USB
Last modified: 26 February 2024General
The USB interface of the Touch Encoder (TE) product is designed to conform to the USB HID 1.11 specification. This protocol allows system integrators to retrieve the data from, or send data to, the device using the ubiquitous USB HID support in the host OS.
Devices
At the initial product launch, all TE devices could be set to operate under the USB communication protocol and be updated from a USB flash drive via the Utility App.
However, in order to improve the performance of the CAN version of the Touch Encoder (TE) product line design changes were made such that USB and CAN no longer exist together on the same unit.
See Release C Product Advisory Notice for further details.
See the table below for compatibility information.
If a device can communicate over USB it can be updated via a USB flash drive and operate in a USB system.
Portions of the Part Number in the table below that are shown as "X" indicate that its value does not matter when it comes to USB communication.
See Device Identification for more information.
Part Number | Release | Can Communicate over USB |
|---|---|---|
TE-M321-SDK(T) | A | Yes |
TE-M32-XC-SDK | B or later | No |
TE-M32-XU-SDK | B or later | Yes |
TE-XXXXX-XXXC | A/B | Yes |
TE-M32-XC-SDK | B or later | No |
TE-M32-XU-SDK | B or later | Yes |
TE-XXXXX-XXXC | A/B | Yes |
TE-XXXXX-XXXU | All | Yes |
TE-XXXXX-XXXC | C or later | No |
USB Flash Drive Programming
Hardware
See the Getting Started page for help on how to perform an update over USB using Grayhill provided tools.
TE devices that support USB communication can be updated from a flash drive, but this is not recommended. Grayhill recommends updating USB devices over Live Update with either the Grayhill GUIDE application, or customer developed alternative.
If updating from a flash drive is required, the flash drive should be formatted as FAT32 to interact with the TE products.
There are many resources available (like this one from Kingston) to
There are many resources available (like this one from Kingston) to learn more about flash drives and formatting options.
Software
See the Getting Started page for links to download all required software.
Version 3.5.2.p10 marked a significant improvement in the TEs operating software.
Previous to this version the device's Bootloader and Firmware needed to be updated separately and required a total of 4 Grayhill-provided files (.tebl, .tebl.manifest, .tefw, .tefw.manifest).
Starting with this version and moving forward the Bootloader and Firmware are updated together in a single step using one file (.tepkg).
USB Drive Setup
Since initial production Grayhill has supplied parts with several firmware revisions and the process of updating to the latest will vary slightly depending on the current firmware revision loaded on the TE device.
To find what version is currently running on a TE, see the Utility App document and navigate to the INFO screen.
The following section will reference the firmware version (TE-FW or FW).
For TEs with a firmware version prior to 1.0.0, contact Grayhill (te_support@grayhill.com) about how best to upgrade your device. For TEs with a firmware version prior to 1.0.0, contact Grayhill (te_support@grayhill.com) about how best to upgrade your device.
Versions of firmware prior to 1.0.0 are rare and they are unlikely to be loaded on any devices.
Grayhill has not manufactured a unit with a firmware version prior to 1.0.0 since 2018.
For TEs with firmware v3.0.4.p8 follow the steps below to update to v3.5.2.p10 before updating to the For TEs with firmware v3.0.4.p8 follow the steps below to update to v3.5.2.p10 before updating to the latest TE firmware.
After downloading the necessary file, extract the files if necessary, and move them to the root directory of the flash drive.
All the files below must be in the root directory.
Bootloader ---------------.tebl
Bootloader Manifest ---.tebl.manifest
Firmware -----------------.tefw
Firmware Manifest -----.tefw.manifest
For TEs with firmware v3.5.2.p10 and later the recommended method of updating to the latest released firmware is to use the Live Update because it the Live Update because it eliminates any mounting or communication issues related to the flash drive.
With Live Update the Grayhill
With Live Update the Grayhill tools can control and monitor the data transfer to ensure a successful update.
However, the part numbers with releases noted loaded with v3.5.2.p10 can still be updated via flash drive if needed.
As mentioned above, updating from this version to the latest only requires the single file below to be saved to the root directory of the flash drive.
TE Package ------------.tepkg
TEs must be updated following the chart below, failure to do so may render the device unusable and would require a return to Grayhill for repair.
Regardless of firmware version, Project files (.zip) should be placed in the root directory of the flash drive as well.
Flash Drive Update Instructions
See the Flashdrive page for details on performing updates from a flash drive.
Live Update Programming
Hardware/Software
See the Getting Started page for help on how to perform an update over USB using Grayhill provided tools.
Live Update Instructions
Live Update from the GUIDE application is only capable of updating a single TE device at a time. When "Upload to device" is clicked in Step 3 below, the application checks for a USB device, then for a PCAN adaptor. GUIDE will attempt to update the first unit it finds and produce a "Fail to Set TE in Programming Mode" message if no device is found.
Further documentation regarding Live Update is available here.
Update
See Updates with GUIDE.