses a different route and encodes this into an audio signal so that it can transmit it over the air using the speaker/mic instead of a wireless stack.

I bet it sounds like a dial-up tone!

Lio4 hours ago
> Wait, isn't this what MIDI is for?

It is but I don’t think this Pocket Operator has MIDI without adding third party hardware.

iamjackg14 hours ago
All it means is that the PO-32 is not a sampler, it's a synthesizer, so it receives a "preset" for the synth rather than an audio sample.
txbrown11 hours ago
Would have been easier to say it receives patches - I think most people would get this.
Intermernet4 hours ago
The word "patch" has a naming conflict between the disciplines of synthesizers and software.