Selectable Volume Adjustment

For a long time, I've wanted everyone to try out Richard Lovejoy's volume-adjustment kernel. I think it's the best thing since sliced bread.

But for many people, the barrier to trying it is the fact that they can't turn it on and off from the player's front panel. Well, with some help from several sources, I've now got a set of files that will allow you to do it:

http://www.oro.net/~tfabris/empeg/Picker_and_Voladj_for_Dummies.zip

This includes step-by step instructions for installing all of the files. It also integrates nicely with displayserver, if you want to use both. There's even a short discussion about the nature of dynamic compression. Finally, you can have the option of adjusting the parameters to voladj to tailor it to your liking.

Note that I didn't write any of the software included in the file, I just organized the files, wrote the instructions, and hacked up the shell scripts. The credit for the software goes to Frank Van Gestel, Richard Lovejoy, and Rex K. Perkins. Thanks, guys!

Enjoy!

___________
Tony Fabris

Greetings!

May I recommend a FAQ entry - "Where to get all of the good programs / files?"

Paul G.
SN# 090000587 (40GB Green)

Okay, now that folks are running this, I have a question for everyone:

Does anyone get a "pop" on their audio outputs at the moment the choice is made at boot-up?

(Note: This seems to only happen when the choice is made at boot-up, not if you make the choice from the "quit" menu. It's also intermittent.)

This happened with Selecter, both on my Mark1 and my Mark2. Now it also happens with Franks ioctl-sender program. There's something happening when the Voladj code gets the ioctl message- a brief burst of noise comes out of the outputs.

Anyone else get this?

___________
Tony Fabris

Ah, now we see why Tony has put in all the work on this stuff. It was just a cynical attempt to get other people to investigate a problem he was having himself...


Only kidding Tony, good work (as always).

__
Unit serial number 47 (was 330 in the queue)...

You've seen through my cunning plan.

By the way... If anyone is trying to reproduce it, I wanted to say that in my case, it's only noticeable in the car, because that's where the amplification is turned up loud enough for it to be audible. When it's plugged in at home, the pop is usually too quiet to be heard.

___________
Tony Fabris

Can't say that I've noticed anything this far, but I'll play more with
it tomorrow...

/Michael

Does anyone get a "pop" on their audio outputs at the moment the choice is made at boot-up?

Yes. The one I built with picker does this as well at bootup, but I haven't tried it from my menu off the quit yet. It's so minor, I haven't even really looked into it. (I guess the pop I had with the Mk 1 on shutdown for the brief time it was installed in dash got me used to things like this :-)

Hi Tony,

Have just installed displayserver (is GREAT ) and wanted to try out picker, but the link you posted here doesn't seem to work anymore .... Is is still available anywhere?

(list 6284, Mk1 S/N 00299 4GB blue [for sale]. Mk2 S/N 080000094 6GB blue)

but the link you posted here doesn't seem to work anymore

Funny, I just tried the link and it works fine. What OS/Browser are you using? Also, is it possibly a routing problem? What error are you getting? Can you PING or do a TRACERT to the web server?

___________
Tony Fabris

Dow! Now it works. Am using Netscape 4.77 on WinNT. The server was giving a 401 error saying File not found.

Thanks for you quick response! especially since it seems it was a false alarm. Now I can get on with some more installation

Happy Easter
Derek

(list 6284, Mk1 S/N 00299 4GB blue [for sale]. Mk2 S/N 080000094 6GB blue)

For anyone who's using my "Picker and Voladj for Dummies" instructions, I wanted to give an important update:

I've modified the instructions to include the alteration of the "reservecache" parameter in config.ini. I spent some time trying to report a player software bug, only to discover that it was my fault.

The replacement "init" that I use in the instructions causes bash to be loaded and stay in memory while the player software is running. Unless you free up a bit of cache space for bash, the player software can get low on memory and occasionally (in rare circumstances) glitch a little bit.

So, in the part of the instructions where you add the "[Menu]" and "quit=1" lines to the config.ini file, you also need to add "[startup]" and "reservecache=12" right after it.

(By the way, I'm aware of the other discussions related to Displayserver's performance with and without the reserved cache. What I discovered is unrelated to Displayserver-- there was a player bug that I could reproduce even if Displayserver wasn't loading at all.)

___________
Tony Fabris

I have just updated the Picker and Voladj for Dummies file with some minor changes to the readme and a new version of the "ioctl" executable.

This is to make it compatible with version 1.03 of the player software. Note that this breaks compatibility with versions 1.02 and earlier.

The updated "ioctl" was compiled by Drakino, based on code written by Frank Van Gestel.

___________
Tony Fabris

Has anyone compiled any of the hacks for 1.03/Mk1?
I love the format of Drakino's kernel site, but the content is yet a bit lacking...
Jason

_~= Dearing =~_
"WAY too happy about having #99."

Well, if you want the Mark 1 ones, I consider that enough demand. Booting up the server now (it's a noisy beast im my cube, so it's off most of the time . Look for them later tonight (aka 3 hours from now tops).

The kernels for the Mark 1 are now up. Keep in mind I don't have a Mark 1 anymore, so I have no way of testing these. Please let me know if they work properly.

Thanks tons. The Mk1-Voladj-IrHack-ClockOverlay image works great so far.
Like Tony says, Rubbing a lamp
Jason

_~= Dearing =~_
"WAY too happy about having #99."

Like Tony says, Rubbing a lamp

Actually, credit where credit is due, I didn't originally coin that phrase here. I forget who did. Anyone?

___________
Tony Fabris

Well, the first (date) hit I got when searching for rubbing lamp was from muzza who said
"OK next wish said while rubbing old lamp" nearly a year ago (07/30/00) in this post .

After that it is you, in this post back in january.

/Michael

I have updated my Picker and Voladj for dummies file again.

I have included a new version of the "voladj" ioctl utility, which has been modified by Richard to mute the mixer before applying its updates. This prevents a "pop" sound from coming out of the amplifier when you select it.

Unfortunately, my ISP is in the process of killing my web site and I can no longer update the files there. The web site itself will disappear shortly. (I'm not happy about this, anyone know a good US company with cheap web hosting that includes dial-up accounts?)

In any case, the new file is attached to this message if anyone wants it.

___________
Tony Fabris

I just wanted to be the 1,000th view on this thread :-)

-Zeke

just say you weren't paying much attention...

I get odd warning when running testinit.sh file, any ideas?
It looks like this:

empeg:/empeg/bin# cd /drive0/var
empeg:/drive0/var# ./testinit.sh

Putting testinit file into main init file.

Read-write mounting disks, please wait...
EXT2-fs warning: mounting unchecked fs, running e2fsck is recommended
EXT2-fs warning: mounting unchecked fs, running e2fsck is recommended

Read-write mount completed. Copying and tagging files.

Copying completed.

Read-only mounting disks.

Read-only mounts completed.

Done.

Veiko
[email protected]

MK1 #317 - 20GB green

This error message means that, somewere along the line, you did not do the RO and ROM commands before rebooting the player.

I have done this on occasion, and I get the same error.

Every time I do it, I always have to ask someone what the correct command-line is to perform the FSCK to get the player back to normal again.

Anyone want to post the command once more so that I can make a permanent FAQ out of it?

___________
Tony Fabris

Hi.

Well, it all depends on which partitions you get the error for. However, the following script should do everything for you on any player (be it MkI or MkII):

#!/bin/bash

export PATH=/bin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin

# start here if doing this manually:

umount -n /drive0

[ -e /proc/ide/hdb ] && umount -n /drive1

[ -e /proc/ide/hdc ] && umount -n /drive1

fsck -f /dev/hda4

fsck -f /dev/hda5

[ -e /proc/ide/hdc ] && fsck -f /dev/hdc4

[ -e /proc/ide/hdb ] && fsck -f /dev/hdb4

mount -o ro -n /dev/hda4 /drive0

[ -e /proc/ide/hdb ] && mount -n -o ro /dev/hdb4 /drive1

[ -e /proc/ide/hdc ] && mount -n -o ro /dev/hdc4 /drive1

---

cu,
sven

proud MkII owner (12GB blue/green/smoked, was #080000113 is #090001010)

Hmm. It was simpler when I did it before?

I just did RW then RWM, then one line to fix everything, then RO ROM'd again.

___________
Tony Fabris

Hi Tony.

Hmm. It was simpler when I did it before?
I just did RW then RWM, then one line to fix everything, then RO ROM'd again.

It can be done in a simpler way, but rw/rwm then some line, then ro/rom is certainly not the way to go. The partition you want to check should not be mounted at the moment () of checking, and most certainly not mounted read/write. It is possible to check partitions that are mounted r/o, but do never check a partition that is mounted r/w.

Well, to make the long story short, if you are willing to take a little risk (of the system not noticing a fixed FS, which can be easily fixed by a reboot), you could boil that script down to:

#!/bin/bash

export PATH=/bin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin

# start here if doing this manually:

fsck -a -f /dev/hda4 /dev/hda5 /dev/hdc5

I just had the script check everything that could be checked, just to make sure.
Oh well, this is the point where I have to admit that I made a mistake in my previous post: I didn't check the actual device files on the empeg, and assumed /dev/hdb* was available on the MkII. Well, it isn't, so one should change any reference to /dev/hdb* to /dev/hdc*, but do not change the references to /proc/ide/hdb.

cu,
sven


proud MkII owner (12GB blue/green/smoked, was #080000113 is #090001010)

The ability to switsh the voladj on and off is very good but i don-t like that the boot time is a lot longer now. Is it possible to disable the voladj choice on booting and retain this function in the menu? Actually it would be more logical if the menu function would be under Sound submenu and would be named Volume Adjustment or VolAdj.

Veiko
[email protected]

MK1 #317 - 20GB green

Is it possible to disable the voladj choice on booting and retain this function in the menu?

Yes. You can alter the order of the "While" loop in the init script so that it runs the player first, before the picker. That means the player will boot with voladj always on, but then you can turn it off by selecting QUIT from the menu.

Instructions for doing this were somewhere else on the BBS already. Possibly somewhere down lower in this very thread. Have a look and see...

Actually it would be more logical if the menu function would be under Sound submenu and would be named Volume Adjustment or VolAdj.

If I could do that, I would. Unfortunately, it's not within my power. The player software is closed-source and I cannot alter its menu structure.

You can only Quit the player software so that it returns control to a different program (in this case, the shell script with the Picker).

Hey, at least we can be glad they gave us the "Quit" option, right?


___________
Tony Fabris

Okay, the instructions for the edits are here. Make sure to heed the warnings in the readme about how to edit the files on Windows boxes.

___________
Tony Fabris

Thanks to Tony and Sven!

Moveing the line in testinit gave me back fast bootup and the program that Smu gave removed error message. Thanks guys

Veiko
[email protected]

MK1 #317 - 20GB green

Ok as i understand i can use the middle buttons to execute other programs or choose other options if i will change the settings in picker_list file.
Any ideas what cool things can be done with them ?

Veiko
[email protected]

MK1 #317 - 20GB green

Ok as i understand i can use the middle buttons to execute other programs or choose other options if i will change the settings in picker_list file. Any ideas what cool things can be done with them ?

Yes.

On mine, the four choices are:

Volume adjust OFF
Volume adjust ON
Play Tetris
Start Displayserver

You see, I've modified my init so that displayserver doesn't automatically launch at boot-up. So I only activate it when needed, from the front panel.

If you need more than four choices, I'll bet you could daisy-chain scripts.

There is also another selection program (I forgot who wrote it, sorry, anyone have a link?) that allows infinite choices because it does a left-right scroll-to-select. I chose to implement the single-button picker instead because it suited my needs best. But you could easily replace the picker script with this other selecter if you wanted.

___________
Tony Fabris

You see, I've modified my init so that displayserver doesn't automatically launch at boot-up. So I only activate it when needed, from the front panel.

How did you do it? Did you just removed the lines

cd /usr/local/displayserver
./displayserver -noauth

for testinit and added them to pick_list?

Is there any point using displayserver on MK1 without ethernet?

Veiko
[email protected]

MK1 #317 - 20GB green

That's correct, that's how I did it.

And you are also correct in that there's no point in using Displayserver on a Mk1, since it only runs via ethernet.

___________
Tony Fabris

This font used in the picker menu looks quite ugly. Is it possible to use the same font that is used for empeg menu and info screens?

Veiko
[email protected]

MK1 #317 - 20GB green

The font is hard-coded into the picker executable.

However, the source code is included in my "for dummies" distribution, and you are welcome to edit the font and re-compile it.

The file you want to change is called "font8x8.c"

___________
Tony Fabris

Agreed, it isn't pretty but it was one I had kicking around from way back.

If you have a better fixed pitch font (that can be distributed freely) I would gladly incorporate it.

BTW, my web server is unaccessible thanks to AT&T's port 80 blocking. If they keep it up I'll move it.

Cheers,

Rex.

Whoa, REX!

Where ya been, buddy? I tried to get a hold of you when I first put together that file, and couldn't.

Thanks for publishing Picker for us to use, as you can see we've been having a field day with it.

___________
Tony Fabris

Ah, I see. You DID reply to me back then, it was just during a period when my ISP was screwed up and the mail message bounced. (The old Open Relay problem.). Thanks.

___________
Tony Fabris

Tony, Forgive me for digging up such an old post, but i recently installed Hijack and as i scroll through the menu the VolAdj option is made available.

Now what i want to know is do i have to go through the entire routine that you have so graciously provided, or am i in fact all ready to go...or how can i tell?

thanks,

Ed

These old posts are from a long time ago before voladj was built in to hijack. Please ignore the entire routine above and merely use the menu that is built in to Hijack. Nothing in this thread applies any more.

Tony,

Thanks and good thing i asked!

Sooooo...now that that is settled what in fact do i do from the menu to get this option to work (please forgive my ignorance)

oh..and btw...i had our friends at eutronics take a look at my player and in fact found that one of the internal ground wires had a bad crimp!....i guess that was the problem with my install all along!

Ed

Oh good, so no more ground loops in the Miata? Cool.

What you with voladj is select the amount of dynamic range compression you want: Off, Low, Medium, or High. That's all.

great..ill give it a try tonight!

Ed

It also explains why it was intermittent, and why we were never able to reproduce it. I know you tried one of my players, and I tried yours in my sled at one point. I hate intermittent errors...

Quote:
I hate intermittent errors...

A pox on them and their families!