Brand new Nebulae v2 Rpi4 some questions

Our Modules Nebulae
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I just picked up a Nebulae v2 brand new. Loving the sound and after a few days of experimentation I have some questions.

  • oddly I have found that the alternate single grain trigger mode only works for the default factory bank granular instrument.
    I can’t quite understand why this would be? I tried getting a copy from github and also got a copy via SSH from the Rpi4 sdcard directory for the factory instruments and it behaves differently when it is loaded from the user instrument bank. I can see the alt function is activated as the freeze button is lit when I hold source but any triggers into source just alternate between the file and the buffer. If I load the factory version the alt grain trigger mode works as expected.

  • Is there any way to get SSH access without removing the module and then having to separate the Rpi4 from the Nebulae v2 to access the ethernet port? The ethernet port is blocked by not just a linking cable but also the pins from the pcb. The manual mentions SSH for loading certain additional instruments but doesn’t say any more on how to gain access.

The alternative 3rd party firmware that creates a wifi connection appears not to work with my nebulae v2 with a Rpi4. It may be because it was developed at a time when Nebulae v2s shipped with the RPi3 .

Many thanks in advance for any advice or tips here

1 Like
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Hey @fyldenut, welcome to the forum, and great questions!

This is a result of the technical limitations of the .instr file system. The manual grain trigger command is not possible within a .instr file, so we hard coded the command into the Nebulae firmware for the default factory bank.

Unfortunately there is no way to access the ethernet port on the Rpi4 versions of Nebulae. You would have to clip the pins for the USB port in order to access, but you would then lose the front panel USB port functionality, and would have to load files into the rear of your Nebulae.

An alternate option would be to find an Rpi3 on the open market to swap out. The pins are compatible with the Nebulae control board, and the ethernet location is different on the Pi (which we originally designed for).

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Thanks alot for taking the time to answer my questions.

Which version of RPi3 was used previously, was it the RPi3b or the RPi3b+ ?

I am hoping someone like technobear might develop a firmware for the Rpi4 version one day.

Is it the 1gb version Rpi4 that you currently send out with your new Nebulae v2s?

Thanks

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The Rasberry Pi 3 Model B was used originally on the Nebulae v2.

We have the 4GB version of the Rpi4 on current production Nebulae v2’s!

I agree, it would be awesome to see an updated version of the technobear firmware. It likely will not happen since technobear probably only has a Pi3 version of the module (I’m guessing). Still, you never know!