The COBRA firing systems ecosystem consists of many devices including the 18R2, 18M, 36M, 72M, 6M, and Audio Box. Firmware is the embedded software in our hardware that gives life to the device. COBRA is continually striving to improve products, and as we add feature enhancements to each device, COBRA releases new firmware versions to support the newly added functionality. While some new features may not always be available for older hardware, all COBRA systems support the latest firmware versions within our universal system design where all systems work happily together as a single family of products.
In addition to performing firmware updates to hardware firmware, COBRA also performs software upgrades to the COBRA Control Panel Android app available online from Google Play.
To determine compatible firmware versions across the COBRA Firing Systems equipment portfolio please see Firmware Figured Out.
To perform a firmware upgrade or downgrade please download the COBRA reprogramming software.
Below is a list of the current beta and stable firmware releases for your COBRA system. To learn more about our firmware release process, see What is our firmware release process?
Additional support is always available via email at help@cobrafiringsystems.com.
COBRA Firmware Stable Release Candidates
Version Number | Release date | Release Notes |
5.1.4 [ View Release Notes ] |
April 1st, 2023 |
- Addresses a rare situation (only reported once), whereby the 18R2 may pause while receiving a SMPTE feed and have no recovery other than re-starting the 18R2. - Improved communication between the 18R2 and Control Panel, ensuring that all modules are displayed correctly as in some cases, a module may not appear. - Improvements to the ER3 stuck button error codes to allow full operation of the unit while only displaying which button was stuck, and disabling that button. |
COBRA Firmware Stable Releases
Version Number | Release date | Release Notes |
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April 2014 | Major New Improvements
- Manually fire cues while the script is running - Reinforced wireless security - Fire multiple scripts without disarming Minor Improvements - Synchronization process change - Audio accuracy - 320k MP3 audio quality - Sleep mode efficiency improved by 25% - Manual AUTO-FIRE works past 12 seconds Bug Fixes - Sleep mode no longer displays backlight |
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August 2012 |
Major New Improvements - Universal compatibility - 1P low battery level warning |
COBRA Firmware BETA Releases
Version Number | Release date | Release Notes |
6.0.8 [View Release Notes] |
June 21st, 2023 |
18R2/36M/72M - Resolves an issue where the 36/72M did not download new DMX events correctly after clearing a script manually on the 18R2 by holding TEST and SYNC for 10 seconds. |
6.0.7 |
June 7th, 2023 |
18R2 - Script loading times dramatically improved - Control Panel now loads DMX scripts greater than 200 events - Modules no longer missing from Control Panel - Stuck buttons on startup no longer disable operation and now display which button is stuck and disable the button operation - 00:00.0s events firing after a STEP event now always fire - Whitespace in the channel column no longer imports invalid event - Incorrect event out-of-order error for DMX events now fixed - Script import error 54 now corrected to error 16 - Scripts now support DMX events with descriptions greater than 52 characters - Releasing COBRA Deadman or pausing script now stops DMX events with pulse times - Last event in script now always fires if driven by SMPTE - Jumping backward or performing large SMPTE time jumps while a script is running now fires all DMX events 36M-72M - 18R support added - Small groups of cues now always fire on scripted shows - Clearing scripts from the 18R2 no longer causes the 36M or 72M to display "Downloading DMX" - Screen brightness increased - Voltage mode maintained when updating firmware - DMX events in rare cases sometimes did not fire |
December 6th, 2021 |
18R2 - Fixed an issue where two cues on the same channel and firing at the same time could cause the module to not display in the arm count and fire. - Added scripting error code 57 to prevent the use of STEP events when using SMPTE Timecode. - Fixed a rare issue where 18R2s would not allow syncing new modules. - Fixed an issue that caused DMX STEP scripts to not show correctly on the Control Panel. - Fixed a display bug that showed the incorrect channel/cue on the 18R2 as being the last to fire. 36-72M - DMX Events can now be disabled when using the Disable Firing feature on the 18R2. - Fixed bug that prevented the 36/72M from showing on the Control Panel if you force refresh the module count while armed. |
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June 2021 | 6.0.5 is a patch release to 6.0.4 to address a few issues in 6.0.4. 18R2 - Fixes partial lock-up issues that could occur when changing the channels while a script is actively firing or paused. -Fixed issue with alternate events causing ER33 on certain 18R2 hardware versions. - Fixed issue with alternate events firing channel zero instead of correctly assigned channel. - Scripts are now saved correctly on the 18R2 when power-cycling the remote after changing the script attributes from the Control Panel. 36-72M - The modules will now send DMX zero values when in TEST or ARM if a DMX universe is set on the module. Previously the zero values were only sent while a script was running. - Fixed minor display issues that caused text overlapped on the LCD while in program/sync mode. |
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May 2021 | Major New Improvements DMX Support 200 Channel / 3,600 Cue Support Scripted Event Re-firing and Variable Pulse Times Manual Hold to Fire |
December 9th, 2020 |
5.1.2 is a patch release to 5.1.1 to address a few issues in the 5.1.1 firmware. - 36M/72M in some cases displaying 18R2 signal strength vs. MESH signal strength - Audio box hardware A may play audio slightly early by about 100-200ms - Audio box in rare cases does not start audio |
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November 18th, 2020 | Major New Improvements
- 2x increase in device connection time - Improved device count display - Script comments - Script filename is no longer limited to cobra.csv - Audio filename limit increased to 45 characters - 6M Support Control Panel 2.2.0 - Edit script attributes - Local Audio File Support - Continuous clock - Improved General Settings - Unfired Product Email Report
- SMPTE Audio Player - Combined Audio Files - Script Comments - Filename Improvements
Bug Fixes - Fixed an issue where 18M hardware A modules may sleep and not wake up forcing the user to power cycle the 18M firing module - In rare cases, module scripted firing timing may be off slightly due to minor calculation errors - In some cases, when multiple modules were on and in program mode, the 18M may skip multiple addresses when synced - In some cases, the control panel would crash and fail to open on Android 9.0 |
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February 2017 | Major New Improvements
- Manual and Scripted MESH - 1/100th Second Timing - 2nd Alternate Firing Button Control Panel - Field Map - Offline Mode Minor Improvements
Control Panel - Improved Device List UI - Improved Show Controls UI - New Manual Firing UI
Bug Fixes - 18R2 slow to load the final few modules in ARM mode - 18M not waking up properly from sleep mode -18M becoming stuck in a state of toggling between ARM and TEST mode (test and arm LED blinking back and forth) - 18M not properly receiving the downloaded script from the 18R2 - 18R not firing channel 00 manually - 18R in some cases has continuity disappear and re-appear momentarily - Audio box incorrectly aligned when pressing the + and - buttons on the 18R2 - Minor audio box distortion upon pausing and resuming script - 18R2 displaying incorrect -99 signal for modules - 36/72M not displaying continuity in direct sunlight - 36/72M not displaying continuity in direct sunlight - Deadman button on the 18R2 could cause the script to not resume after being paused. - 18R2 critical safety fix (only affected units sold from July 5th to July 24th, 2019) |
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May 2015 | Major New Improvements
- Alternate Event Firing - Deadman Functionality
Control Panel - COBRA Control Panel Integration - Device List - Show Controls - Disable Firing Functionality
Minor Improvements - Multiple Audio Files - 30% More Battery Life - Low Signal Warning - Improved Low Battery Warning - 18R2 Default Channel Changed to 00 - Force Un-Sync Removed from 18M - Force Un-Sync Time Extended on 18R2 to 30 Seconds - Loading script requires USB to be inserted at the time of 18R2 power up - Script header arguments changed Bug Fixes - Manually fire cues while the script is running - Reinforced wireless security - Fire multiple scripts without disarming |
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April 2013 |
Major New Improvements - Audio Box integration - Unlimited channel firing
Bug Fixes - Backlight stays on in sleep mode - In some cases, testing continuity locally from the 18M will cause the 18M to re-start |