Motu Express XT 2.0.1 rom

[jggorman]

I have an MX-XT serial number and the 2.01 rom with XT 1.32 rom. Why can't I use an OS 2.5 rom in this?

[mikehalloran]

I have an MX-XT serial number and the 2.01 rom with XT 1.32 rom. Why can't I use an OS 2.5 rom in this?

Do you have a set you can substitute? MOTU doesn’t sell them nor do they publish parts lists or schematics.

Current versions of the interfaces are able to receive firmware upgrades. Older ones were not.

If you can find a ROM chip that can be flashed and upgraded, tell us how it goes.

[jggorman]

I have a unit that had the year 2001 os 2.0.1 eprom in it. The usb chip (I think) is XT 1.32 4E63 which is the same chip as this person (pic URL below) has in their unit from year 2002 and they have the 2.5.0 chip. I have found someone selling the 2.5.0 eprom, so I am wondering if it will work if I buy the one chip, seeing as how I already have the other XT 1.32 4E63 chip. I am hoping it will help with an issue I have where sometimes my MIDI Express XT is not online and I have to restart my mac (sometimes I reinstall the drivers for the not so fun of it as well).

Person with 2.5.0 and XT 1.32. Their unit looks almost, but not exactly the same as my MX-XTU (board layout a little different in spots and some chips other than the ones I am speaking of have slightly different numbers:
https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21A ... 05&o=OneUp

[mikehalloran]

Let’s start with your issue. How old is the battery? Change it and see if that fixes you up.

Upgrade chip sets to 2.0.1 were still being sold in 2012. I know because I bought the last set after it was pulled off the web site. The 2.5 chip was never offered as an upgrade for older units.

The MIDI Express XT with upgradable firmware was released in 2011 and begins with 3.x.

The only way for anyone to know if that eprom will work in your unit is for You to try it and report.

For all the threads where people have speculated about what should be possible, no one has come back and reported success.

My MTP AV USB still works in Mojave and Catalina with the same chips you have and the latest driver. If your unit is registered with MOTU, you still have access to support.

[jggorman]

Thanks for your help Mike, based on your posts, change the battery was the first thing I did. I ordered my ME XT OS 2.5.0 chip and will report back on if it works. It was cheap, about $20 shipped.

I didn't bother to go the route of trying to burn the OS myself (if I were to find a legal source for an eprom dump). However, perhaps the following might help someone. I recently bought an Arduino UNO clone board for $7 to burn a hex file to a chip. So I looked into it for this for the MEXT OS 2.5.0.

The chip required is a 27SF512 and can be found for as little as $3:
EEPROM: SST (MTP) 27SF512 (DIP28).

An Arduino program to burn is below (there are many at GitHub):
github.com/mkeller0815/MEEPROMMER

Another option is to use an online custom eprom service. That should cost somewhere in between $10 and $20.

[jggorman]

The 2.5.0 rom chip seems to be working with important exceptions you need to be aware in the older Model XT-USB unit with a serial number beginning with MX-XTU and the USB controller chip being version XT 1.32. I tested with Notes, Program Change and SysEX, Clockworks, MIDI Setup and a JV-1010. I am on Mac OS X 10.13.6 High Sierra (see pictures). However, as noted in more recent posts, the Bank and Select buttons are swapped and also the SMPTE Stripe and MIDI Panic buttons have swapped positions (on the front panel).

[mikehalloran]

Cool!

I’m in Nashville most of the week but I should test and see if my MTP AV with the 2.0.1 ROM will do the same. I also have a JV1010 around here somewhere..

[AdFines]

The 2.5.0 rom chip seems to be working fine in the older Model XT-USB unit with a serial number beginning with MX-XTU. I tested with Notes, Program Change and SysEX, Clockworks, MIDI Setup and a JV-1010. I am on Mac OS X 10.13.6 High Sierra. See pictures.

Please email me at PM. Thank you

[San-A]

The 2.5.0 rom chip seems to be working fine in the older Model XT-USB unit with a serial number beginning with MX-XTU. I tested with Notes, Program Change and SysEX, Clockworks, MIDI Setup and a JV-1010. I am on Mac OS X 10.13.6 High Sierra. See pictures.

Hi
I have replaced the 2.0.1 rom by the 2.5.0 in my MX-XTU device and it works perfectly with my PC under W10 64bits and software like Clocks, Cubase 10.5
The sole problem I have seen is that "Select" and "Bank" buttons are inverted on the front panel.
Did you notice the same effect?

San-A

[kermit]

I have replaced the 2.0.1 rom by the 2.5.0 in my MX-XTU device and it works perfectly with my PC under W10 64bits and software like Clocks, Cubase 10.5

Oh that is good news indeed! I have two MX-XTUs with "XT USB 2.0.1"/"XT 1.32" gathering dust since they don't work with Windows 10. They work fine on a mac, but I don't use a mac for sequencing any more...

Can I ask, did you use the MIDI Express XT 2.5.0 ROM image from here?
https://tinyurl.com/synth-roms

I'll get a couple of these burned and try them out, if I get the same swapped buttons thing you did I'll let you know.

[San-A]

Can I ask, did you use the MIDI Express XT 2.5.0 ROM image from here?
https://tinyurl.com/synth-roms

I don't know if the ROM image is the same. I bought mine on Ebay from Italy because the ship fees were free to France as I bought also parts to repair my Roland D50.
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/MOTU-MIDI-Expre ... SwDklecNpz

I was convinced to try the chip because the previous topic and because I've seen than another Ebay seller explains that the chip is working with MX-XTU.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/MOTU-MIDI-Expr ... SwUPlcbbRS
He says: "This firmware update has only verified...with MIDI Express XT units...“MEXT” as well as recent success with...“MX-XTU”.

I use it only to play with MIDI devices, no SMPTE messages.
I am interresting to know how to burn my own chip with the files you mentionned.
San-A

[kermit]

Thanks, I've ordered a couple of chips burned from the link I posted and will report success or failure back here.

Future folks searching will hopefully find their way to this thread

[jggorman]

I didn't notice this at first, but now yes, I do see that they are reversed. This made me wonder about the other two buttons, the panic and stripe, sadly, it seems these two are also switched. I am thinking about doing the mod pictured below. Right click and open the image in new window to see the connection on the right side. It seems mostly easy. Cut/scratch away four small section of conductive tracks between solder points. Be careful not to lift pads/solder points. Then solder two short wires and two long wires to switch the buttons around. The bottom of the connections to the microswitches are all that is needed to switch the buttons around. The tops of those switches are all connected to each other. You might want to wait until I try it.

The 2.5.0 rom chip seems to be working fine in the older Model XT-USB unit with a serial number beginning with MX-XTU. I tested with Notes, Program Change and SysEX, Clockworks, MIDI Setup and a JV-1010. I am on Mac OS X 10.13.6 High Sierra. See pictures.

Hi
I have replaced the 2.0.1 rom by the 2.5.0 in my MX-XTU device and it works perfectly with my PC under W10 64bits and software like Clocks, Cubase 10.5
The sole problem I have seen is that "Select" and "Bank" buttons are inverted on the front panel.
Did you notice the same effect?

San-A

[kermit]

Received my 2.5.0 chips, installed on both of my MX-XTU units, neither work

Turns out they have earlier USB chips. One is 1.11, the other is 1.31. Looks like you definitely need the 1.32 usb chip.

Dang!

[jggorman]

Well hopefully one day someone will dump their USB controller chip version XT 1.32 and uploaded it to the repository. I am fairly confident it can be done with an Arduino UNO board, which I have, but unfortunately I lack the understanding on how to do it. Tutorials are pretty useless to me because they typically depend on the reader having a certain level of knowledge and I have almost none.

Received my 2.5.0 chips, installed on both of my MX-XTU units, neither work

Turns out they have earlier USB chips. One is 1.11, the other is 1.31. Looks like you definitely need the 1.32 usb chip.

Dang!