What you should and shouldn’t see, What you should and shouldnʼt see – Gilderfluke&Co Sd-50 Audio & Show Controllers User Manual
Page 46
What You Should And Shouldnʼt See
Any Sd-50/xx should be booted and begin counting sounds within five seconds. If it takes longer than
this, it is an indication that it is having a problem reading the files from the Sd/MMC card.
The time it takes to count the sounds once it starts is dependent on the number of sounds that are
loaded, the speed of your Sd/MMC card, and the length of the sound FileNames. Names which are over
8.3 characters long will take longer to read, as their names span across multiple directory entries (that’s a
DOS/Windows thing). Shorter names (8.3 characters or shorter) are faster to access and count.
The normal boot sequence for a Sd-50/xx:
1) The ‘Sd access’ LED will be on at power up, as the audio processor has yet to be initialized. The next three
steps are done by the MCU, while it holds the audio processor in reset.
2) Within five seconds, you should see the ‘Sd access’ LED turn off and the ‘DMX’ and ‘Sd access’ LEDs flash
as the ‘Sd-50.cfg’ file is read from the Sd/MMC flash card. If the ‘Sd-50.cfg’ file has changed (different time
or date), then it will be loaded in its entirety. If it is the same as the last time the unit booted, then it will load
the audio portion of the configuration, but use the existing animation configuration. This is what allows you
to make minor changes in the configuration through the
, and have them ‘stick’ until the
‘Sd-50.cfg’ file changes.
3) If the AutoDownload (.a00), schedule, or GPS files are different from what has already been loaded into the
Sd-50/xx’s internal flash memory (different name, date or time), these files will be read from the Sd/MMC
flash card into the units internal flash. While it is doing an upload, you will see an alternating flash on the
‘heart’ and ‘DMX’ LEDs and a slower pulsing on the ‘Show Run’ LED.
4) If there is a firmware file on the Sd/MMC flash card which is more up-to-date than the firmware that is al-
ready in the Sd-50/xx, it will be used to reprogram the microcontroller inside the unit. While it is doing an
update, you will see a very fast alternating flash on the ‘heart’ and ‘DMX’ LEDs.
5) The audio processor is now started.
6) If you have the serial port connected to your computer and GilderTerm running, you will see the copyright
notice displayed.
7) The sound files that are on the Sd/MMC flash card are read by the audio processor. The MCU compares
the names of the files with the order of the sounds that you have configured in the ‘Mp3 Config.exe’ pro-
gram. It sorts them as needed internally to assure that they are played in the order you requested. You will
see the ‘Sd access’ LED flash as it reads each SoundFileName from the Sd/MMC flash card. If you have
the serial port connected to your computer and GilderTerm running, you will see it print the SoundFile-
Names on the screen as it enumerates them.
8) If set to start a SoundFile at power up, it will now do so.
9) If set to start a Show at power up, it will now do so.
If you are operating without a Sd/MMC flash card installed in the Sd-50/8 or Sd-50/40, it will skip over
the first five steps, and start with step six as shown above. The ‘Sd access’ LED will be lit in this mode, as
the audio processor is never started.
If the Sd/MMC flash card is inserted into the Sd-50/xx, but it finds it completely unreadable, the ‘heart’
and ‘error’ LEDS will flash alternately for about ten seconds as it tries to read the card. The Sd-50/xx will
load the default triggers and configuration for the audio portion of the configuration, but use the existing
animation configuration. This allows you to make minor changes in the configuration through the
Gilderfluke & Co.• 205 South Flower Street • Burbank, California 91502 • 818/840-9484 • 800/776-5972 • fax 818/840-9485
Sd-50/xx Manual / October 29, 2012 2:29 PM / page 46 of 120