RETROAKTIV MPG-50 USER MANUAL
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BOOTLOADER AND SYSTEM UPDATES
BOOTLOADER AND SYSTEM UPDATES
The MPG-50 has a MIDI bootloader that allows users to update their OS in the field using a MIDI sysex utility
such as MIDI OX. New OS files are available from Retroaktiv when updates are issued. To obtain an OS file,
contact Retroaktiv and request a copy of the latest SYSEX OS file. To identify your MPG-50’s firmware version,
power the unit up and the firmware version will be shown at the bottom of the MPG-50 splash screen. Check
on the Retroaktiv site for the latest firmware updates.
ENTERING BOOTLOADER
ENTERING BOOTLOADER
To load update, power up MPG-50 with GLIDE button held. CHORUS LED will blink one time, to indicate that
unit is now in bootloader mode. A sysex librarian such as MIDI-OX or Sysex Librarian is used to load the new
firmware file into the MPG-50. Set the delay after F7 to 160ms or greater. (This is the delay between sysex
strings from the computer) Setting this too short will overflow the MPG-50 MIDI buffer, and you will get a
blinking error code. The pause in between sysex packets allows the MPG-50 time to process each packet and
write it to FLASH. When ready, send the file to the MIDI IN of the MPG-50. The CHORUS LED will blink once for
each sysex packet. CHORUS LED will light solid when the OS has been loaded. When lit solidly, you can restart
the unit and use the new OS.
In some cases, you will receive an error code instead of the 1 blink per MIDI data packet. When you observe
a series of multiple blinks in sequence, this means that there was an error. The MPG-50 cannot be “bricked”,
meaning that if a firmware update fails, the memory in the unit can always be restored to an operating state
with the successful load of a firmware update. If you receive one of the following errors, cycle power, enter
the bootloader and try again.
BOOTLOADER ERROR CODES
BOOTLOADER ERROR CODES
• • 2 blinks
2 blinks: Didn’t receive 0xF0 at beginning of message. This indicates a fundamental problem with the .syx
file or MIDI communication. This means that a non-sysex message was received, and the bootloader must
be restarted. The bootloader expects to see an F0 command bookended by an F7. If your DAW sends out
active sensing messages, this will cause the bootloader to reject the incoming file. Any stray MIDI data will
cause the bootloader to abort and give an error message. This is the most common error code. It most
likely means that the delay between sysex packets needs to be longer (This is often called Delay after F7 in
sysex librarians). When the delay is set to less than 160 ms, the MPG-50 MIDI buffer will overflow, causing
the 2 blink error. If you get the 2 blink error code before you even begin sending data to the MPG-50, this
means that you have either ACTIVE SENSING messages turned on, or your system is sending MIDI realtime
messages, which will both corrupt the firmware data. Turn these off. If using a USB to MIDI cable, be aware
that these often have active sensing permanently turned on. Use a dedicated hardware interface to
update if this is the case.
• • 3 blinks
3 blinks: There was a problem parsing the dummy packets used as a placeholder while the system is writing
data to the EEPROM space. This error should never be an issue on MPG-50, as it writes its own EEPROM
data file.
• • 4 blinks
4 blinks: Wrong product ID. Expected if a sysex file intended for a product other than the connected
programmer is used. You will recevie this error if you do something like try to load an MPG-70 Firmware
update onto an MPG-50.
