A visual mockup of the Pimoroni Explorer Kit (PIM744) - yellow PCB body,
6 coloured buttons (A/B/C left, X/Y/Z right) flanking the central 320x240 LCD,
piezo + mini-breadboard at the bottom, USB-C / RP2350 silkscreen.
Canvas mirrors the firmware UI: VARASYS logo + version + run-state dot in the
header (3-channel lerp for the per-beat pulse, no more red-channel-only blend
bug); setlist tab + track name + big BPM + bar/time meters; pad grid up to
6 lanes with main-beat squares + subdivision circles + vertical gridlines.
Inputs: A = play/stop, B = tap, C = next setlist; X/Z = prev/next track with
350 ms first-repeat + 120 ms repeat; Y = -1 bpm (after 1.5 s held step = -5);
X+Z chord within 100 ms = +1 bpm (mirrors Y). Keyboard: A B C X Y Z + space.
Landing page (index.html) Explorer pane now points at /explorer.html with
h:500 (the LCD is half-height of the Kit's so the widget is more compact).
The /info-explorer.html embed handler still works for the "Specs & info" link.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
circuits/power_tree.py captures the full supply, topology + values verified from the
TPS65131 datasheet (SLVS493E: pinout p3, Typical Application Fig 8-1 p11, BOM Table 8-2
p12, FB equations p13 Vref=1.213V) and the TPS7A49/TPS7A30 LDO datasheets:
- TPS65131 dual boost/inverter: L1/L2=4.7uH, D1/D2=MBRM120, FB dividers set ~+/-18.2V
(R1=1.4M/R2=100k, R3=1.5M/R4=100k), comp C7/C6 on CP/CN, VREF 220nF, no Q1 (USB),
PSP/PSN=GND forced-PWM for low audio-band noise.
- TPS7A4901/TPS7A3001 post-regulate to clean +/-15V (shared 8-pin pinout, EN tied to IN).
- AP2112K-3.3 -> digital 3V3.
ERC 0 errors; netlist 0 errors.
CONFIRM before fab: exact LDO Vfb (used ~1.194V/-1.18V for the dividers) and the
AP2112K SOT-23-5 pinout. Switcher validated vs TI reference design; no SPICE (behavioral
models don't validate a switcher) -- layout per the TI EVM.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Adds the Explorer to index.html's VERSIONS list between the Kit and Teacher
panes. file: "/info-explorer.html" since there's no explorer.html widget yet;
the existing replace("/", "/info-") logic is wrapped in an idempotent infoOf()
helper so "Specs & info" doesn't double-prefix it.
info-explorer.html also gets the standard ?embed=1 handler (matches every
other info-*.html), so the landing-page iframe preview strips chrome + auto-
sizes when the pane is selected.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Adds pico-explorer/ as a parallel CircuitPython firmware target alongside the 52Pi
Kit in pico-cp/. Same engine, same program-string grammar, same programs.json, same
live-sync protocol. Read-only on the device (no on-device beat editing); the web
editor's Live sync mirrors all edits in real time and the Explorer emits its own
play/stop/bpm/sel deltas back.
Hardware (Pimoroni Explorer PIM744):
- RP2350B + 2.8" ST7789V 320x240 LCD (8-bit parallel; CircuitPython's official
board definition pre-builds the BusDisplay so we just use board.DISPLAY).
- 6 user buttons - A/B/C on the left of the screen, X/Y/Z on the right.
- Piezo speaker on GP12 (PWM) with amp enable on GP13.
- I2C QwSTEMMA on GP20/21 - reserved, unused by the firmware.
- No touchscreen, no joystick, no RGB LED. Run state shows on a tiny on-screen dot.
Buttons:
- A = play/stop. B = tap tempo. C = menu.
- X = prev track (hold-repeat). Z = next track (hold-repeat).
- Y = tempo -1 (hold-repeat; -5 after 1.5s).
- X+Z chord = tempo +1 (mirrors Y).
- In a menu: X/Z move the row cursor, Y decrements, A cycles/increments/selects,
B = back, C = close.
Files added:
- pico-explorer/{boot.py, code.py, app.py, programs.json, README.md}.
app.py = 1444 lines (~73KB source -> 29.8KB compiled .mpy).
- info-explorer.html.
Files touched:
- pico-cp/app.py: bump to 0.0.23. Version-query (SysEx 0x02 -> 0x03) reply now
includes the device id as "K;<version>" (backward-compat: editor parses
"contains ';'?" - old firmware sent bare version, treated as K).
- editor.html + editor-beta.html: _parseDeviceReply() splits id;version, FW_PATHS
maps id to .py/.mpy URL pair, so Update firmware now pushes the right binary.
- build.sh + deploy.sh: precompile pico-explorer/app.py -> dist/explorer-app.mpy,
zip pm_x1_circuitpy.zip alongside pm_k1_circuitpy.zip, ship
pico-explorer-app.{py,mpy} next to pico-cp-app.{py,mpy}.
- docs/livesync-protocol.md: new section 7 - per-device emit/apply matrix.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
circuits/audio_chain.py wires stages 1/1b/2/3/4 with shared nets and deduplicated
parts: ONE OPA1612 (U4) does both the Stage-2 filter (A) and Stage-3 summer (B);
ONE ULN2003 (U6) drives all three relays (K1 select, K2 mute, K3 ground-lift).
54 components, ERC 0 errors, netlist 0 errors. Per-stage files remain as the
documented, individually-simulated building blocks.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
THAT1646 balanced driver (pinout verified, THAT doc 600078 rev07) closes the chain:
MIX_OUT -> 25-turn level-cal trim -> THAT1646 (+6dB, sense tied local) -> 47ohm
build-out -> fail-safe mute relay K2 -> balanced AOUT_HOT/COLD on the interconnect;
ground-lift relay K3 (de-energized=bonded, soft-lift 100R||10nF) -> CHASSIS.
- Phase: Stage 3 inversion corrected via HOT<-OUT-, COLD<-OUT+.
- Level cal trim ahead of the driver (its +6dB gain is fixed).
- K2 fail-safe: de-energized shorts both legs to GND after the build-out (driver
current-limited). K3 ground-lift in series with a face panel switch.
- stage4_driver.cir: differential flat +4.76dB (1k=20k), legs antiphase (0 vs pi rad),
build-out+cable rolloff above audio. ERC 0 errors; netlist 0 errors.
AUDIO CHAIN COMPLETE: stages 1, 1b, 2, 3, 4 all captured + simulated + ERC-clean.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Inverting summing amp (OPA1612 section) mixes STAGE1_OUT (line/instrument) and
CLICK_OUT (filtered DAC) at unity into MIX_OUT. Each source enters its own 10k into
the op-amp virtual ground, so they sum with no interaction.
stage3_sum.cir confirms: each input alone = 0 dB, both together = +6.02 dB, and each
input's gain is unchanged by the other (virtual-ground isolation). ERC/netlist 0 errors.
Note: inverting summer flips phase -> corrected at the Stage 4 balanced driver via
hot/cold assignment. At integration, this summer can use the parked 2nd half of the
Stage 2 filter OPA1612 (U4) instead of a separate package.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
OPA1641 non-inverting DI buffer (1Mohm in, +12dB) + TQ2SA DPDT relay that both
routes the jack tip (line receiver vs DI buffer) and selects the output. Default
de-energized = LINE (common case, fail-safe). Driven by the shared ULN2003 via
net K1_DRV from GPIO SEL_LINST.
Pinouts verified from datasheets before capture (per the no-guessing rule):
- OPA1641 (TI SBOS484D): 1=NC 2=-IN 3=+IN 4=V- 5=NC 6=OUT 7=V+ 8=NC.
- ULN2003A: GND=8, COM=9, in 1-7 / out 16-10.
- TQ2SA (Panasonic TQ-SMD): pole1 COM=3 throws 2/4, pole2 COM=8 throws 7/9
(from contact-resistance terminal pairs). NC/NO orientation + coil pins (1/10)
follow the standard single-side-stable diagram -- flagged in-file for a final
connection-diagram cross-check (not over-claimed).
ngspice stage1b_di.cir confirms +12.04dB gain, flat across the audio band.
ERC 0 errors; netlist 0 errors.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Verified the receiver from THAT doc 600035 rev05 instead of guessing:
- THAT1240 = 0 dB (unity) -- correct as specced; 1243=-3dB, 1246=-6dB would be wrong.
- SO-8 pinout 1=Ref 2=In- 3=In+ 4=Vee 5=Sense 6=Vout 7=Vcc 8=NC. My initial
SKiDL pins were mostly wrong; corrected. Netlist now matches the datasheet.
- KiCad Device:D is pin1=K/pin2=A; my clamp diodes were reversed -- fixed so they
actually clamp (D high->cathode to +15, D low->anode to -15).
- BOM part numbers had a bogus "W16" suffix; corrected to S08-U (SO-8). Noted
INA134/SSM2141 as pin-compatible 2nd sources for long-term availability.
ERC 0 errors, netlist 0 errors.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Capture method = SKiDL per decision. circuits/stage1_input.py defines the
balanced line receiver + per-leg protection (DC-block film cap, series R, bias R,
clamp diodes to the rails) and emits a KiCad netlist. ERC: 0 errors (2 expected
warnings -- AIN_HOT/COLD reach only one pin until the interconnect block exists).
Container: env vars point SKiDL/KiCad at the symbol/footprint libs.
VERIFY-before-layout flagged in-file: exact THAT124x gain suffix, its SO-8 pin
numbers, clamp-diode orientation.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Audio chain, stage 1 (balanced input receiver + protection) validated in ngspice:
- stage1_cmrr.cir: CMRR vs resistor matching -> 1% = 46dB, 0.1% = 66dB, perfect
= amp-limited; justifies the laser-trimmed THAT1240 over discrete resistors.
- stage1_phantom.cir: +48V phantom step -> clamped to ~16V blip, steady-state
~0.12V; the DC-block cap + clamp + series R make a miswire a non-event.
Container: add kicad-symbols + kicad-footprints (for symbol placement) and skidl.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Pinned toolchain under hardware/eda/ so the design can be checked/simulated
identically in the future (system KiCad is 7.0, which has no CLI ERC):
- Containerfile: Ubuntu 24.04 + KiCad 9 (PPA) + ngspice + python3.
- run.sh: build-if-needed + run with the repo mounted; lands in hardware/kicad.
- sim/input_loading.cir: ngspice deck proving the line(25k) vs instrument(1M)
input-loading decision — Hi-Z preserves a +16dB pickup resonance the 25k load
flattens to -3dB.
Verified: KiCad 9.0.9, ngspice-42, ERC runs clean (0 violations) on
pm_k1_core.kicad_sch.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
By 0.0.20 every site that needed step duration had switched to L['durs'][step]
(the precomputed tuple from _rebuild_dur). _step_dur was kept as a "legacy
fallback" with a comment claiming it was still used by the tap-tempo path --
which was wrong; grep showed zero callers. Ten lines of unreachable code.
Now that 0.0.21 is sounding clean on the Pico 2, time to trim the sediment. No
behavior change; .mpy shrinks slightly.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Implements the device half of the docs/livesync-protocol.md contract that the
other (editor) Claude wrote in src/livesync.js. SysEx opcodes 0x40..0x43 on the
existing 0x7D manufacturer id; ASCII payload reusing the share-grammar tokens.
State + helpers (App.__init__):
- self._sync_origin: short random id ("d" + 8-hex from os.urandom(4)) - lets
peers drop their own echoes (composite USB MIDI may loop a frame back).
- self._sync_seq: monotonic counter.
- self._sync_armed: True after any HELLO/FULL/DELTA seen (until BYE).
- self._sync_applying: echo guard - True while applying a remote change so
the broadcast hooks early-out and we never ping-pong.
- self._sync_heartbeat_next: deadline for the periodic 5s FULL.
Transport:
- _sync_send(op, text): builds the SysEx frame, ASCII-safe (replaces high bits
with '?'), writes via self.midi.write.
- _sync_broadcast(evt): one DELTA, guarded.
- _sync_broadcast_full(): one FULL with origin;seq;running;sl;item;patch; also
resets the heartbeat timer.
Receive (extends _handle_sysex):
- 0x40 HELLO -> _sync_broadcast_full (reply with our state).
- 0x41 FULL -> _sync_apply_full(running, patch): diff against current
_prog_str(); only rebuild if different (avoids flicker on a heartbeat that
matches local state); reconcile transport either way.
- 0x42 DELTA -> _sync_apply_delta(evt) for the seven verbs:
- play / stop -> toggle if state differs.
- bpm=<n> -> set_bpm.
- sel=<sl>/<item> -> switch + goto; -1/-1 sentinel ignored.
- beat=<l>/<s>/<lvl> -> set lanes[l]['levels'][s], recolor pad, mark dirty.
- lane=<l>/<field>/<value> -> sound/groups/sub/swing/gain/poly/enabled; if
structural, _regen_levels + _rebuild_dur (or _rebuild_dur_all when lane 0
changed, so poly lanes follow) + build_grid.
- 0x43 BYE -> _sync_armed = False.
Local mutators broadcast:
- toggle() -> "play" | "stop"
- set_bpm() -> "bpm=<n>"
- goto() / switch_setlist() -> "sel=<sl>/<item>"
- _cycle_beat() -> "beat=<l>/<s>/<lvl>"
- _lane_dirty() -> FULL (coalesced; matches editor's syncPatchSoon idiom)
Heartbeat in the run loop emits a FULL every 5s while armed.
Plus docs/livesync-protocol.md (the spec the other Claude wrote in parallel)
gets committed too. The patch field round-trips through parse_program <->
_prog_str on the device side and setupToPatch <-> patchToSetup on the editor
side, all already share-grammar compatible.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
New editor-beta.html: a bidirectional live mirror over the existing USB-MIDI
SysEx channel (0x7D). Either the website or the device can edit grooves, change
tempo/volume, start/stop, or select set-list items, and the other reflects it.
- src/livesync.js: LiveSync layer (opcodes 0x40 HELLO / 0x41 FULL / 0x42 DELTA /
0x43 BYE) riding the existing _ensureMidi/_send/onDeviceMidi plumbing. Fine
deltas for transport/bpm/vol/sel/beat, coalesced full-state for structural
edits; echo suppression via origin + _applyingRemote guard; device-authoritative
heartbeat reconciles drift. ?loopback=1 self-test mode (no hardware needed).
- editor-beta.html: copy of editor.html + "Live sync" toggle, SysEx routing,
and broadcast hooks at each mutation choke point (guarded by _applyingRemote).
- docs/livesync-protocol.md: wire spec + firmware checklist for pico-cp/app.py
(firmware half owned by the other instance — editor side + spec only here).
- build.sh / deploy.sh: add editor-beta.html to the build + version-stamp loops.
Editor side only; pico-cp/app.py untouched.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Three changes; one diagnosis: the 0.0.19 freeze + stutter were both symptoms of the
predictive refresh skip being too aggressive at fast subdivisions (scanning ALL lanes
+ a 35ms window meant the next beat is *always* within the skip window at fine
subdivisions, so the only refresh was the 0.5s force-after fallback, audible as both
a flickery freeze AND a periodic 30ms stutter).
PER-PAD CHUNKING (your ask):
- _grid_rebuild_step now builds ONE rectangle per loop iter (was one whole lane row).
- The first chunk on a lane draws the instrument label + caches the lane's geometry;
subsequent chunks each emit one pad rect/circle.
- Each chunk is ~5-10ms instead of ~30-50ms, so tick() interleaves at sub-beat
resolution and the grid fills in pad-by-pad over ~600ms after the seam without
ever blocking long enough to miss a beat at any reasonable BPM.
STEP GRIDS:
- L['durs'] is a tuple of int ns per step, precomputed once per lane.
- tick()'s inner-loop scheduler is now L['next'] += L['durs'][L['step']] -- a tuple
index, no method call, no dict lookups, no division.
- _rebuild_dur(L) and _rebuild_dur_all() wired into every bpm-change path:
set_bpm / load / _do_advance / _prepare_next / _slave_tick (Clock In) / _lane_dirty
(the lane editor; rebuilds master-affects-poly cascade if lane 0 changes structurally),
+ the per-master-step ramp interpolator. The synchronous _step_dur stays as a fallback
for paths the inner loop doesn't hit (e.g. start-of-segment calculations elsewhere).
SMARTER REFRESH:
- Master-lane-only window (other lanes are subdivisions; a few ms of jitter there is
imperceptible musically).
- 10ms window (down from 35) so refresh runs in the gap between master beats even at
fast subdivisions.
- 20Hz throttle (down from 30) so the per-refresh blocking budget is bigger.
- 200ms force fallback (down from 500) so visuals + titles stay live -- this is the
fix for "the track titles don't get reliably updated."
DEFER set_bpm DRAWS:
- set_bpm no longer calls draw_bpm/draw_meters; the 4Hz UI tick already redraws them.
- Joystick spam used to allocate a fresh text bitmap per nudge -> fragmentation
pressure + potential GC stutter.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The stutter and the MemoryError were two faces of the same problem: the main loop
allocates and blocks too much. This pass attacks both.
CHUNKED build_grid -- the biggest single audio fix.
- build_grid() split into _grid_rebuild_start (tear-down + gridlines + state) and
_grid_rebuild_step (build ONE lane row + its pads).
- run() loop processes one chunk per iter, so tick() runs between every lane. A 16-pad
lane chunk is ~30-50ms but a tick now interleaves; the old ~300ms blackout is gone.
- The synchronous build_grid() still works (used by load() etc) -- it loops the steps
to completion in one call, same as before for non-seam paths.
- load() / switch_setlist cancel any in-progress chunked rebuild so a navigation
doesn't leave the grid half-built.
PREDICTIVE display.refresh -- the second-biggest audio fix.
- display.refresh() blocks SPI for ~30ms streaming pixels. A beat scheduled in that
window was firing late.
- The refresh decision now scans lanes[i]['next'] (cheap; n<=8) and skips refresh if
any beat is due within 35ms.
- Force-refresh after 0.5s so visuals stay live at fast subdivision rates.
ZERO-ALLOC HOT PATH -- attacks fragmentation / MemoryError frequency.
- self._note_buf: reused bytearray for every MIDI Note On (was a fresh bytes() / click).
- self._clock_byte / _start_byte / _stop_byte: singleton bytes for transport messages.
- fired_best / fired_prio ints replace fired = [] (was ~1000 list allocs/sec at speed,
plus a max(key=lambda) call per tick -- gone).
- self._beat_ns cached in set_bpm + the ramp interpolator; _step_dur reads it instead
of doing 60_000_000_000 / self.bpm every step. Integer // instead of float /.
- The MIDI Clock Out also caches its tick period via _beat_ns // 24.
CRASH SAFETY -- the run loop's while True body is now wrapped in try/except. A
MemoryError logs + gc.collect() + continues. Any other Exception logs + continues. The
metronome now stutters through transient errors instead of dying with a traceback.
This is roughly the ceiling of what straight Python can do here without a custom-C
tick module. The remaining stutter sources are the displayio scene-graph itself + the
RP2040 bytecode interpreter overhead, and those move us to Rust (or a C extension) if
audible.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
0.0.17 fixed the off-by-one so A plays its full final bar, but B's first beats were
still being eaten -- by build_grid + draw_log blocking the main loop for ~hundreds of
ms right at the seam (a full grid teardown + ~64-128 vectorio rectangle allocations +
draw_log text bitmaps + an SPI refresh). tick() doesn't run during that, so B's first
master steps fire only when the catch-up while-loop runs at the next tick, collapsing
into one click.
Split the post-seam refresh:
- Fast pass: draw_meters / draw_bpm / draw_status / draw_train. Cheap (each just swaps
one TileGrid). Runs immediately so the new title + bpm + status are correct on screen.
- Heavy pass: build_grid + draw_log. Deferred by 0.6s after the seam, gated by
self._heavy_redraw_at. B's intro plays clean; the grid catches up half a beat or so
into B with a single brief jitter (rather than B's first 1-2 beats being lost).
Plus gc.collect() at the start of build_grid AND draw_log. Both allocate enough small
objects that a fragmented heap will MemoryError partway through; collecting first gives
them a clean run.
load() / switch_setlist() clear _heavy_redraw_at so a user-initiated navigation doesn't
trigger a second deferred rebuild on top of the immediate one.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The continuous-playback gap between tracks was a one-master-step early trigger of
_on_new_bar(N): nb = _m_steps // steps maps to the LAST step of bar N-1, not the
downbeat of bar N. So _seam_t (= lanes[0]['next'] at that moment) was one master step
short of the proper boundary -- A lost its last step, and B's "bar 0 step 0" landed at
that early slot. With kick:2 (2 steps/bar) that's half a bar each side; with kick:4 a
quarter; with kick:1 a whole bar.
Fix: nb = (self._m_steps - 1) // L['steps'] -- fires at the downbeat of the new bar.
Same adjustment applied to the on-screen "bar X of N" counter (mbars) so it advances
on the downbeat, not on the last beat of the previous bar.
Memory hygiene: gc.collect() at the entry of every modal (_show_menu / _show_settings /
_show_help / _show_about / _show_saverevert / _show_laneedit) so each modal allocates
its bitmaps against a defragmented heap. _prepare_next gc.collect()s before
parse_program and catches MemoryError -> the segment loops instead of crashing.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Previous build aborted at the ASCII guard; the .mpy on the server didn't update. This
adds the patch as a new commit (no history rewrite).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
BPM lower bound dropped 30 -> 5 (engine + ramp + slave-clock-in interval filter; pure
clamp choice, no engine reason for the higher floor). Very slow practice is now
possible. Sub-musical (<5) sits below the slave-decay timeout so wasn't worth pursuing.
Hamburger menu (☰ at the far right of the header, 3 thin recolorable rects; tap zone
covers the corner). Reuses the existing overlay / _ovbtns pattern - no new framework.
- Main menu (_show_menu): Save edits / Revert edits (dimmed when not _dirty) / Continue
on-off (live) / Settings > / Help > / About / Done.
- Settings sub-modal: LED brightness 5..50% in 5% steps, Speaker mode (Auto / Always /
Off, combining MUTE_SPEAKER + SPEAKER_AUTO_MUTE), MIDI Out on/off, MIDI Channel 1..16,
Clock Out on/off, Clock In on/off. < value > adjusters reusing the lane-editor row
pattern. Each tap calls _save_settings(); the modal redraws live.
- Help sub-modal: 3 paginated pages (Transport & Nav / Editing / Status & Hardware)
with < Done > nav.
- About sub-modal: version, free RAM, uptime, CircuitPython version, site URL. Defensive
about gc.mem_free and sys.implementation (CircuitPython-specific).
- Persistence to /settings.json: read in __init__ (_load_settings overrides defaults),
written on every change (settings are small + infrequent). NAKs silently if read-only.
Verified in the harness: all 4 modals render, settings.json round-trips (channel 10->11,
clock_out off->on persisted), tap zones populate as expected.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
New config: MIDI_CLOCK_IN (default OFF) + MIDI_CLOCK_IN_TRANSPORT (default ON).
_feed_midi now intercepts 0xF8 (clock tick) -> smoothed bpm tracker (exponential, a=1/8;
rejects out-of-range intervals so noise can't drag bpm wild), 0xFA / 0xFB (Start /
Continue) -> start playback without echoing 0xFA on output (would feedback), 0xFC ->
stop. _slaved flag is True while ticks are arriving and decays after 1s of silence.
While slaved: per-master-step continuous ramp is OFF (the master's tempo wins) and
Clock Out emission is suppressed (no feedback loop if the user enables both).
Verified in the harness: target 60/120/180 BPM all track exactly after 60 ticks
(2.5 quarter notes of smoothing); 0xFA -> running, 0xFC -> stopped; slave flag
correctly decays.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Push to 0.0.14 stalls at ~150 chunks with the MIDI badge going gray (=device silent for
>1s). It's an occasional slow flash flush on the device side — the file buffer fills,
flush takes several seconds, the editor's 4s timeout cuts it off too early.
- Editor: bump per-chunk ACK timeout 4s -> 10s; progress log every 25 chunks now with
elapsed seconds so you can see it advancing through a slow chunk.
- Device 0.0.14: flush per chunk (small, predictable per-chunk cost instead of
infrequent multi-second bursts) + gc.collect() every 50 chunks to keep the heap
fresh during a long push.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
If Continue was toggled on mid-segment, _prepare_next never ran during bar (bars-1)
and the seam stayed un-armed. Fall back to prep on the spot at the boundary itself.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Speaker rename (production device has a full audio circuit, not a buzzer):
- MUTE_BUZZER -> MUTE_SPEAKER, self.buz -> self.spk, P_BUZ -> P_SPK
- New SPEAKER_AUTO_MUTE flag (default True): mute the speaker when a MIDI host is
detected (the old hardcoded behavior; now a setting).
Gapless seam between tracks (Continue):
- _prepare_next() pre-parses the next playlist item during the LAST bar so the swap is
allocation-free. _do_advance() swaps lanes/bpm/bars/ramp/trainer in with
lanes[0]['next'] = seam_t (the wall-clock time of the boundary step we just hit), no
_reset_clock - the next tick fires step 0 of the new track exactly at the boundary.
tick() breaks out at the seam so the old voice's boundary beat is NOT fired (it'd be
the new track's step 0 a few ms later). Visuals (build_grid + draws) are deferred
one display-refresh cycle behind the audio via _need_redraw, so the audio doesn't
wait for them.
Continuous ramp:
- Replaced the bar-boundary set_bpm step with per-master-step linear interpolation:
bpm = _ramp_base + amt * ((m_steps/mlen) % bars) / ramp.every (clamped 30..300).
The integer-clamped bpm glides smoothly across the segment. draw_bpm() is now lazy
(skips the bitmap alloc if the displayed integer hasn't changed), and the periodic
meter tick in run() also redraws BPM so the big number follows the ramp.
MIDI Clock Out (master):
- New flags: MIDI_CHANNEL (default 10 = GM drum), MIDI_CLOCK_OUT (default OFF),
MIDI_CLOCK_OUT_TRANSPORT (default ON). midi_send() now uses the configured channel.
In tick(), when running + MIDI_CLOCK_OUT, stream 0xF8 at 24 PPQN with the interval
computed live from self.bpm (so it follows the continuous ramp). toggle() sends
0xFA on Start and 0xFC on Stop when transport is enabled.
Verified in harness: seam keeps lanes[0]['next'] = seam_t (no _reset_clock); ramp 80
glides via +0.25/step (visible as 80->81 in 4 master steps at rmp80/4/4); Clock Out
math sound (60/120/180 BPM -> 41.67/20.83/13.89 ms tick interval).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Promote the CircuitPython "appliance" section to the single, default-open firmware
section, and update the hero/about/meta to match (drop "copy one file" / PROGRAMS list /
MicroPython flash dance phrasing -> precompiled bundle + on-device editing + Save to
device).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Push advanced to ~150/506 chunks then stalled intermittently. With Device audio on, the
heartbeat (0xFE every 250ms + a clock SysEx every ~3s) shares the MIDI link with the
firmware chunks and intermittently costs a chunk its ACK. Pause the heartbeat for the
duration of _pushFirmware and resume after.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Trace showed the push reaching "pushing" then stalling. Two causes: (1) _send went to
ALL MIDI outputs incl. "Midi Through Port-0" (a loopback that just echoes back); (2) the
512-char chunks overran the Pico's USB-MIDI receive buffer, so the device never saw the
end of a chunk's SysEx and never ACKed.
- _send now targets only the device port (name match pico/circuitpython/usb_midi; falls
back to all outputs if none match) - no loopback echo.
- Firmware chunks 512 -> 64 base64 chars (a SysEx that fits the RX buffer); log progress
every 50 chunks + a "committing" line so the console shows it advancing.
Editor-only; hard-reload to pick it up (no firmware change).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
User reports the updater does nothing with no visible error. Every code path shows a
dialog, so it's bailing before/at one of them (likely browser dialog-suppression making
confirm() return false, a stale/cached editor, or an uncaught throw). Log each step so a
console trace pinpoints where it stops.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Per request, stay on 0.0.x; the lane-editor build is relabeled 0.0.13 (no code change).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Tap the instrument name -> a modal to change Sound (cycle the GM voices), Beats (1-12),
Subdivision (1-8), Swing, and Mute, plus + Lane / Remove (1..MAXLANES). Beats/sub changes
regenerate the lane's default accents; sound/swing/mute keep the pattern. Reuses the
existing dirty + Save/Revert + .mpy machinery (edits to a built-in save a copy to
"My edits"). The modal redraws live as you adjust; tap Done or outside to close.
Verified in harness: editor opens (13 hit-zones), sound cycles, beats/sub regen steps,
swing/mute toggle, add/remove lanes, the edited track serializes + round-trips, Done
closes; modal renders cleanly. app.mpy builds (C/v6).
This completes the Phase-2 editing set (beats + lanes + Continue + built-in/user split).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Built-in Song playlist: every section is now b4 (~4 bars) so Continue rolls one into
the next quickly.
- On-screen timer now counts WITHIN the current segment and resets every time the bar
counter wraps (new _seg_start, reset at each b<n> boundary + on _reset_clock). The
practice-log duration still uses play_start (total). Unified the segment-boundary
handling (timer reset + ramp restart + Continue advance) in _on_new_bar.
- MIDI stutter: display.refresh() BLOCKS on the SPI stream and was delaying the next
beat's note. Cap refresh to ~30Hz and poll the GT911 touch ~30Hz (was every loop) so
the scheduler fires notes on time; visuals lag a few ms (imperceptible).
Verified in harness: Build(b4,rmp92/4/2) bpm 92->96->reset@bar4, seg_start resets only at
the boundary, Continue arms there; edit tests pass; app.mpy builds (C/v6).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
With the .mpy loading (no more OOM), the full app ran on hardware for the first time and
hit _slkey()'s c.isalnum() in the set-list dedup -> AttributeError (MicroPython/CircuitPython
str omits isalnum; my CPython harness has it, so it slipped through). Replaced with a
membership test against an explicit alnum set (uses only .lower()). Also compile the .mpy
from inside pico-cp/ so tracebacks read "app.py" instead of "pico-cp/app.py".
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The single-file app grew to ~57KB; CircuitPython compiling it at boot fragments the
RP2040 heap so badly that the fonts can't get a contiguous block (161KB free, yet a
~16KB alloc fails). Fix: precompile to app.mpy (Adafruit mpy-cross for CP 10.2.1, emits
CircuitPython mpy v6) so the device loads bytecode without compiling -> no fragmentation.
- build.sh precompiles pico-cp/app.py -> dist/app.mpy via tools/mpy-cross (gitignored
binary); the bundle ships app.mpy (NOT app.py); serves pico-cp-app.mpy + pico-cp-app.py
(the .py only for the editor's version regex + as readable reference).
- Loader (code.py) imports app.mpy and rolls back app.bak as .mpy.
- One-click updater now pushes the .mpy: editor base64-encodes it and sends it over the
existing flow-controlled chunked transport (512-char = mult-of-4 chunks); the device
base64-decodes each chunk to /app.new and verifies the CircuitPython .mpy header
(magic 'C', v6, >=4KB) before the A/B install. Version still read from the served .py.
Verified: mpy-cross emits magic 'C'/v6; build produces a 21.8KB app.mpy; editing-logic
harness + scene render still pass; and a simulated push (base64 -> 57 chunks -> a2b_base64)
reassembles the .mpy byte-exact and passes the device's header check.
One-time recovery: delete app.py from the drive, copy app.mpy + code.py from the new zip.
After that, updates are one-click again (and can't brick: header check + A/B rollback).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Tap a beat to cycle it (off->normal->accent->ghost); the title turns red (unsaved).
Tap the title -> SAVE / REVERT modal. Editing a built-in saves a COPY into a "My edits"
user playlist (built-ins stay read-only); editing a user item updates it in place.
Saves persist to programs.json (NAKs gracefully in editor mode / read-only).
- New round-trippable serializer (lane_to_str/_prog_str): parser now keeps groups + @db
gain + ramp start; verified parse->serialize->parse on all 23 built-ins (0 mismatches).
- Continue (CONT) toggle, top-right of the tab line: when on, a playlist auto-advances to
the next item at the end of each item's b<n> segment (no log spam, keeps the stopwatch).
- Touch routing consolidated: tab=switch playlist / CONT, title=save-revert, pads=cycle,
log=delete; modal overlay drawn on top.
Verified in the harness: beat cycle+dirty, built-in edit -> My edits persisted (built-ins
untouched), revert, Continue arming at segment end, overlay SAVE-tap, and both renders.
Next (0.1.0): tap the instrument name -> lane-parameter table (reuses this save machinery).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The standard editor defaults (Styles / Practice / Song) are baked into app.py as
BUILTIN_SETLISTS (ASCII-fied — emoji/accents would break the 7-bit push + the fonts),
so they update with firmware and the user can't change or delete them. User playlists
live separately in programs.json and are merged after the built-ins.
Device:
- Set-list model: self.setlists = built-ins + user lists (deduped by normalized title,
so a baked built-in always wins). load()/goto() work within the current list.
- Navigation: a set-list "tab" (small, above the title) shows playlist + position,
muted for built-in / cyan for user; TAP it to switch playlists. Joystick L/R = item.
- SysEx 0x10 (push) writes programs.json -> rebuild user lists; built-ins untouched.
- Shipped programs.json is now empty ({"setlists":[]}) — built-ins come from firmware.
Editor:
- "Save to device" now syncs only YOUR set lists (filters out the built-in seeds) in the
new {setlists:[...]} format; warns if you have none. Load-from-device imports both the
new multi-list and old flat formats.
Verified in the harness: 3 read-only built-ins, set-list switching, user-list merge +
dedup of a pushed "styles", and the ramp engine on a built-in track (80->84->88, +4/4 bars).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Device parser now reads the rmp<start>/<amt>/<every> and tr<play>/<mute> tokens it
previously ignored, and the firmware performs them:
- Tempo ramp: steps bpm by <amt> every <every> bars (resets to the start at each b<n>
segment boundary). Shows an amber ramp arrow + "+amt/everyb" (up/down by sign; no
starting bpm, per request).
- Gap trainer: cycles <play> audible bars then <mute> silent bars (no click/MIDI/LED;
playheads keep moving). Shows a play|rest symbol + "play/muteb".
- Practice log entries now record + show bars played.
Verified in the CPython harness: ramp 92->96->100->104->108 (+4 every 2 bars), gap
mute cycle play,play,mute,mute, and the on-screen ramp indicator renders.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
APP_VERSION -> 0.0.6. Device firmware + editor change in lockstep — one-time manual
copy of 0.0.6 needed (the broken single-shot updater can't deliver it).
Update transport (fixes the failed/bricking updates):
- Editor now pushes app.py in 512-byte flow-controlled chunks: begin(0x21,len) ->
data(0x22)* -> commit(0x23), waiting for each ACK before the next. A single ~38KB
SysEx overran the device's USB-MIDI input buffer and arrived corrupt.
- Device writes chunks straight to /app.new, and on commit verifies length + no NUL +
App().run()/APP_VERSION present before the A/B install; rejects (NAK) otherwise and
keeps the working build. All errors caught -> never bricks.
Run/stop indicator moved off the screen onto the RGB LED (per feedback that recoloring
the whole background is wrong — it forces a full-screen SPI repaint and fringes the
anti-aliased text):
- Dim GREEN when stopped ("on"), dim RED while playing; the beat pulse flashes brighter
and now decays back to the running base instead of to black. Background is static black.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Root cause: a non-ASCII em-dash in an app.py comment. The A/B updater pushes app.py
as 7-bit SysEx (charCode & 0x7F), which turned the em-dash's bytes into a NUL byte ->
corrupt source -> the pushed build crashed on boot (black screen, onboard LED blinking
CircuitPython's error/safe-mode pattern). A dragged copy was fine (valid UTF-8); only
the over-MIDI path mangled it.
- Replace the em-dash with ASCII; app.py is now pure ASCII.
- build.sh now ASSERTS pico-cp/app.py is pure ASCII (fails the build otherwise) so this
class of bug can never ship again.
- Device 0x20 handler VALIDATES the pushed app.py before installing (reject if it
contains a NUL byte, or is missing App().run()/APP_VERSION) and now catches ALL
exceptions (not just OSError) -> a corrupt/truncated/oversized push NAKs and keeps the
working build instead of bricking. Longer pre-reload sleep so the ACK flushes.
APP_VERSION -> 0.0.5.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
App.py-only (ships over the one-click updater). APP_VERSION -> 0.0.3.
- Run/stop is now a background tint (gray running / near-black stopped) instead of
STOP text, reclaiming the space.
- Running time + bar counter show "of total" when the track has a b<n> length:
"1:23 of 2:00" and "bar N of 16" (bar cycles 1..N); total time derived from
bars x master-beats-per-bar x 60/bpm. Parser now reads the b<n> token.
- Practice log is filtered to the current track (drops the redundant track column).
- Pads: squares for the main pulse, circles for subdivisions (was square + hollow
outline); fewer vectorio shapes too.
- Track number set apart from the title (small + dim, right) so it no longer reads
as part of the title.
On-device editing (tap instrument -> lane table; tap beat -> cycle state; dirty-name
-> confirm save/revert) is deferred to Phase 2, where "save" has a correct destination
(an edited built-in saves as a user copy).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Device screen redesign (CircuitPython app.py), built proportional to WIDTH/HEIGHT
so it scales to other panels (one adaptive firmware, per-panel config — not a fork):
- gen_assets.py bakes logo.bin (VARASYS wordmark, no tagline), midi.bin (DIN-5),
usb.bin (trident) as 4-bit-alpha bitmaps (same packing as the fonts).
- Header: VARASYS logo (brand cyan) replaces the "PM_K-1 KIT" text; MIDI icon goes
green when a host is listening, USB icon lights when supervisor.runtime.usb_connected.
load_alpha/make_glyph are non-fatal — a missing .bin falls back to text, never a
black screen (addresses the corrupt-file failure mode we just hit).
- Pad grid: filled squares on main beats, hollow outline squares (outer+inner rect) on
off-beats; playhead fills the lit pad. Vertical gridlines at the master lane's beats
(full height) so beats line up across lanes.
- Stopwatch (m:ss) + bar counter (master-lane cycles), refreshed ~4x/s only on change.
The .bin assets ship in the drive bundle (the A/B updater only pushes app.py), so a
one-time re-copy is needed to pick them up. APP_VERSION -> 0.0.2.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The editor that ships on the device opens via file://, whose null origin can't
fetch() anything — so "Update firmware" died at the download-the-latest step
(CORS-blocked) before the USB-MIDI push. Now _firmwareSource() tries the site
(same-origin on the https editor; absolute URL when online) and, failing that,
lets the user pick app.py — mirroring the programs.json download/drag fallback.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Split the CircuitPython firmware into a tiny stable loader (code.py) + the application (app.py,
carries APP_VERSION). The editor's ⋯ → "⬆ Update firmware" queries the device version (SysEx 0x02
-> 0x03 reply), fetches the latest app from the site (/pico-cp-app.py), shows device-vs-latest, and
pushes the new app.py over USB-MIDI (SysEx 0x20). The device installs it to a trial slot (old build
kept as app.bak), reboots, and the loader AUTO-ROLLS-BACK to app.bak if the new build fails to start;
a build that runs cleanly ~5s is confirmed (clears /trial). No BOOTSEL, no dragging; Chromium/Firefox.
app.py forced to pure ASCII so it pushes raw (no base64); SysEx buffer raised to 60KB.
build.sh/deploy.sh: bundle code.py+app.py and serve /pico-cp-app.py. Docs updated.
Verified in CPython: version reply, update install+reboot+ACK, rollback file dance; editor loads clean
with the updater wired.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Firmware (pico-cp/): the Pico now owns its filesystem by default (boot.py), so it can save the
practice log and write editor-pushed set lists; the drive is read-only to the computer, which also
protects the firmware. Hold button A at power-on for editor mode (drive writable; universal drag).
- Replaced the on-screen touch buttons with an on-device PRACTICE LOG (time · BPM · duration ·
track), newest-first, persisted to /history.json next to programs.json. Plays < 5s aren't logged;
tap a row twice to delete it. Real timestamps once the editor syncs the clock.
- USB-MIDI SysEx receiver: clock-set (0x01 -> RTC) and program-push (0x10 -> write programs.json,
reload, ACK/NAK). disable autoreload so our own writes never self-restart.
- Fixed swing: the parser was discarding the 's' flag, so /2s never swung. Now the scheduler uses a
per-step duration with long-short (2:1, SWING_RATIO 2/3) pairs on even subdivisions, matching the
web engine. Verified: ride:4/2s -> 266/133ms vs straight 200/200.
Editor (editor.html): requestMIDIAccess({sysex:true}); Save to device now pushes programs.json as
SysEx to the device (+ clock sync), waits for ACK, shows "Saved ✓", and falls back to downloading the
file (drag onto the drive in editor mode) when no device answers. Heartbeat also keeps the clock synced.
Web MIDI works in Chromium AND Firefox; the drag fallback covers any browser/OS incl. Safari.
Docs (pico-cp/README, info-kit, README) updated for the two modes, push programming, and the log.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
