Unknown type of MIDEX8

[ykcirtsyb]

Hi,
I have three pieces of MIDEX8 and I try to put them into operation using this driver.

My HW:

• Raspberry Pi 3B+

My SW:

• Linux Kernel 5.10.11-v7+
• RaspbianOS

midex8 Driver

The build of the driver went well with a few warnings, but it is loaded in the kernel and functional.

List of MIDEXs without drivers installed:

MIDEX A + B (A Dev = 8/ B Dev = 9)

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ dmesg
[20072.102162] usb 1-1.1.2: new full-speed USB device number 8 using dwc_otg
[20077.275877] usb 1-1.1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=0a4e, idProduct=1010, bcdDevice= 2.01
[20077.275899] usb 1-1.1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[20077.275916] usb 1-1.1.2: Product: Steinberg MIDEX 8 (r2)
[20077.275931] usb 1-1.1.2: Manufacturer: Steinberg

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 008: ID 0a4e:1010 Steinberg Soft-und Hardware GmbH

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ usb-devices
T:  Bus=01 Lev=03 Prnt=03 Port=01 Cnt=02 Dev#=  8 Spd=12  MxCh= 0
D:  Ver= 1.00 Cls=00(>ifc ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS=64 #Cfgs=  1
P:  Vendor=0a4e ProdID=1010 Rev=02.01
S:  Manufacturer=Steinberg
S:  Product=Steinberg MIDEX 8 (r2)
C:  #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=c0 MxPwr=400mA
I:  If#=0x0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 5 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=(none)

MIDEX C

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ dmesg
[20386.463936] usb 1-1.1.2: new full-speed USB device number 14 using dwc_otg
[20386.595475] usb 1-1.1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=0a4e, idProduct=1000, bcdDevice= 0.01
[20386.595489] usb 1-1.1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 014: ID 0a4e:1000 Steinberg Soft-und Hardware GmbH

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ usb-devices
T:  Bus=01 Lev=03 Prnt=03 Port=01 Cnt=02 Dev#= 14 Spd=12  MxCh= 0
D:  Ver= 1.00 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff MxPS=64 #Cfgs=  1
P:  Vendor=0a4e ProdID=1000 Rev=00.01
C:  #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=80 MxPwr=100mA
I:  If#=0x0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 0 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=(none)

So, as you can see, MIDEX A and B are both same, but MIDEX C is different. It has a slightly different look, but especially there is a different PCB and USB chip inside.

List of MIDEXs with drivers installed:

MIDEX A + B

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ dmesg
[  105.714357] usb 1-1.1.2: new full-speed USB device number 10 using dwc_otg
[  110.928082] usb 1-1.1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=0a4e, idProduct=1010, bcdDevice= 2.01
[  110.928104] usb 1-1.1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[  110.928120] usb 1-1.1.2: Product: Steinberg MIDEX 8 (r2)
[  110.928136] usb 1-1.1.2: Manufacturer: Steinberg
[  110.929330] usb 1-1.1.2: snd-usb-midex: Firmware update not implemented.
[  110.929349] usb 1-1.1.2: snd-usb-midex: Recognized MIDEX8 at usb-3f980000.usb-1.1.2
[  111.464315] usb 1-1.3: new full-speed USB device number 11 using dwc_otg
[  116.608081] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=0a4e, idProduct=1010, bcdDevice= 2.01
[  116.608104] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[  116.608120] usb 1-1.3: Product: Steinberg MIDEX 8 (r2)
[  116.608135] usb 1-1.3: Manufacturer: Steinberg
[  116.609324] usb 1-1.3: snd-usb-midex: Firmware update not implemented.
[  116.609345] usb 1-1.3: snd-usb-midex: Recognized MIDEX8 at usb-3f980000.usb-1.3

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ amidi -l
Dir Device    Name
IO  hw:1,0,0  MIDEX Port 1
IO  hw:1,0,1  MIDEX Port 2
IO  hw:1,0,2  MIDEX Port 3
IO  hw:1,0,3  MIDEX Port 4
IO  hw:1,0,4  MIDEX Port 5
IO  hw:1,0,5  MIDEX Port 6
IO  hw:1,0,6  MIDEX Port 7
IO  hw:1,0,7  MIDEX Port 8
IO  hw:2,0,0  MIDEX Port 1
IO  hw:2,0,1  MIDEX Port 2
IO  hw:2,0,2  MIDEX Port 3
IO  hw:2,0,3  MIDEX Port 4
IO  hw:2,0,4  MIDEX Port 5
IO  hw:2,0,5  MIDEX Port 6
IO  hw:2,0,6  MIDEX Port 7
IO  hw:2,0,7  MIDEX Port 8

MIDEX C - does not work. Of course, its ID is not in the module.

Is it possible to add it?

Best regards,
David Bystricky

[sgorpi]

Hi David,

I've just added a branch with the updates to support your "MIDEX C" with PID 1000. Please see/download it at https://github.com/sgorpi/midex8/tree/new_midex8_pid1000 and let me know if it works! If so then I'll merge the branch to master.

Nice to see the other two devices are working on a Raspberry Pi though :D what's the use-case for so many midi ports?

Best regards,
Hedde // Sgorpi

[ykcirtsyb]

Hi Hedde,

thanks for your work, but unfortunately this does not work.
Raspi crashes immediately after connecting "MIDEX C". According to the information from dmesg, a USB device was connected, but there was a problem with snd_usb_midex in the sb_midex_drv_probe function.

Best regards,
David

[sgorpi]

Hi David,

I've added a new commit with an extra nullpointer check, as I noticed in your initial lsusb/dmesg the midex C didn't show it's product name. I hope that resolves the crash... If not, then it'll be very difficult to debug it. Are you in a position to get raw usb logs (with for example wireshark) from a windows machine with official drivers?

I currently have very limited time on my hands due to the corona situation and family, so I can't promise much...

Best,
Hedde

[ykcirtsyb]

Hi Hedde,
this is perfect. At this point, the driver recognizes the device and tries to communicate with it, but another problem has appeared.

$ dmesg
///
[531.212818] usb 1-1.3: new full-speed USB device number 3 using ehci-pci
[531.321456] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor = 0a4e, idProduct = 1000, bcdDevice = 0.01
[531.321462] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr = 0, Product = 0, SerialNumber = 0
[531.322096] usb 1-1.3: snd-usb-midex: Recognized MIDEX:
[531.322354] usb 1-1.3: snd-usb-midex: usb_submit_urb: -2 at sb_midex_init_device
[531.322361] usb 1-1.3: snd-usb-midex: error during probing
[531.322394] snd-usb-midex: probe of 1-1.3: 1.0 failed with error -2
///

It doesn't like the initialization data? Or something.

My opinion:

As I wrote before, in this type of midex, other connections and different uC are used. This uC does not have a large EEPROM memory with firmware, and according to the first byte in memory, its bootloader waits for data sent from the host.

I verified this with VM Win10

• Connected to the laptop USB port (midex driver not installed)

  USB device: 16
  VID: 0x0A4E
  PID: 0x1000

  Details

  $ dmesg
  [ 6034.220641] usb 2-1: new full-speed USB device number 16 using xhci_hcd
  [ 6034.369025] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=0a4e, idProduct=1000, bcdDevice= 0.01
  [ 6034.369028] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
  
  root$ cat /sys/kernel/debug/usb/devices
  T:  Bus=02 Lev=01 Prnt=01 Port=00 Cnt=01 Dev#= 16 Spd=12   MxCh= 0
  D:  Ver= 1.00 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff MxPS=64 #Cfgs=  1
  P:  Vendor=0a4e ProdID=1000 Rev= 0.01
  C:* #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=80 MxPwr=100mA
  I:* If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 0 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=(none)
  I:  If#= 0 Alt= 1 #EPs=13 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=(none)
  E:  Ad=81(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=  16 Ivl=10ms
  E:  Ad=82(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
  E:  Ad=02(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
  E:  Ad=84(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
  E:  Ad=04(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
  E:  Ad=86(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
  E:  Ad=06(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
  E:  Ad=88(I) Atr=01(Isoc) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=08(O) Atr=01(Isoc) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=89(I) Atr=01(Isoc) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=09(O) Atr=01(Isoc) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=8a(I) Atr=01(Isoc) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=0a(O) Atr=01(Isoc) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms
  I:  If#= 0 Alt= 2 #EPs=13 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=(none)
  E:  Ad=81(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=  64 Ivl=10ms
  E:  Ad=82(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
  E:  Ad=02(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
  E:  Ad=84(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
  E:  Ad=04(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
  E:  Ad=86(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
  E:  Ad=06(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
  E:  Ad=88(I) Atr=01(Isoc) MxPS= 256 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=08(O) Atr=01(Isoc) MxPS= 256 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=89(I) Atr=01(Isoc) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=09(O) Atr=01(Isoc) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=8a(I) Atr=01(Isoc) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=0a(O) Atr=01(Isoc) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms

• Connected to VM Win10 (Original Win driver installed)

  • The driver recognized it and did some things..

  USB device: 17
  VID: 0x0A4E
  PID: 0x1001

  Details

  $ dmesg
  [ 6161.448320] usb 2-1: reset full-speed USB device number 16 using xhci_hcd
  [ 6161.760313] usb 2-1: reset full-speed USB device number 16 using xhci_hcd
  [ 6162.349148] usb 2-1: USB disconnect, device number 16
  [ 6163.892130] usb 2-1: new full-speed USB device number 17 using xhci_hcd
  [ 6164.052856] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=0a4e, idProduct=1001, bcdDevice= 1.03
  [ 6164.052860] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
  [ 6168.644296] usb 2-1: reset full-speed USB device number 17 using xhci_hcd
  [ 6168.956543] usb 2-1: reset full-speed USB device number 17 using xhci_hcd
  
  root$ cat /sys/kernel/debug/usb/devices
  T:  Bus=02 Lev=01 Prnt=01 Port=00 Cnt=01 Dev#= 17 Spd=12   MxCh= 0
  D:  Ver= 1.00 Cls=00(>ifc ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS=64 #Cfgs=  2
  P:  Vendor=0a4e ProdID=1001 Rev= 1.03
  C:* #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=c0 MxPwr=400mA
  I:* If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 5 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=usbfs
  E:  Ad=02(O) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=  64 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=82(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=  64 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=04(O) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=  64 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=06(O) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=   8 Ivl=1ms
  E:  Ad=86(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=   8 Ivl=1ms
  C:  #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=c0 MxPwr= 40mA
  I:  If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 1 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=
  E:  Ad=02(O) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=  64 Ivl=1ms

• Disconnected from VM -> connected back to the Linux (midex driver installed)

  USB device: 17
  VID: 0x0A4E
  PID: 0x1001

  • The driver recognized it and...

  $ dmesg
  [  8505.125202] usb 2-1: snd-usb-midex: Recognized MIDEX:
  
  $ amidi -l
  Dir Device    Name
  IO  hw:2,0,0  MIDEX Port 1
  IO  hw:2,0,1  MIDEX Port 2
  IO  hw:2,0,2  MIDEX Port 3
  IO  hw:2,0,3  MIDEX Port 4
  IO  hw:2,0,4  MIDEX Port 5
  IO  hw:2,0,5  MIDEX Port 6
  IO  hw:2,0,6  MIDEX Port 7
  IO  hw:2,0,7  MIDEX Port 8

But without this Linux - Win reconnection it doesn work. So fully initialized device with PID 0x1001 work and empty device with PID 0x1000 not.

I tried to record USB communication with the original Win driver. MIDEX_C.pcapng.zip

Thank you for your time.
I try to get into it myself, but these things about USB and kernel modules are completely new to me, so I'm pretty lost in it.
But it's a challenge.

If I succeed, I will return the meaning of these three converters and try to connect them to the rest of our studio via RTP MIDI. But this is another chapter.

Best regards,
David

[sgorpi]

Hi David,

Good that it now doesn't crash at least hehe. Thanks for the analysis effort! The problem becomes more clear... I hadn't implemented firmware updates because mine also worked without. But indeed I noticed the windows driver updates firmware and then it lists with pid 1001. This firmware will stay active until a power cycle I believe. Maybe time to implement the firmware update then...
Given my current availability that won't be before summer though... Hope you can wait that long...

Best,
Hedde

[ykcirtsyb]

Hi Hedde,
If it succeeds, it will be great.
For now, I will try to complete my plan with at least two functional converters.

If there's anything else I can do to help you, let me know. I'll try to help as best I can.

[ykcirtsyb]

Hi Hedde,
I found some free time and I managed to find a sequence of data sent by the original Win driver to update the firmware in Midex.
fw_data.json.zip

I replicated the process using a Python script and it really works for all three units. After sending the data, it is immediately reported as a new device with PID 1001 for the entire time of connection or power supply.

So I temporarily solved my situation and I have a Python script that checks the newly connected USB devices, if it detects some of the not updated Midex, it sends an FW update. Then the driver recognize them.

It's a mix of a kernel module with a user-space script, but it works. For now, I don't know much about how your module code works, so I don't dare add the FW update there.

Best regards,
David

[sgorpi]

Hi David,

Nice work-around solution!

If you're interested, you're welcome to contribute the python script to this repository, maybe someone else is helped with it until I manage to find time to implement the process in the driver. I'll let you know when I have updated the driver.

Wkr,
Hedde

[ruigominho]

Hello,

I bought a cheap second-hand Steinberg Midex 8 after seeing this driver was available here (thanks Hedde for you work and for sharing it)
Unfortunately I ran into the same problem described here, PID 1000...

dmesg:
[ 172.741847] usb 1-8: snd-usb-midex: Recognized MIDEX:
[ 172.742017] usb 1-8: snd-usb-midex: usb_submit_urb: -2 at sb_midex_init_device
[ 172.742021] usb 1-8: snd-usb-midex: error during probing
[ 172.742029] snd-usb-midex: probe of 1-8:1.0 failed with error -2

@ykcirtsyb if you care to share your python script I would gladly try and use it for my unit, at least as a workaround solution...

Thanks

[ykcirtsyb]

Hi @ruigominho
you can find my script here.

I originally wrote it just for testing, but in the end it works perfectly for me. So feel free to try and if it helps, I'll be happy.

[ruigominho]

Hi David,

Thank you very much, it works now!

I will keep an eye on this repository hoping that Hedde finds the time to implement the firmware update feature. I have a programming background but I feel now so rusty/lazy that I would take me eons to get up to shape now :)

Thank you both for your work and for sharing it

[patrykwegrzyn]

Im experiencing the same issue here

[patrykwegrzyn]

For my own convenience I decided to re implement @ykcirtsyb solution in go as a systemd service.
If you are interested you can find it here
Obviously all creds go @ykcirtsyb for doing spectacular job on packet capture and original solution