[Litlgi74]

I forget the exact HS code but it was for some sort of parts instead of an actual finished product.

Item is a Sound Recording and Reproducing Apparatus. HSN # 8519.89.90

 

[zdjh22]

I do not think the hardware inside the A16 is at all capable of this. The TCP server is an ASCII level text interface with about a 500ms latency per command.

The ARM processor in the A16 is an “M” series, so not capable of running a general purpose OS like Linux (very primitive memory controller, really just a memory protection unit not a MMU). More of a microcontroller intended for low power designs.

As a result there isn’t the software infrastructure for a general TCP/IP stack and all of the usual libraries available for implementing a web server easily. Frankly the IP (TCP) command server they’ve included is pretty impressive as it is, considering the implementation may have been a lot of low level socket programming. OTOH triggering a BMP dump and sending back an encoded string doesn’t seem like a huge extension. But any hopes for a sophisticated web server aboard the A16 seem to me to be dim; adding on a lot of IP functionality to the various apps likewise.

That said, this community could probably do some of that software grunt work. Open source and open hardware are powerful concepts.

 

[mei09891]

Item is a Sound Recording and Reproducing Apparatus. HSN # 8519.89.90

Thanks a lot! To find the right code is really confusing and frustrated. I’ve contacted FedEx’s customer service and she told me to send an email to paperwork@fedex.com with tracker number in title and detailed description about the item. I briefly described with few words and put on the info with the HSN you provided. Let’s see what happens next!

 

[DenverW]

I'm still curious of the people getting new A16's are from full price purchases or if any kickstarter/preorder units have been shipped in the last year. It would be nice to know that there has been any movement there.

 

[Hoylen]

if I were to publish an app for the A16 that does basically the same as the Centro Control app

Such an app is currently not possible. Because, unfortunately, the A16's IP Command Server feature no longer works.

Either firmware release 2.00 (2021-06-08) or 2.05 (2021-10-20) broke it. I was working on code to use it (and it was working with release 1.98 2020-07-24), but it stopped working when I upgraded it to release 2.05. I reported the problem, but it still hasn't been fixed in the latest firmware (2.17 2024-01-26).

As a consequence, you'll find the CentroControl app is no longer working. It just hangs trying to connect, since the A16 doesn't respond (or doesn't reliably respond) to the commands sent to it.

P.S. @zdjh22 is correct: the commands are limited, so anything involving the menus might have to rely on dead reckoning and hoping the menus don't change with subsequent firmware releases. But when switching to the menus (from PA speaker display and other modes), I couldn't work out the logic behind which menu comes up, so dead reckoning might not work if an app does not know which menu it is starting from.

​

 

[Litlgi74]

As a consequence, you'll find the CentroControl app is no longer working. It just hangs trying to connect, since the A16 doesn't respond (or doesn't reliably respond) to the commands sent to it.

Hmmm.. I use the Centro Control app everyday with little to no issues... I am using it with two machines one on fw 2.12 and the other in 2.17.

Hopefully you have just a setting issue.. And not a problem with your machine.

PS... photos from the other day when helping a friend.

 

[Hoylen]

Hmmm.. I use the Centro control app everyday with little to no issues... I am using it with two machines one on fw 2.12 and the other in 2.17.

That is interesting: I wonder what is different about my system (original A16 hardware, not upgraded) and/or setup.

After I upgraded the firmware to release 2.05, both my program and CentroControl started to respond to IP commands unreliably. After writing a program to gather statistics, I found about 4% to 7% of the commands were ignored. Though there were short periods where about 50% were being ignored. I thought there was some race condition in the server.

I came up with a workaround by resending commands that did not produce a response (obviously isn't good for all commands), but now that workaround doesn't seem to work at all. I have upgraded the firmware a few times, and done full system resets, since then.

Does anyone else have a CentroControl that used to work, but no longer does — or is it just me?

 

[shmau]

That is interesting: I wonder what is different about my system (original A16 hardware, not upgraded) and/or setup.

After I upgraded the firmware to release 2.05, both my program and CentroControl started to respond to IP commands unreliably. After writing a program to gather statistics, I found about 4% to 7% of the commands were ignored. Though there were short periods where about 50% were being ignored. I thought there was some race condition in the server.

I came up with a workaround by resending commands that did not produce a response (obviously isn't good for all commands), but now that workaround doesn't seem to work at all. I have upgraded the firmware a few times, and done full system resets, since then.

Does anyone else have a CentroControl that used to work, but no longer does — or is it just me?

I would try using another Ethernet cable, and if possible with your gear, maybe isolate the port from the rest of your network (use a VLAN for example). Since it sounds like they have perhaps a custom software networking implementation, maybe it's getting overwhelmed with random broadcast traffic like mDNS in your network. Just an idea but it's worth a try, I would personally avoid sending the unit in for repairs unless I was absolutely sure it was faulty, because it's such a hassle.

 

[Litlgi74]

That is interesting: I wonder what is different about my system (original A16 hardware, not upgraded) and/or setup.

I did end up setting a manual IP address in my router for both my A16s... But I'm sure you've tried the same.

 

[Hoylen]

I would try using another Ethernet cable, and if possible with your gear, maybe isolate the port from the rest of your network (use a VLAN for example). Since it sounds like they have perhaps a custom software networking implementation, maybe it's getting overwhelmed with random broadcast traffic like mDNS in your network. Just an idea but it's worth a try, I would personally avoid sending the unit in for repairs unless I was absolutely sure it was faulty, because it's such a hassle.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've just tried all that and it didn't make a difference. Used a different router, different network cable, and the only two devices on that network/router are the A16 and the iPad. I've configured the IP address to match the router's range. The router detects the A16 as plugged in (along with its IP address), so I'm reasonably confident it is not a network issue.

I'm now have two theories:

1. The firmware changes broke the IP Command Server for the original old hardware (i.e. APM89L/110 which doesn't have eARC support), but it still works for the newer hardware (i.e. APM110/HSR41T which has eARC support). This theory would be proven incorrect, if anyone out there has CentroControl working on the original old A16 hardware with the newer firmware.
2. I have a faulty unit. (And I agree: I wouldn't want to send it back just to fix this issue.)

Downgrading to firmware release 1.98 which used to work for me (to partially test the theories) is not really an option, since that release does not support DTS-X. And I don't want to risk downgrading the firmware, in case it was never designed to be downgradable.

Unless there is another theory I haven't considered, my programming attempts is on hold.

 

[gimlet]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've just tried all that and it didn't make a difference. Used a different router, different network cable, and the only two devices on that network/router are the A16 and the iPad. I've configured the IP address to match the router's range. The router detects the A16 as plugged in (along with its IP address), so I'm reasonably confident it is not a network issue.

I'm now have two theories:

1. The firmware changes broke the IP Command Server for the original old hardware (i.e. APM89L/110 which doesn't have eARC support), but it still works for the newer hardware (i.e. APM110/HSR41T which has eARC support). This theory would be proven incorrect, if anyone out there has CentroControl working on the original old A16 hardware with the newer firmware.
2. I have a faulty unit. (And I agree: I wouldn't want to send it back just to fix this issue.)

Downgrading to firmware release 1.98 which used to work for me (to partially test the theories) is not really an option, since that release does not support DTS-X. And I don't want to risk downgrading the firmware, in case it was never designed to be downgradable.

Unless there is another theory I haven't considered, my programming attempts is on hold.

I have the same old APM89L hardware as you. Also have the upgrades for DTS-X and Auro. Until quite recently I had a similar issue with Centro Control not working for several months, but it has recently started to work normally. I am not exactly sure why, unfortunately, although I also have a theory - see below.

I have noticed that the A16 seems to be very sensitive to the router/switch - more than most of my networked things. The router in my apartment is a typical cheap network supplied item and I regularly had issues on the Ethernet LAN. I recently added a new external switch to bypass the router for LAN switching and that seems to have improved things. It isn’t fully stable - typically works fine at startup but after a few hours can stop working without any obvious reason - but a restart typically solves the problem. Hopefully your situation will also get solved.

 

[infernix]

Just in case - make sure you disable TCP Slave in the network settings. In my testing it causes communication to become a lot slower, because it can't process a new command until it's done ACKing an existing command, or while it is transmitting its TCP Slave "heartbeat" status line (every 1 second orso).

 

[phoenixdogfan]

If I wanted to use an Ioad with the Centro app, what is the earliest IPAD version I could use? I see versions like IPAD 9 and earlier for l.t. $200 on ebay., Would one of those work? And after I loaded the Centro app, would I just connect the A16 to my network switch with a Cat 6 cable, put in its IP address to get it on the network, and then manually enter my A16's IP address and the port on the Centro app, and then manually enter the IP menu commands using the IP codes on their list each time I wanted to invoke that command? Or would the app store the command and send me through its menu screens?

Basically, I would only be interested in having something that mirrored the screen on the A16, or it's data (it would not have to look exactly like the screen), and allowed me to do basic stuff like maybe run a manloud, construct a listening room, save file data like PRIRs and HPEQs, adjust volume, switch presets, toggle and adjust setting on the Auro equalizer. I realize I probably could not do things like run PRIRs with it, but being able to do basic functions and free myself from the tiny little window would be worth some money and sweat equity on my part.

 

[infernix]

Basically, I would only be interested in having something that mirrored the screen on the A16, or it's data (it would not have to look exactly like the screen), and allowed me to do basic stuff like maybe run a manloud, construct a listening room, save file data like PRIRs and HPEQs, adjust volume, switch presets, toggle and adjust setting on the Auro equalizer. I realize I probably could not do things like run PRIRs with it, but being able to do basic functions and free myself from the tiny little window would be worth some money and sweat equity on my part.

Most of what you are asking is not possible directly (only through the IR commands), and certainly not mirroring the screen. Read through the TCP Command document - only commands that are listed there are possible. Which is basically an app version of the IR remote plus better input & preset handling, and a complete speaker map mute/unmute.

 

[gimlet]

If I wanted to use an Ioad with the Centro app, what is the earliest IPAD version I could use? I see versions like IPAD 9 and earlier for l.t. $200 on ebay., Would one of those work? And after I loaded the Centro app, would I just connect the A16 to my network switch with a Cat 6 cable, put in its IP address to get it on the network, and then manually enter my A16's IP address and the port on the Centro app, and then manually enter the IP menu commands using the IP codes on their list each time I wanted to invoke that command? Or would the app store the command and send me through its menu screens?

Basically, I would only be interested in having something that mirrored the screen on the A16, or it's data (it would not have to look exactly like the screen), and allowed me to do basic stuff like maybe run a manloud, construct a listening room, save file data like PRIRs and HPEQs, adjust volume, switch presets, toggle and adjust setting on the Auro equalizer. I realize I probably could not do things like run PRIRs with it, but being able to do basic functions and free myself from the tiny little window would be worth some money and sweat equity on my part.

I use an old Ipad Mini 4 - about 8 years old. Still works fine with the Centro app (and with most current apps). For setup, I recommend you refer to the document available from the Smyth website. The Centro app comes preloaded with the basic remote "play" commands which allow you to change rooms/speakers using User Presets, Volume up/down etc. For me, this is much more convenient than using the remote. However, the full range of menu items, especially for setup like PRIRs etc, is only available on the standard remote.