Recent updates on the CompuPhase pages

H0420 programmable MP3 controller/player: firmware update version 1.6, Build 3934

The most recent firmware update for the H0420 programmable MP3 controller/player is version 1.6, build 3934. You may wish to install this update if you purchased your H0420 MP3 player before 1 March 2008. Devices purchased after that date already contain this latest firmware release.
The most recent version of the pawn development environment is also present in this download.
This page is also available in Dutch, in French and in German.

Update of the pawn embedded programming language (release 3.3.3875)

This update of the pawn scripting language" brings minor features and bug fixes. Performance of overlaid code was improved by using a true LRU scheme (instead of the earlier "FIFO" scheme).
Pawn is an open source product.

Update of the Termite serial terminal

Termite version 1.7 corrects a problem where the reception window could show extra line separators ("newlines") whilst these were not received. Received strings can now optionally be timestamped. The log now contains the exact contents of what was received (without time-stamps and binary-to-ASCII conversions). This may lead to the log file being a binary file.

Update of the pawn embedded programming language (release 3.3.3875)

This update of the pawn scripting language" features "code overlays", more compact instruction encoding, assembler-optimized kernels for ARM7 processors, improved performance when running from ROM, and more minor features (and bug fixes, too).
Pawn is an open source product.

The list of projects was updated with a few recently completed projects

This includes photograps and illustrations of the projects, where applicable.

Update of the article: SvnRev - stamping applications with revision numbers

The article was updated with additional information on RapidSVN and the utility now also flags local modifications of the working copy (so that you see at a glance that the version control is not up to date).
SvnRev is freeware and it includes source code.

The RegDrv utility is now Vista compatible

The RegDrv utility installs and activates "kernel drivers" in Microsoft Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista (it can also uninstall them). It has a "silent mode" for application installers that include a kernel driver as a component. The utility is now Vista-compatible, by adding a (self-signed) code certificate and privilege options in the manifest.
RegDrv is freeware.

H0420 programmable MP3 controller/player: firmware update version 1.5, Build 3806

The most recent firmware update for the H0420 programmable MP3 controller/player is version 1.5, build 3806. You may wish to install this update if you purchased your H0420 MP3 player before 1 September 2007. Devices purchased after that date already contain this latest firmware release.
The most recent version of the pawn development environment is also present in this download.
This page is also available in Dutch, in French and in German.

Updated article: Playing files sequentially

Due to its event-driven architecture, many functions and instructions in the H0420 MP3 controller are "non-blocking". Instead of waiting for some activity to finish, you catch the event that signals the completion of the requested command. This article gives an example and an explanation.
    This update of the article adds a section on avoiding the same track to play twice in sequence, when the tracks are selected at random from a set.

Update of the Termite serial terminal

Termite is now at version 1.6. The new version includes support for software handshake (XON/XOFF), optional word-wrap in the reception window, and the option to not respond at the "Escape" key (by default, Termite closes when you type the Escape key).

New article: Extending TFTP

The Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is a simple protocol for transferring data. On small devices, it is frequently one of the first high-level protocols to be implemented, because of its usefulness (transferring data) and its simplicity. This article gives an overview of the existing extensions to the basic protocol, and proposes a few new extensions.

Updated article & software: The Poly-Raster Image file format

The Poly-Raster Image file format is a format for bitmapped graphics that is optimized for embedded systems and unconventional displays (e.g. LED displays, VFDs, moving signs, ...). The format is simple and it requires very little resources (memory, CPU-cycles) to decode it. The format also allows several representations of the same image in a single file (the "poly" in the name). Software for converting images to poly-raster format and examples of image loaders are also available on this page.
    The article has a new section on animation, and the updated software now comes with a GUI version of the image encoder.

Updated article: Gapless looping MP3 tracks

Due to the file format and the algorithm of MP3 tracks, creating a loop without a gap or click is a little involved. Using special software to process the MP3 track, it can be made to loop without gaps. Example tracks & processing software are available from this site, as well as a detailed presentation of how it works.
    The article is updated with coverage of Adobe/Macromedia Flash. The demonstration software no longer has the "8 second of audio" limit (or any other limit).

Updated article: Synchronizing animation with MIDI audio

Since the publisher of the book and toolkit "Maximum MIDI" has closed the forum on which bug-fixes and updates had been made available, a copy of our own patches to the toolkit have been placed here.

On-line order form for our MP3 player

The H0420 MP3 controller/player can now be ordered on-line in addition to several accesories. The order form goes via a secure "HTTPS" connection, of course.
This page is also available in Dutch and in German.

H0420 programmable MP3 controller/player: firmware update version 1.4, Build 3665

The most recent firmware update for the H0420 programmable MP3 controller/player is version 1.4, build 3665. You may wish to install this update if you purchased your H0420 MP3 player before 10 November 2006. Devices purchased after that date already contain this latest firmware release.
The most recent version of the pawn development environment is also present in this download.
This page is also available in Dutch, in French and in German.

Update of the pawn embedded programming language (release 3.2.3664)

This update of the pawn scripting language" is a bug-fix release. A few minor new features are included too.
Pawn is an open source product.

New article: Programming the MP3 controller/player: getting started

This article discusses the first steps in programming the H0420 MP3 controller, from installing the software to the first running script.

New article: Playing files sequentially

Due to its event-driven architecture, many functions and instructions in the H0420 MP3 controller are "non-blocking". Instead of waiting for some activity to finish, you catch the event that signals the completion of the requested command. This article gives an example and an explanation.

Update of the Termite serial terminal

Termite is now at version 1.5. The new version fixes a bug in the command history (which could cause a crash when closing the Termite program), and the ability to send binary codes (in addition to ASCII text).

New article: The Poly-Raster Image file format

The Poly-Raster Image file format is a format for bitmapped graphics that is optimized for embedded systems and unconventional displays (e.g. LED displays, moving signs). The format is simple and it requires very little resources (memory, CPU-cycles) to decode it. The format also allows several representations of the same image in a single file (the "poly" in the name). Software for converting images to poly-raster format and examples of image loaders are also available on this page.

This site "auf deutsch"

Most of the general information on the CompuPhase site is now also available in German. See the German flag in the upper right corner of this page.

H0420 programmable MP3 controller/player: firmware update version 1.3, Build 3637

The most recent firmware update for the H0420 programmable MP3 controller/player is version 1.3, build 3637. You may wish to install this update if you purchased your H0420 MP3 player before 15 August 2006. Devices purchased after that date already contain this latest firmware release.
The most recent version of the pawn development environment is also present in this download.
This page is also available in Dutch and in German.

Update of the pawn embedded programming language (release 3.2.3636)

This update of the pawn scripting language" includes performance enhancements, a new extension library for process control and calling into DLLs/shared libraries, improved checks for unreachable code, and corrections.
Pawn is an open source product.

The list of projects was updated with a few recently completed projects

This includes some pictures of the projects, where applicable.

New article: Encrypted MP3 tracks

The H0420 MP3 controller supports encrypted MP3 tracks. This article (an application note) describes how to create encrypted tracks and how to configure the controller to play them back.

Updated article: Gapless looping MP3 tracks

On request of many, the article now also discusses how to get gapless loops with standard PC software. The solution is to build a "streaming" MP3 decoder and modify the streaming. The article implements this using the FMOD library.

Updated article: Synchronizing time with DCF77 and MSF60

The article was updated to include information and an example script for the British "MSF60" time-code transmitter. There were also updates on the reception range of the DCF77 signal and the choice of receiver circuits.

Updated article: The Dhrystone benchmark, the LPC2106 and GNU GCC

The article now includes a link to the results of a Dhrystone benchmark on LPC2100 controllers by Rowley Associates, plus a brief discussion.

New article: Gapless looping MP3 tracks

Due to the file format and the algorithm of MP3 tracks, creating a loop without a gap or click is a little involved, especially when using a hardware player. The H0420 MP3 controller can play gapless MP3 audio loops, provided that special software has processed the MP3 track.
    Example tracks & processing software are available from this site, as well as a detailed presentation of how it works.

New article: Synchronizing time with DCF77

This article describes how to synchronize the internal real-time clock of the H0420 MP3 controller/player on the time signal emitted by the atom clock on the DCF77 transmitter.

H0420 programmable MP3 controller/player: firmware update version 1.2, Build 3508

The most recent firmware update for the H0420 programmable MP3 controller/player is version 1.2, build 3508. You may wish to install this update if you purchased your H0420 MP3 player before 20 February 2006. Devices purchased after that date already contain this latest firmware release.
The most recent version of the pawn development environment is also present in this download.
This page is also available in Dutch.

Expanded the description of the H0420 MP3 controller

The introductory article on our industrial MP3 controller presents more examples and more photographs of possible usages.
This page is also available in Dutch.

Update of the pawn embedded programming language (release 3.1.3539)

This update of the pawn scripting language" is essentially a bug fix release. There are a few minor features.
Pawn is an open source product.

New article: Connecting a bar-code wand to the MP3 controller/player

The H0420 MP3 controller supports a low-cost bar-code wand directly on its I/O pins (only a pull-up resistors sometimes needs to be added). This article descibes the connections and presents a script that decodes the "interleaved 2 of 5" bar-code symbology.

New article: Power-outputs for the H0420 programmable MP3 controller/player

The programmable MP3 player has digital I/O pins with TTL-level output. This note describes how you can get more power (and/or a higher output voltage) from the I/O pins.

New article: a MIDI to RS232 adapter

This article discusses the electronic circuit that is needed to convert the MIDI "current loop" signal to standard RS232 levels. In the second part, the article proceeds to discus the MIDI protocol, and gives an example for hooking the programmable MP3 player / controller to a MIDI device chain.

New article: a RS232 splitter cable

RS232 connects exactly two devices. With this splitter cable, you can have a third device "listen in" on the communication. We built it for debugging serial protocols, but it may also be used to decipher unknown protocols.

New utility: Termite, a simple RS232 terminal

Termite is an RS232 terminal. There are already several of such utilities, but Termite focusses on being simple to install (in fact, no installation is necessary) and simple to use. Termite is freeware.