Getting started with NanoGig Screen

NanoGig Screen is firmware for small ESP32 touchscreens. Once it is installed, the screen powers up from USB, finds the Nano Cortex over Bluetooth on its own and shows the gig view. No phone, no app, no pairing.

NanoGig Screen is paid firmware, licensed per screen, and you try it first: without a license it runs for 15 minutes after each power-on, so you can check it works with your board and pedal before you buy. A license is bound to the chip of the board it is activated on, and covers that screen’s updates.

1. Get a screen and a license

Either:

• a kit: a screen in a printed case with the firmware already installed and licensed, or
• one of the supported boards, bought on its own. Install the firmware and try it; buy a license when you’re happy. The page after payment shows your license key, and the email from Polar, the store that handles the payment, has it too.

2. Install the firmware

Kits are ready to go: skip to step 3.

For your own board, use the web installer. It is the only place to get the firmware. You need a computer with Chrome or Edge (Safari, Firefox and phones can’t talk to USB boards) and a USB cable that carries data.

1. Open /install and pick your board.
2. Plug the board in, press Connect and choose its port. The installer checks that the chip matches the board you picked and shows the chip’s ID.
3. Have a license key? Enter it and the installer activates it for this board’s chip. No key yet: skip it, and the screen runs as a 15-minute trial after each power-on until you activate one.
4. Press Install. Writing takes a minute or two; keep the cable in and the tab open. When it says Installed, unplug the USB cable and plug it back in: the screen stays dark until you do.

If the board doesn’t answer, hold BOOT, tap RESET, let go of BOOT and press Connect again. The installer page has more tips.

A full install starts the board from scratch: it replaces any other firmware and resets the screen’s Wi-Fi and settings. To move an installed screen to a newer version, update over Wi-Fi instead.

3. Power it

Plug the screen into any USB power: a phone charger, a power bank, or the same supply as the pedal through a Y cable or a small hub. Use a cable that carries data and power for the board; the board guide says which (the 2.8” CYD needs a USB-A to USB-C cable).

The screen boots in about a second.

A licensed screen joins Wi-Fi once after an install to fetch its license: pick your network and type its password. Without a license it runs for 15 minutes, then shows the Activate screen until it is powered off and on again. See Activate a screen.

4. Connect to the pedal

1. Close Cortex Cloud and the NanoGig app: the pedal takes one Bluetooth connection at a time.
2. Power on the pedal. If the screen asks, hold EXIT + CAPTURE on the pedal for 2 seconds.
3. The first time, the screen reads all 64 preset names (a few seconds). It remembers them after that.

Connected. If the status line still says it’s looking after about 30 seconds: leave tap tempo on the pedal, or power-cycle it.

5. Set it up

Upside down? Menu (≡) → Settings → NanoGig tab → page 2:

12

1. Rotate display.
2. Brightness.

• Bank labels: NanoGig tab, page 1: presets per bank and label style, to match your MIDI controller.
• Hand the pedal to Cortex Cloud: Menu → Disconnect. Menu → Connect takes it back.

Then see Features for everything the screen does.

Activate a screen

The Activate screen shows the screen’s chip ID, its board and a QR code. During the trial, the menu (≡) counts down; its Activate button gets you there early.

1. Scan the QR code, or open /activate and type the chip ID.
2. Paste your license key and press Activate.
3. With Wi-Fi set up, the screen fetches its license within a minute and restarts, unlocked.

If it still shows Activate, check that:

• it can reach the internet over Wi-Fi, so it can fetch its license;
• the license was activated for this board: the chip ID must match the one on the Activate screen. To move a license to another board, activate its key for that board; a key can move once by itself, after that through support.

If it still shows Activate, contact support with the chip ID and your order number.