So finally getting around to doing this today and I can’t seem to get it working at all.

The moment I power up my synth with all the knobs/switches in place, 6N, 3N, and ID all light up. ID flashes as I play audio, so that part seems fine, but according to the instructions:

3N is lit as soon as you turn the synth on

This is probably a grounding issue. Connect / disconnect your playback sources power supply and then try again.

I’ve tried with my phone, and with my laptop, and nothing changes on this front. 3N lights up the moment I plug in the Run jack.

Anyone else having this problem?

Are you plugging the jack in while the synth is turned on? You’ll need to connect things whilst the synth is powered off.

Yup, everything powered off (well, not the phone/laptop), then I plug in.

Ok, here’s a quick video showing what’s happening.

Try plugging the RUN jack to the output of a VCA that is turned all the way down. This should give a ground level equal to the ground level of the modular case. Then while the VCA is still turned down, you can plug in your device. Turn up the volume (half way?) and then play the sound.

What the 3N light really means is that a signal was received that is not a correctly encoded signal. Typically it’s caused by different ground potential, and depending on the Just Friends bootloader version, it can be pretty touchy about subtly different ground potentials.

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This worked for a second, then the 3N light came on again. Turning it off/on would just give me 3N.

I tried it again with a mult instead of a VCA (MI Links) and that did the trick and I was able to update!

I did notice that even with the mult I would sometimes get 3N on startup and sometimes not. Should I be concerned that there’s some ground funny business going on in my skiff?

I think I may have found a bug. I usually use JF pretty much strictly with Just Type. Current ii bus is just Teletype to ER 301 and JF.

If I boot my system on a Teletype scene with JF.MODE 1 in the init script JF will hang completely or be unresponsive to ii commands via TT. If I shut down the system with a blank scene or one that has no JF.MODE on init I can load the intended scene and everything will work fine. Not much of a problem but it eats some time when I don’t remember to shut down with the appropriate scene loaded (don’t want to boot and reboot the ER 301 without giving it time in between.)

Sorry if this isn’t the proper thread; can anyone else corroborate this behavior?

Is the answer just to plug it into a different power source?

I am having the no lights issue right now but I don’t have another power source at the moment.

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Yeah, you need another case or power source, unfortunately.

There are ‘soft start’ pcbs you can attach to your power header but the wmd one didn’t work for me.

There was someone working on something to attach to audio damage brand modules, so that might be worth a try.

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That’s alright, I switched back to an old power source since the last time I updated. I’m planning expanding with a new case and power source soon so I’ll just hold off until then!

I’ve recently discovered a potential connection between this issue and the fuses. If either of you have a multi-meter and would be down to spend 5 mins testing we could investigate. Send me a DM!

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Unfortunately I don’t have the case anymore, thanks though!

No stress, but it’s not about the case - just a resistance to be measured on the JF.

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Curiously, I get the “no boot” issue if I let my power conditioner turn on my case, but not if I use the case switch. Intellijel 7U case. I do have a multimeter.

Just made the update yesterday, for one JF perfect at first but for my second one no way.
I tried the vca method/ mult method and nothing.
I was worried and finally I put my power in another plug :electric_plug: in my house and it worked :blush:

Apologies if this has been mentioned previously, but is there a quick way to check which version of the firmware is currently installed on a JF? Could I use a TT or Crow to confirm this?

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Maybe I’, missing something, but is it not possible to control “the knobs” from teletype over i2c? Like time, ramp and friends?

AFAIK you are correct. No such control is possible.

Ok, thanks. @Galapagoose is that something we could hope for in the future?

Here’s the full list of JF 4.0 I2C commands which includes an offset for TIME but not RAMP. The RAMP et al knob positions (with CV value offset!) can be gotten but not set.

edit: on a re-read, my ex-catholic senses picked up on this nicene phrasing, “be gotten but not set”…

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