Updating a very old version of OWL Pedal to the most recent bootloader/firmware

OWL Firmware
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#1

Hi, I have an OWL Pedal (kickstarter version) I haven’t used in years and I want to get the latest and greatest software on it. What’s the recommended process now? I want to minimize the chance of my bricking the device

I guess I need to update both the bootloader and the firmware? I’m not sure what versions of each I have installed on the pedal right now.

Could you link me to the most up to date guides of what I should do and in what order?

Also: I can use Ubuntu 20.04, Windows 10 or MacOS Catalina for the updates - is any of these preferred over the others if I want to make the process as robust as possible?

Thanks in advance

My owl pedal seems to be bricked
#2

It should be the same as with other devices I think?

Make sure you are using a recent chrome/chromium browser (on any system).
To check the current version of your device go to OWL Patch Library – Rebel Technology

Latest firmware releases can be found here: Releases · pingdynasty/OpenWare · GitHub

Then go to WebUSB DFU for OWL and follow the instructions (start the device with button pressed, then connect) and upload the firmware for your specific device.

If the device is not listed then @mars will know what to do :stuck_out_tongue:

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#3

Hello @nietaki

You don’t have to update bootloader. The new bootloader allows flashing firmware in SysEx format, while with old bootloader you have to use DFU with .bin files. Firmware for OWL1 is released in both formats.

You can find instructions for updating OWL1 firmware in latest firmware announcement - https://community.rebeltech.org/t/new-firmware-openware-v21-2/1677 .

The reason why we don’t suggest to update bootloader just yet is that it’s possible to end up with device that doesn’t boot in case of an error. This can always be resolved on OWL1, because it has a DFU bootloader in its system memory that can’t be overwritten. But it takes some time to deal with such issues and bootloader update itself won’t make any difference to normal device usage.

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#4

Thank you both for your replies! I’m a bit paranoid about bricking this thing, so just making sure:

To check the current version of your device go to OWL Patch Library – Rebel Technology

I managed to connect it here, it lists a whole bunch of presets and the box on the left says CONNECTED TO: OWL Pedal v12 - I guess this is the current firmware version?

Looks like the relevant files here are OwlPedal.bin and OwlPedal.syx. Am I right in thinking that the .bin file is for use with either thedfu-util or the webdfu? If I understand you right, I could theoretically use the .syx file with the webdfu if I updated the bootloader first which is not worth doing right now - is that correct?

Then go to WebUSB DFU for OWL and follow the instructions (start the device with button pressed, then connect) and upload the firmware for your specific device.

I got the pedal connected right, I started by trying to Dump flash from device, but got a stall result about 10% through the process. Is it something to worry about or should I flash the firmware regardless?

Thanks again for looking into this :slight_smile:

#5

also, just in case it’s helpful in any way, here’s the info I get from the webdfu when I get the pedal connected:

Name: STM32  BOOTLOADER
MFG: STMicroelectronics
Serial: 394C325C3432
DFU: [0483:df11] cfg=1, intf=0, alt=0, name="STM32  BOOTLOADER" serial="394C325C3432"
Selected memory region: Internal Flash (1MiB)
0x08000000-0x0800ffff (readable, erasable, writable)
0x08010000-0x0801ffff (readable, erasable, writable)
0x08020000-0x080fffff (readable, erasable, writable)
#6

You don’t have to dump the old firmware image and you should use .bin files with DFU. SysEx files can be uploaded to new bootloader, but we have another tool for that (and there are more alternatives, you only need some software that can play MIDI file to USB device).

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#7

Thanks all, it worked without a hitch :thumbsup:

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