User Tools

Site Tools


difference_between_new_and_old_versions_of_tb_series_devices

Differences Between Old and New Versions of Travel Box Series Midi Controllers

First generation of Travel Box Series Midi Controllers was released in 2011, and consisted of two models - TB-12 and TB-5. Second generation released in 2016 and was supplemented by 3 additional models - TB-11P, TB-6P and TB-8. “P” index in model name indicates the presence of the expression pedal on the controller. The third generation was released at the beginning of 2019, it was called MKII, since it is a evolution of the previous series of devices. MKII controllers have additional memory for banks settings. Firmware starting with version 3.0 supports this additional memory. New firmware will also work on all previous controller models, but only one bank of settings will be available.

Key hardware difference:

Feature 3rd Gen(MKII) 2nd Gen 1st Gen
Extended memory Yes No No
USB power Yes Yes No
Expression pedal polarity Normal(tip-to-viper) Normal(tip-to-viper) Inverted(ring-to-viper)
Unique device ID chip Yes Yes No
Hardware autoreset during F/W update Yes Yes No

Firmaware is compatible for all new and old geneerations, all new releases will work on old devices.

You can easily identify the new controllers by it appearance: new devices contain serial number in back panel and other small back panel changes(see red ovals on the picture)

Third-generation devices are marked as MKII. You can see decorative overlay with corresponding marking on the top panel of device

There are 10 test TB-11P units with old hardware inside, which was produced for testing of production technology and testing the strength of the expression pedal. It is not for sale, and we never sell it to customers, but may be it will sell as “used” in the future by our testers. The back panel of this units is the same as new generation, but it has not serial number sticker. To be 100% sure you see new generation device, check menu System Setup → ID. New devices have unique ID number, as old device will display “Not avalible” in this menu:

Firmware update on the gen1 devices

Firmware update on gen 2 devices is much easy, because it support USB power and autoreset, you can find out instructions in manual. Here's instructions for the old version:

  1. Download latest firmware for your device from product’s page
  2. Download latest driver from http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm

Driver and software installation

Connect your device to computer via USB cable. You will get message about new hardware “USB Serial Port”. If driver does not be installed automatically, you have to install it manually. Use “ftdiport.inf” file from driver package. After driver is successfully installed you can find “USB Serial Port” hardware in Device Manager

Update firmware procedure

Run chip45boot2 GUI. Set COM port to the same as “USB Serial Port” hardware is using. You can find out this information in “USB Serial Port” properties in Devices Manager. Set baud rate value to 28800 or lower. Push “Select Flash HexFile” and select *.hex file from firmware package. If your TB-series controller current firmware is less when 2.0, or you want to set factory defaults during update, you need update EEPROM also. Push “Select Eeprom HexFile” and select *.e(or *.eep) file from firmware package. You can find firmware zip package on your product’s page http://www.bjdevices.com/en/.

Turn off your device and then push «Connect to bootloader» button and then turn on device. If all is ok, status indicator becomes green. Push «Program Flash» button – progress bar will be indicate programming process. After FLASH programming will be finished push «Program Eeprom» if needed to initialize EEPROM memory. Now you can push “Start Application” or reset power to launch device. Disconnect USB cable. After update procedure, check the software version. The message with the version number appears on the display controller immediately after power-up. If the version is not refreshed after update, the procedure must be repeated, but in the lower baud rate, such as 9600.

difference_between_new_and_old_versions_of_tb_series_devices.txt · Last modified: 2020/06/09 00:56 by admin