Free The Tone ARC-4 Use and care manual

ARC-4
AUDIO ROUTING CONTROLLER
Firmware Update Procedures

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Workflow for Updating
1. Prepare a personal computer (Mac or Windows PC) and a MIDI interface and set them up to be operational.
2. From the specified website, download the suitable software (“SysEx Librarian” for Mac or “SendSx” for Windows PC) and install
it.
3. Download the latest firmware from the Free The Tone website.
4. Make a backup of the existing data in the unit because writing the firmware initializes it.
Connect the ARC-4’s MIDI OUT/THRU plug to the MIDI interface’s MIDI IN plug and use the installed software to send the ARC-4’s
data to the personal computer and save it (refer to ARC-4 Owner’s Manual page 24).
5. Connect the ARC-4’s MIDI IN plug to the MIDI interface’s MIDI OUT plug and use the installed software to send the firmware to the
ARC-4.
6. The Display-1 counts up from “1” to “100,” then shows “-WR-” and goes out.
7. Both the PS and DIR LEDs above the MODE switch illuminate, the L1–L5 switches’ LEDs repeat blinking in turns, and the PS1–PS5 LEDs
illuminate sequentially to show the writing process is in progress.
8. When the PS and DIR LEDs above the MODE switch flash alternately, the writing is completed.
If the unit does not reboot automatically, disconnect the power and then reboot it.
9. After rebooting, the Display-1 shows “PARAM” and “ID ERR” alternately.
Press and hold the MODE switch. “INIT” is shown, the data is forcibly initialized, and the unit reboots.
10. Since all of the data has been initialized, write the backup data saved in Step 4 to the ARC-4 (refer to ARC-4 Owner’s Manual
page 23).
Firmware Update Steps
1. Confirmation of Firmware Version
1) Turn on the power to the ARC-4.
2) Immediately after booting up, check the version information shown on the Display-1.
If “VER1.00” is shown, the newly added functions become available after the firmware update.
If “VER1.11” is shown, then the unit has the latest firmware. You can use it without updating.
2. Preparation of Personal Computer and MIDI Interface
1) Prepare a personal computer (Mac or Windows PC) and a MIDI interface.
2) Connect the computer to the MIDI interface.
3) Download a driver for the MIDI interface.
At this step, the ARC-4 and the MIDI interface are not connected.
For settings of the MIDI interface, please refer to its operation manual.
N.B Free The Tone uses a Yamaha USB-MIDI Interface UX16 for operation testing. We recommend to use this model.
3. Downloading of Latest Firmware for ARC-4
From the Free The Tone website (https://www.freethetone.com/en/support/download/) download the latest firmware for
the ARC-4 and unzip it.
Write down the name of the folder in which the file was saved (ex: FIRMWARE).
NOTE: A “FF-1Y_FIRMWARE_V**.ZIP can’t be downloaded securely.” warning may appear when downloading the file. Disregard
this warning message and proceed to download. (“**” in filename denotes firmware’s version number.)
4. Acquiring and Installing MIDI Software
Mac users: Go to page 3.
Windows users: Jump to page 12.

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For Mac Users
1. Preparation of MIDI Software
1) Download “SysEx Librarian” (freeware) from http://snoize.com/SysExLibrarian/ and save it in any folder.
2) Unzip the downloaded file (zip file) and install the software.
3) Run SysEx Librarian. The following screen appears.
2. Configuration of SysEx Librarian
1) From the main window’s pull-down menu, select the MIDI interface to be used.
Select “Port1” for Yamaha UX16.
If no MIDI interface is connected or the MIDI interface driver has not been installed correctly, the interface list will not be shown. In
such a case, check if the MIDI interface is connected properly and the driver has been installed.

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After selecting the interface to be used, the screen changes as follows.
3. Making Backup of Preset Data
1) Connect the ARC-4’s MIDI OUT/THRU plug to the MIDI interface’s MIDI IN plug.

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2) Click “Record Many” shown on the SysEx Librarian’s screen.
3) The following screen appears after clicking “Record Many.”
4) On the ARC-4 in Edit mode, select “DUMP LOAD” and send the data.
For details, please refer to “Sending ARC-4’s Data (DP-LD)” in ARC-4 Owner’s Manual (p.24).

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5) During data transmission the Display-1 on the ARC-4 counts up from “000” to “300.”
The display in SysEx Librarian also counts up.
Click “Done” when SysEx Librarian completes counting up and displays the following screen.
6) The file shown as “Untitled” in SysEx Librarian’s “SysEx File” column is the received preset data.

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7) Select the received preset data, select “Save As Sysex(.syx)...” from the SysEx Librarian’s “File” menu to save the received
preset data.
8) Enter the desired filename, select the save location, and click “Save” to complete.
NOTE: This preset data contains MIDI channels, setlist data, etc. set in Edit mode.

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4. Writing Firmware
1) Click the “+” (or “Add...” in some versions) button at the lower left corner of the main window.
2) Select the latest ARC-4 firmware file you’ve downloaded.
After selecting the file, the following message appears. Click “OK.”
When the file is correctly loaded, the filename is shown in the list as in the following screen and highlighted in white (on blue
background) if it is clicked.

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3) Connect the ARC-4’s MIDI IN plug to the MIDI interface’s MIDI OUT plug.
4) On the ARC-4 in Edit mode, select “FIRMWARE UPDATE.”
For details, please refer to “Updating Firmware via MIDI (FW-UD)” in ARC-4 Owner’s Manual (p.24).
5) Click the “Play” button at the upper left corner of the SysEx Librarian’s main screen.
CAUTION! During data transmission, never turn off the power to the ARC-4.
6) The Display-1 on the ARC-4 counts up from “1” to “100,” then shows “-WR-” and goes out.
7) Both the PS and DIR LEDs above the MODE switch illuminate, the L1–L5 switches’ LEDs repeat blinking in turns, and the PS1–PS5 LEDs
illuminate sequentially to show the writing process in progress.
8) When the PS and DIR LEDs above the MODE switch flashes alternately, then the writing is completed. If the unit does not reboot
automatically, disconnect the power once and then reboot it.
9) After rebooting, the Display-1 shows “PARAM” and “ID ERR” alternately. Press and hold the MODE switch. The Display-1 indicates
“INIT,” the data is forcibly initialized and the unit is restarted.

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5. Writing Preset Data
1) Click the “+” (or “Add...” in some versions) button at the lower left corner of the main window.
2) Select the preset data backed up in Step 3 above.
3) Similarly in the firmware writing step, connect the ARC-4’s MIDI IN plug to the MIDI interface’s MIDI OUT plug.

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4) On the ARC-4 in Edit mode, select “DUMP LOAD” and set it to be ready for data reception.
For details, please refer to “Receiving ARC-4’s Data (DP-LD)” in ARC-4 Owner’s Manual (p.23).
5) Click the “Play” button at the upper left corner of the SysEx Librarian’s main screen.
6) The Display-1 on the ARC-4 counts up from “1” to “300” and shows “WAIT,” then “DONE.” If the unit returns to Edit mode, the
writing process is completed.
NOTE: “WAIT” may be indicated for more than 20 seconds. Please do not turn off the power and be sure to wait until “DONE” is
shown.
7) Press the MODE switch to return the unit to its normal operation mode. This completes the firmware update steps.

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For Windows Users
1. Preparation of MIDI Software
1) Download “SendSx” (shareware) from http://w w w.bo me.com/products/sendsx and store it in any folder.
2) Unzip the downloaded file (zip file) and install the software.
3) Run SendSx.
The following screen appears.
2. Configuration of SendSx
1) Select the “MIDI Out” and “MIDI In” menu items for the MIDI interface to be used.
Select “Yamaha UX16-1” for Yamaha UX16. If no MIDI interface is connected or the MIDI interface driver has not been installed
correctly, the interface list will not be shown. In such a case, check if the MIDI interface is connected properly and the driver has
been installed.

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After selecting the interface to be used, its name is shown at the bottom of the screen.
3. Making Backup of Preset Data
1) Connect the ARC-4’s MIDI OUT/THRU plug to the MIDI interface’s MIDI IN plug.
2) On the ARC-4 in Edit mode, select “DUMP LOAD” and send the data.
For details, please refer to “Receiving ARC-4’s Data (DP-LD)” in ARC-4 Owner’s Manual (p.24).
3) During data transmission the Display-1 on the ARC-4 counts up from “000” to “300.” “MIDI In” in the SendSx screen also counts up.
NOTE: If, upon reception of the preset, SendSx starts and selects the MIDI interface correctly, you do not have to operate SendSx.

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4) When the preset data reception at SendSx completes, the screen changes as follows.
5) Select “Save MIDI In As...” from the “File” menu.
6) Enter the desired filename, select the save location, and click “Save” to complete.
NOTE: This preset data contains MIDI channels, setlist data, etc. set in Edit mode.

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4. Writing Firmware
1) Select “Open” from the “File” menu.
2) Select the downloaded firmware file in the file select screen.
When the file is correctly loaded, it is shown in the following screen. The Windows PC is now ready to transmit the file data.

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3) Connect the ARC-4’s MIDI IN plug to the MIDI interface’s MIDI OUT plug.
4) On the ARC-4 in Edit mode, select “FIRMWARE UPDATE.”
For details, please refer to “Updating Firmware via MIDI (FW-UD)” in ARC-4 Owner’s Manual (p.24).
5) Press the “Send(F4)” button in the lower left section of the SendSx’s main screen.
CAUTION! During data transmission, never turn off the power to the ARC-4.
6) The Display-1 on the ARC-4 counts up from “1” to “100,” then shows “-WR-” and goes out.
7) Both the PS and DIR LEDs above the MODE switch illuminate, the L1–L5 switches’ LEDs repeat blinking in turns, and the PS1–PS5 LEDs
illuminate sequentially to show the writing process in progress.
8) When the PS and DIR LEDs above the MODE switch flashes alternately, then the writing is completed. If the unit does not reboot
automatically, disconnect the power once and then reboot it.
9) After rebooting, the Display-1 shows “PARAM” and “ID ERR” alternately. Press and hold the MODE switch. The Display-1 indicates
“INIT,” the data is forcibly initialized and the unit is restarted.

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5. Writing Preset Data
1) From the SendSx’s “File” menu select “Open.”
2) Select the preset data backed up in Step 3 above.
3) Similarly in the firmware writing step, connect the ARC-4’s MIDI IN plug to the MIDI interface’s MIDI OUT plug.

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4) On the ARC-4 in Edit mode, select “DUMP LOAD” and set it to be ready for data reception.
For details, please refer to “Receiving ARC-4’s Data (DP-LD)” in ARC-4 Owner’s Manual (p.23).
5) Click “Send(F4)” in SendSx.
6) The Display-1 on the ARC-4 counts up from “1” to “300” and shows “WAIT,” then “DONE.” If the unit returns to Edit mode, the
writing process is completed.
NOTE: “WAIT” may be indicated for more than 20 seconds. Please do not turn off the power and be sure to wait until “DONE” is
shown.
7) Press the MODE switch to return the unit to its normal operation mode. This completes the firmware update steps.