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Troubleshooting

The Tracker doesn't start, or keeps restarting

  • Go back to stock: put the stock image's file name (for example PolyendTracker_1.9.2.ptf) in /Firmware/ot_restore.txt on the card and power-cycle. This runs before the rest of OpenTracker. See Install and go back.
  • The update bootloader and the rear reset button are never touched by OpenTracker; the worst case is reflashing.

"Restarted after a crash (stack overflow)"

OpenTracker has a stack guard: a protected memory area below the stack. If the stack ever overflows into it, the Tracker resets cleanly instead of silently corrupting memory, and after the restart it shows "Restarted after a crash (stack overflow)" for a few seconds. The diag log records "reset reason: core lockup".

  • Please report it as an issue, with what you were doing and, if possible, the diag log.
  • To run without the guard (for example to compare), create an empty file /Firmware/ot_noguard.txt.

Sound problems

  • Crackles or dropped notes when busy: check the CPU meter (Config > General > CPU meter). The voice limiter cuts synth voices first when the audio gets close to its limit; lowering Synth voices or synth polyphony helps.
  • A synth slot is silent and shows "not available": its model has no engine in this build (WTFM).
  • DX7 voice sounds different from a hardware DX7: report the voice (.syx file) in an issue; the engine is checked against Dexed, not hardware.

The diag log and telemetry

Over USB, the Tracker also appears as a serial port with a diag log: boot messages, warnings, and every 5 seconds a telemetry line:

telemetry: render cyc/block min … avg … max … | loop max … ms | stack peak … B heap … B of … B (free … B) | rx restarts … stale …
  • render: audio CPU per 128-sample block (the budget is 522,240 cycles).
  • loop max: the slowest main-loop pass (UI, SD card).
  • stack peak / free: the deepest stack use since boot and what's left.
  • rx restarts / stale: Line in health (I2S input restarts and stale blocks).

Read it with any serial terminal, or capture it with tools/tracker_remote.py --log. tools/telemetry_check.py log FILE checks a captured log against the thresholds.

Known limitations

See Home.