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V1.8.0 - May 2026

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@dmcnaugh dmcnaugh released this 20 May 07:24
V1.8.0
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Learn about vigilant mode.

V1.8.0 - May 2026

THESE PACKAGES MAY NOT BE UPLOADED OR HOSTED ANYWHERE ELSE.

Installation Notes

Since the last update was released bit.ly and GitHub have again changed thier root CA certificates, breaking the default OTA update from GitHub in the VT132 firmware. The problem is likely to recur in future.

The recommended solution now is to download the attached file VT132.bin locally and use a local webserver for OTA (see: Firmware Update Guide) , or the esptool.py method.

Release Notes

This is a MINOR release that

  • adds Ctrl-Alt-Space as an alternate SETUP key combination for USB keyboards without SYSRQ / PrtScr
  • smooths SETUP-menu rendering under arrow-key navigation
  • updates the on-board USB host controller firmware with USB hub support, hot-plug through a hub, and support for low-speed keyboards behind a full-speed hub
  • corrects spelling in the AT$ modem help text

Added Ctrl-Alt-Space as alternate SETUP:

  • Many modern USB keyboards omit the SYSRQ / PrtScr key that invokes the VT132 SETUP menu. Holding Ctrl + Alt and pressing Space now invokes SETUP as an alternate chord. The original bindings continue to work unchanged.

Smoother SETUP-menu navigation:

  • SETUP menus and lists (e.g. Tab Stops, Personality selection) no longer flicker on every arrow keypress. Moving the highlight cursor within a list now repaints only the rows that change — the surrounding frame and unchanged rows are left alone — and the difference is most visible on longer lists.

Updated USB host controller firmware to V2.1.1:

The USB host controller firmware (UHC) is bumped from V2.0.0 to V2.1.1.
Notable user-facing changes:

  • USB hub support — keyboards plugged in behind a (single) USB hub now enumerate and work. Previously only keyboards plugged directly into the VT132's USB port were recognised. This also enables keyboards with an embedded hub. Only the first keyboard found is enabled.
  • Hot-plug through a hub — unplugging and re-plugging a keyboard while it is connected via a hub is also detected.
  • Low-speed keyboards behind a full-speed hub — supports a low-speed keyboard when plugged in through an FS hub (e.g. the Raspberry Pi Wired Keyboard.)
  • Boot-protocol keyboard filter — multi-interface USB devices (e.g. a keyboard with built-in trackpoint, or a combined keyboard/mouse receiver) now only have their boot-protocol keyboard interface attached; other HID interfaces on the same device are cleanly ignored instead of being claimed and producing junk input.

Fixed AT$ modem help spelling:

  • AT+W$ - Show WiFi IP address
  • AT+W# - Show WiFi MAC address
  • AT+U$ - Show OTA Partition Status

FIRMWARE

The FIRMWARE package is a ZIP file containing 6 files:

COPYRIGHT.txt
FLASHING.md
bootloader.bin        23K
partition-table.bin   3K
VT132.bin             1.1MB
ota_data_initial.bin  8K

You only need the VT132.bin file from the FIRMWARE bundle, also attached separately, if upgrading using the OTA process.

Instructions for updating the firmware on an existing system are included in the Firmware Update Guide. The FLASHING.md file contains instructions for flashing the firmware to a new ESP32.

Instructions for updating the USB host controller firmware (UHC) are included in the Firmware Update Guide.

Known Issues

  1. A race condition can occur when the 'AT' Modem is used as the operating system console eg. the CP/M console device CON:. This will cause a buffer overflow and the VT132 will reboot. To avoid this race condition, always use the AT&A1 "daemon" (silent) mode. (Carried over from V1.7.0 — unchanged in this release.)
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