Obsidian SB DIY Question

[scifidude79]

Quick question regarding the Obsidian SB you can buy in the store:

https://www.ultrasabers.com/product-p/z-sound-obsidianusb.htm

Sorry if this has been asked before but, needless to say, searching this forum for "Obsidian" will turn up a lot of results. 

If I buy one of those boards in the V4 option, does it come with the same fonts pre-loaded onto it that buying a saber with it does?  Or does it come "blank" and you have to add the fonts yourself?

The reason I ask is this:  I don't have a computer capable of running the software and interfacing with that board.  My computers run desktop Linux.  While I may (and this is an outside chance) be able to get the Obsidian Launcher to work, it would be a pill and involve a lot of steps.  So, if that board comes with fonts already, that would be super.  I know a lot of people have done sound upgrades to stunts, which is actually something I'm looking into, which is why I have this question. 

[Rapine]

Good question. 

I'd like to know that answer as well. 

[scifidude79]

I plugged my Electrum Wind into my computer (turned on, of course) and it didn't even regster as a storage device.  So, I'd imagine you need the driver that comes with the software.  Drivers and USB devices can be tricky to set up in WINE, the compatibility software that makes Windows software run on Linux.

[Racona Nova]

The sound board (and the Emerald Driver) aren't storage devices. They will be recognized by Windows as a HID device and Windows will install its own HID device driver. So there's no special driver delivered with the UltraSabers Launcher to communicate with the saber. However, depending on the OS version (from Win 8 to 10) you may encounter more or less serious connection problems, mainly because the HID driver is different from the Win 7 version and because USB 3 is not supported to 100%. So prepare for this and get a USB 2.0 hub, just in case...this works for many people who had these problems.

[scifidude79]

Well, maybe I'll try the software with WINE and see what happens.  I have mainly 2.0 ports my computer.  The only 3.0 ports I have are in the back and not ones I will be using for this.

Still wondering if anyone has an answer for my original question.

[Rapine]

Well, maybe I'll try the software with WINE and see what happens.  I have mainly 2.0 ports my computer.  The only 3.0 ports I have are in the back and not ones I will be using for this.

Still wondering if anyone has an answer for my original question.

I just emailed US to find out.

standby...

Edit: The V4 boards do in fact come pre-loaded with the fonts.

[scifidude79]

Sweet!  Thanks LR!  Have a point.

I definitely want to try at least one sound upgrade.  I could probably buy one for around the same price, but I like a good challenge.  Besides, my Aeon LE V4 is gorgeous and I would love to have sound in it.

[Rapine]

Sweet!  Thanks LR!  Have a point.

I definitely want to try at least one sound upgrade.  I could probably buy one for around the same price, but I like a good challenge.  Besides, my Aeon LE V4 is gorgeous and I would love to have sound in it.

I'll be upgrading my Dark Catalyst to V4 sound, just as soon as funds allow. 

There's my interest in this particular topic.

[scifidude79]

I haven't soldered in over 20 years, so I want to start by building a stunt.  Then I want to try the sound thing.  I was just curious about this as an "on down the road" kind of thing. 

[scifidude79]

Well, it came as absolutely no surprise to me, but the Obsidian software doesn't work under Linux with WINE, at least not in its default configuration.  It doesn't detect my Electrum Wind at all.  WINE doesn't handle USB devices well at all.  In fact, I think it still doesn't have USB support "out of the box."  I've tried patching the WINE source code with a USB patch and then compiling the software in the past (huge pain) and it still didn't work as intended.  But, I didn't know for sure until I tried.

So, it's a huge relief to me that these boards come from UltraSabers preloaded with fonts.  I can now do a DIY upgrade without worrying about paying $135 for a V4 board and then not hearing anything when I turn it on.