Is there a FAQ entry on how to upload boot up animations, cause i'm sort of lost. I got Jemplode and Hijack, now what?

1) Install Hijack on your Empeg
2) Start jEmplode, select your Empeg and connect to it with Ethernet (HAS TO BE ETHERNET)
3) In jEmplode go to Tools... Options ...
4) Enable "Use Hijack when possible" (shuold be the default, but just check)
5) 'OK' on Options
6) Tools ... Animation Editor
7) From here you can load a .raw or a .gif file as an animation (and the editor itself has a help document for making new animations)
8) File ... Upload Animation
9) Reboot your Empeg to watch the animation

Mike

Thank you for the simple instructions. I was wondering the same thing myself.

Is there another way to do this?
I have a Mark I therefore no Ethernet.
It must be possible because I just uploaded Hijack 247 and Hijack's default animation is there.

I don't think so ... I don't think you can really use the HTTP features of Hijack without an Ethernet connection. Mike

How did the Hijack Ani get in there then?

Steve

The new Hijack kernels come prebuilt with one of the custom animations. I think that's what you're seeing... Mike

That one is built into the code of hijack I believe. The animation editor is built into Jemplode. You could always give it a try connected through serial and post if it works so others could give it a try.

(got beaten to the punch line)

You can patch your own kernel before sending it up to the player. Jemplode's upload utility uses the HTTP funtionality so that won't work for the Mk1(because it's ethernet-only right now).

I'm sure someone can give you the fastest steps to patching the kernel. Don't know if it's possible to put the logo in after the kernel has been built (ie. right into the binary - I can't see Hijack's own text in there, so I'm guessing no - or not as conveniently as grabbing the contents of a raw anim and dumping it in with a hex editor)

Bruno

The easiest way on a Mark 1 would be to transfer the desired .raw file over via serial, then cat it into the empeg_kernel properly. I'm not sure on the specifics, and doing this blindly will result in the need to reapply an .upgrade file.

The kernel image is actually compressed so that's why you can't find it when you look inside the file with a hex editor. It should be possible to uncompress it, patch it and then recompress it. If there is a lot of demand for this then I'll make a small utility to do it? No guarantees though, I haven't looked at the process too closely yet.

- Trevor

Mmm.. If you can figure out a way to upload the raw animation file to the player, then you can burn it to flash, with some effort.

What's really needed here is someone to really tackle the "make the USB port behave like a USB-ethernet slave" project. Then, everything would work on the Mark1.

Anyway, when I put out Hijack v248, it will include the /proc/ devices for Mark1, instead of only Mark2 as at present.

This means you'll see /proc/empeg_kernel and /proc/empeg_bootlogos on your Mark1, same as us Mark2(a) folks see them.

To customize the animation, it's then just a matter of writing the new animation to the appropriate offset within /proc/empeg/kernel, along with an eight byte signature at the end for Hijack to look for.

If you can program in C, then writing a program (which runs on the Empeg) to do this is trivial.. I might even do it right now (easier and faster to just code one, than to try to explain how to do it here..).

Cheers

-ml

Cool.
Also when you do 248 could you also include the button illumination control as well? It doesn't show up in mine and since I have a Mark II face on my Mark I, I was going to get the Illumination kit for the buttons.

Okay, I'll include it. I left it out originally, cuz I figured it was a Mark2-only modification.. but if the LEDs will work for you, then you might as well have the controls for them.

Cheers

I'll be posting the aniwrite utility shortly, under the Hijack v247/v248 thread in Programming.

Cheers

since I have a Mark II face on my Mark I, I was going to get the Illumination kit for the buttons.

As I understand it, the Mark1 display board was slightly different in the way it handled the illuminated buttons. I don't think the installation of the lit buttons is as straightforward as it was on the Mark2. I thought you had to "do more stuff" to get the lit buttons on the Mk1.

I could be remembering it wrong, though. Anyone want to correct me?

/me considers getting the Farnell button caps and illuminating his Mk1 anyway...

I think I remember reading the traces for the button led's are not there on the MK1

Hi Mike, Again I apologize for my ignorance. I normally don't drool over myself like this but, I found the post refering to uploading animations using Jemplode. I don't have the option switch for communicating to Hijack "Use Hijack when possible" . Is it possible I'm running an older version of Jemplode. I attached a screen grab of my options window. I hate it when that Happens.
Thanks again for your input.
markc.

Yes, that is a very old Jemplode. Get the newest bleeding-edge version of the JAR file and put it in the folder, replacing the old JAR file. The newest JAR file is linked at the www.jempeg.org site (which was down a moment ago when I tried to access it...).

Thank You !!!!

I have to second that. THANK YOU!

I just got around to setting up jemplode last night. Amazing! I was very impressed with the automated update of HIJACK and the animated logo editor and upload tool.

HATS OFF TO YOU ALL!

Ok, it hasn't been working since Hijack 246, and Jemplode 31. I start up Jemplode, and it finds my empeg fine (Ethernet only). Then I would go into the animation editor and try to change it, then I get the Hijack must be installed. Since I already have Tony's sliding Tux on there, it's obvious that I have the requirements. So I have gone down to 1.03, then back up to 2.0b11, and still nothing. I have updated to Jemplode 33, and Hijack 251. So then I got really pissed off and FDisked my C drive, to reinstall XP. Still no good. It worked before, but not now. What is up? I can transfer files, and configure the player fine, it's just the Jemplode/Hijack that won't work, including autoupdate.

-Mike

I got that error until I took out the FTP password I had setup in hijack. I don't know if that is your problem though.

Nope, that didn't work. It's like Jemplode can't see Hijack. It started before password was implemented.

-Mike

Can you ftp to your Empeg from commandline and login without an empty name/password and download /proc/version? jEmplode 33 also has ftp username/password as a config option (though I haven't actually tried it )

I cannot. I get:

C:\>ftp
ftp> open 192.168.123.191
> ftp: connect :Unknown error number

I also cannot open the player by HTTP, by typing the IP in my IE window.

Uhh .. then you've got bigger problems ... You're sure that's the IP address of your Empeg?

Yes I am. I have gone from a DHCP assigned one to specifing my own. jEmplode looks both broadcast, and specifically, and either way it doesn't work. I once again tried downgrading to 1.03 and back up, and still no go. I may be stuck with Tony's animation forever.... Not that that's too bad of a thing!

Oh, I went to Hijack 248, then to 251, and with Tony's logoeditor, I would get: "Error status in readbyte 16" until I cycled the power. That didn't happen before.

-Mike

If you can't even ftp or http to the Empeg (try pinging it), then it's definitely a network problem, not a jEmplode problem. I would check the RioCar FAQ on ethernet troubleshooting.

Mike

I can ping it.

C:\>ping 192.168.123.191

Pinging 192.168.123.191 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.123.191: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=255
Reply from 192.168.123.191: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=255
Reply from 192.168.123.191: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=255
Reply from 192.168.123.191: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=255

Ping statistics for 192.168.123.191:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 1ms, Average = 0ms

And like I said, I do all my transfers via ethernet. I jumped on another computer running 98 on the network, and I couldn't long on via HTTP there either. I have not installed jEmplode there yet to see if that works. I am thinking I will get the same results. Do you still have all your old versions of jEmplode. 28 is where I think it last worked.

-Mike

If you can't connect with FTP or HTTP outside of jEmplode then you definitely won't be able to inside of jEmplode (it uses FTP for everything). If you solve that problem, I'm guessing you can connect.

Mike

Are you sure you installed Hijack properly? Maybe you should try again.

Edit: Then again, since you're talking about the new animation (Tom Cruise --boo, hiss!), you've probably got it on there right. Duh.

But if I cannot connect via FTP or HTTP it would be impossible to transfer a song to the empeg correct? I just transferred one. Very frustrating. Maybe the only option I have left is to run the builder, and re-load everything <shudder>

-Mike

If you're just using jEmplode to upload the song, then no, not necessarily. If your Hijack is installed improperly, then jEmplode such that FTP and HTTP do not work, then jEmplode would ignore all the code paths that use Hijack, and then would just use the normal Empeg protocol to upload tunes (which is ethernet-based, but not FTP or HTTP). Are you sure you have Hijack installed? Can you hold down the knob and get the Hijack menu?

Mike

I'm positive I have Hijack installed. (v. 251) I wonder if in the course of an update, interference went across the line, and did something to the Hijack install, where it works, but is messed up enough that jEmplode won't see it. It's looking more and more like I will need to start from scratch, and run the disk builder.

-Mike

I would not even consider jEmplode in the slightest bit in your troubleshooting efforts until you can open your web browser and connect to your Hijack web server and until you can connect to your Empeg with FTP. Until that time, one minute spent trying to get jEmplode to talk to your Hijack is a minute wasted.

Mike