On Thu, May 28, 2020 at 07:08:25AM -0700, Mark Knecht wrote: > On Thu, May 28, 2020 at 4:31 AM Sam Kuper wrote: >> On Tue, May 26, 2020 at 04:57:14PM -0700, Mark Knecht wrote: >> > I purchased [a TC Electronic Plethora X5]. It works well (so far). >> > It's Linux internally running 4.9.47-rt37. >> >> I'm curious: how do you know which kernel your Plethora X5 uses? > > The front panel menu system: > > Global->About->BSP-> Linux 4.9.47-rt37 2019-12-20.C23818C
Thanks. >> Finally, do you know if TC Electronic has published any of the source >> code relevant to the Plethora X5? > > I haven't looked hard for any of that but I also haven't seen it in the > manual or on their website. Thanks. All I could find on the TC Electronic website was this page, which attempts to foist an EULA on anyone who downloads the firmware: https://www.tcelectronic.com/Categories/Tcelectronic/Guitar/Effects-Processors/PLETHORA-X5/p/P0D9M/Downloads I've sent an email to license-violation at gpl-violations.org to let them know. I'm not sure it would be wise for anyone to spend time trying to reverse-engineer the X5 if its source code might be forthcoming. Trying to get the source code seems a better use of effort in the first instance. (N.B.: I do not know whether TC Electronic is in fact violating the GPL, nor whether it will ever publish its source code for the X5. Sadly, nor can I help on that front beyond what I have already done, since I don't hold copyright on any code in the Linux kernel nor do I own an X5. My participation in this email thread has been on the basis that I would like to see more audio equipment running and/or made compatible with GNU/Linux, and on the basis that if the X5 were made more interoperable with GNU/Linux then I might be interested in owning one.) > mark@science:~$ diff /tmp/lsusb_x5_disconnected.txt > /tmp/lsusb_x5_connected.txt > 10a11,13 >> |__ Port 2: Dev 3, If 0, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M >> |__ Port 2: Dev 3, If 1, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M >> |__ Port 2: Dev 3, If 2, Class=Mass Storage, Driver=usb-storage, 480M > mark@science:~$ > > In Windows when you plug the device in your get a explorer window. > Dropping a firmware update into that window and power cycling does the > firmware upgrade automatically. Thanks. Since the X5 presents a USB mass storage device to the OS and uses that to upgrade the firmware, at least you should be able to upgrade the X5's firmware from your GNU/Linux box. That firmware upgrade path might provide opportunities for future reverse engineering attempts. (In addition to searching the PCB for JTAG headers, etc.) I wonder how the Windows software communicates with the X5, though. That's not obvious from the lsusb output. A reverse engineer might need to intercept/sniff the USB traffic between the X5 and a Windows host to figure that out. > A first response from TC Electronic via a moderator named 'TC-Mike' is > that the ability to backup the device is 'on the roadmap'. > > I asked about general timeframe but have received no response. Thanks for the follow-up. -- A: When it messes up the order in which people normally read text. Q: When is top-posting a bad thing? () ASCII ribbon campaign. Please avoid HTML emails & proprietary /\ file formats. (Why? See e.g. https://v.gd/jrmGbS ). Thank you. _______________________________________________ Linux-audio-dev mailing list [email protected] https://lists.linuxaudio.org/listinfo/linux-audio-dev
