7Q+ firmware update 2015.8

[Roger Martin]

I like to install the latest firmware and am happy with the improvements.

However, 2015.8 seems to have a bug/glitch.

7Q+ Touch Screen lost it's touch
09 August 2015, 14:21
2nd time using the recorder after upgrading the firmware and recording 75 minutes of video
The Odyssey was unplugged accidentally before a shutdown.
When plugged back into the power source, my touchscreen became unresponsive.
The control icons show but touching them no longer does anything.

I am downgrading to 2015.7 right now and hopefully this will restore it to prior state.

The downgrade to firmware 2012.7 seems to have fixed the glitch.

Let me know when the next/revised version is available.

[Galen Rath]

Dan Keaton sent this a couple of days ago about the touch screen not responding:

Please power on your odyssey.

After it is fully powered on, then:

With your hands away from the front of the Odyssey7, then

Press F1 button on the left side twice.

This resets the touch screen controller, adjusting for the static electricity environment that your Odyssey is currently in.

[Roger Martin]

So, what caused the static electricity environment if not a bug in the new firmware?
I did not see a "screen lock" in the center of the display.
Could this have happened in 2015.7?

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Roger,

There are two answers.

1. When the electrical field (caused by Static Electricity) changes around the Odyssey, you may need to press the F1 button twice to adjust the touch screen controller to adapt to this environment.

2. Since this happened to your and others, just after installing the 2015.8, it most likely is a bug.

The solution is simple: See Item 1 above.

Respectfully,

[Roger Martin]

Maybe not a bug.

There was a lightening storm about the time the no touch incident occurred.

I wonder if users of other firmware dates were effected?

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Roger,

We have had other users that reported that the Touch Screen was not responding, immediately after installing 2015.8 firmware.

I have been discussing this with our team.

However, the fix is extremely easy, and fast.

With your hands away from the front of the OLED Panel, please press the F1 button on the Left Side of the Odyssey, twice.

My experience has shown that this fixes the problem 100% of the time.

Respectfully,

[Roger Martin]

I downgraded to 2015.7 and had two successful recordings.
Today the "No Touch Screen" happened again.
The camera and 7Q+ were both really hot to the touch.
I touched the upper arrow to safely eject, then when the dialogue appeared, I lost touch.

Pushing the F1 twice did not work at first so I unplugged the unit and then started it again.
This time the F1 button worked and I was able to recover the files and eject the SSD.

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Roger,

In the upper menu area, the second box, displays Voltage, Power in Watts, and Internal Temperature in Celsius.

The temperature is from the hottest electrical part inside the Odyssey7Q+.

We provide temperature warnings if the unit starts to get too hot.

The Odyssey7Q+ is designed to tolerate high internal temperatures, and depending on how the unit is positioned, and the ambient temperature, and the sun load (if it is in direct sunlight on a hot day, it can get hot to the touch.

Ideally, the unit will be in a vertical position, allowing air to flow over the cooling fins on the back.

If you do not see a warning, then it is not too hot, but may be hot to the touch.

If it gets hot again, please note the Internal Temperature display.

Also, you may call me at any time:

seven one nine ---- nine three zero ----- one three seven six

Respectfully,

[Roger Martin]

No warning messengers yet! But if I cleaned the TouchScreen and mounted it Horizontally I bet I could fry an egg on it. Well maybe it would take awhile.

Anyway, I re-UpGraded to 2015.8 and it is working well.

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Roger,

It is perfectly normal for the Internal Temperature, as shown in our Voltage, Power and Temperature Display to show 40 to 50 Degrees Celsius.

In very hot ambient temperatures it may get into the 60's (again Celsius).

I do not remember the exact number, but I feel that we issue warnings at 60C and 65C.

When it reaches 70C we will continue recording, if one is in process, but will not start a new recording, and we put out a serious warning.

There is no fan in the Odyssey, and this is by design, to keep the unit completely silent and the power draw low.

But, the heat sink built into the magnesium case and the cooling fins keep the unit within the proper operating temperature range.

We are very conservative in allowing the unit operate up to 70C.

During our extensive testing, we disabled our temperature warnings and protection code and insulated the unit during an extreme heat test, and everything worked fine up to 95C. We decided not to take it any higher, as it was difficult to get it any hotter even though it was well insulated and in a closed box.

60C = 140F
65C = 149F
70C = 158F
95C = 203F

Each and every Odyssey is tested during our Quality Control testing, where we heat cycle it for an extended period of time, while it is in operation.

If you leave the unit and your camera, in the hot sun for an extended period of time, the unit will get hot to the touch,

You mentioned in a previous post that your camera was also very hot.

I recommend you consider shading your camera, as most all sensors are sensitive to heat, and the image quality degrades if your camera is very hot.

Respectfully,

[Roger Martin]

The room temperature was 70-75 degrees.
However the recording was nearly 3 hours.
The camera A7s with dummy battery
The Odyssey also used a dummy battery on the Sony L plate
There was no internal recording in the Sony but the LCD was on to monitor the controls.
I was DownRes 4k to 1080P30 in the 7Q+ using ProRes LT.

The 7Q+ was almost too hot to touch but has never gotten that hot before or since.

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Roger,

If you did not see any of our temperature warnings, then everything is ok.

We purposely designed the Odyssey7Q/Odyssey7Q+ to handle high temperatures.

In order our device to be completely silent, it does not have a fan, thus no fan noise to interfere with the audio,

If it ever gets hot again, please make a note of the Temperature Display next to the Gear Button in the upper left hand corner.

Respectfully,

[Ryan Douthit]

I just finished several days of filming and noticed another bug in the current firmware. In addition to loosing touchscreen functionality multiple times (easily remedied, as listed above), all my long interviews have significant audio drift. It's fine for the first couple minutes, but for interviews that lasted 10-15 minutes they are all off by several seconds at the end.

I was filming FS700 4K Raw to HD Prores

Also, probably unrelated and not a big deal, but in one of my 4k Raw 120fps bursts to HD Prores it recorded ambient sound for half of the clip. Not a big deal, of course, but I note it just in case it's related.

*Update, my project being set to 30fps, instead of 29.97 apparently caused this. I just set it to "detect" and the audio stayed sync'd for a 20 minute test. Though if I want to force a FPS setting, this may be an issue.