allan morris

Happy Sunday Mike. Now this is where it gets difficult..... Down loaded eepe and eepskye from er9x website to get the latest version and arrived at the place I reached 3 years ago. Nothing will install or run with a string of error messages "error opening file for writing" That's where I got to before so to answer your question, "no". Allan

J4 plugged in, connect battery, main screen shows 11.1 v using the Turnigy 3S 2.65ah Lipo Tx battery pack. Switch ON then OFF, no "shutting down" msg. The faint warbling sound just gets a little louder with switch ON. Sure there'll be a way to get into bootloader...... Thanks again for your interest and time! Allan

Switch seems fine, no continuity when OFF, circuit made when ON. Allan

19.6 k ohms one way and 10.5 k ohms the other. Allan

Correct Mike! An early issue with the micro usb socket breaking off the little board put me off plugging anything in again, though Steven did send a new one promptly. My board just had small gold pads with a hole in for connecting the internal RF module; should there have been physical pins? As far as I can tell visually it's connected OK. Sure there's a multimeter way of confirming that..... On that subject, (and with the schematic to scare me), I shall persevere with my multimeter under your benevolent guidance! One question on updating firmware is how many hands do I need to access bootloader mode if the TX is ON as soon as the battery is connected?? Allan

Trainer is displayed on the trainer screen, not Slave. I don't even have a Protocol choice on Radio setup to choose a module. I sometimes wonder if we are talking about the same radio! eg "trainer source is not set to JACK PPM at the top right of the display" Where is that? Perhaps I shall just file the radio in "failed projects" and get on with building and flying planes with my old SANWA RDS8000!! Thanks again, Allan

Thank you Denis for your efforts,much appreciated. Mike B has put me on a different track by pointing out that the software er9x will run TWO RF modules without any mechanical switching; it's all done in the Menu selections of the software! Followed the diagram link but ended up with the same result, doh! I must now sit down with the Tx and the manual for a few hours, days, weeks............ Allan

OK Mike, after a soldering job that tested my skills to the limit, I am in the same boat as before ie the ON/OFF switch is not functioning and the TX is ON as soon as the battery is connected with its annoying warbling sound. I am puzzled.... Allan

Hi Mike, Yes, you are so quick on the draw I did miss your reply! Thank you for that golden nugget: I shall begin the project all over again with that knowledge. The screen comes on as normal but I didn't do a function test in case I had done something serious!! Will report back..... Allan

Thanks Denis, I am using DPDT, though I now realise that you only need to switch the power supply to the Orange module. I was switching the RF output as well, but not needed. Also the double throw is irrelevant as the original module has its own supply once plugged in to the back of the Tx, so no switching required there either! You can now clearly see i haven't a clue what I am doing!!! What could I have shorted? Allan

I hope Mike Blandford is still contributing to this excellent forum! Having successfully fitted the SmartieParts 9Extreme board to my Turnigy 9X, I bought an Orange DIY module at the Weston Park show this summer on a UK visit. This weekend the original RF unit was modded to be removable and tested OK. Then the Orange module yellow RF signal wire was soldered to PIN1 on the pcb on the case rear, the red +ve wire went onto PIN3 via a switch to allow either Orange or original modules to be used, finally -ve brown wire went onto PIN4. On re-connecting the battery the Tx powered up immediately with switch OFF, making a slight buzzing noise. Main switch ON made the buzzing slightly louder. Removing the Orange module completely didn't fix anything. The soldering has done something to bypass the ON/OFF switch, but I am stumped now. If anyone has any ideas, I would really appreciate any dialogue! Allan Morris

Thanks Mike, just seen your reply! Yes I did 9extreme not ersky9x. More head-scratching ahead then....... "the original RF module should work fine still" is true but isn't that module the weak range culprit? Another reason to go Orange as well as DSM2/X compatibility with BNF models. Can there be another reason for poor range issues with standard Turnigy 9X?

Another question on range issues: having upgraded a Turnigy 9X with a Smartieparts ersky9x board, is it still necessary to change the original Flysky RF module to fix the range issues detailed above? I plan to use the Orange module to allow DSM2/DSMX rx to play with the Microaces range! Are you still on board Mike?

Thank you, I’ll take gyroscopic precession!

Using a 3mm steel sheet, 1500mm x 600mm as a magnetic building board supported on a 6mm foam pad is the closest you need to being flat. There is a plentiful supply of suitable magnets for sale on ebay and great ideas for jigs on an excellent website called www.airfieldmodels.com

I was getting on with the motor installation in one of 3D lab printed models, namely the EasyMax001, a very interesting glider project from the same designer as the Spitfire featured by Richard Harris in October 2016 RCM&E. While holding the model by the fuselage about 2/3 to the tail, facing nose down, I was throttling throughout the rev range and could feel the torque reaction with changing rpm, as expected. More interestingly, at a constant rpm I could feel a slight random wandering of the nose; almost as if the thrust line was subtly changing. I checked the engine mounting and all seemed rigid and fixed. As it's a glider really, the prop folds and I wonder if the prop is causing the wandering? No excess vibration was evident so, amazingly, all seemed to be in balance! That always surprises me with folding props! Could this "wandering" manifest in flight as instability, or is it insignificant? I shall report back when the maiden is completed.......

Quite correct Mike, all sorted. Onward and upward on another forum??

Mike, I get as far as BURN/configure on the eepskye menu, but it can't seem to find avrdude.exe; keeps saying "not found etc...." How do I point eepskye to it as it is there, and how should avrdude be set up? I can't see 9xtreme in the programmer list and there are a lot of other choices before the "execute" button!!

More reading on https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1338412-9x-Add-on-Board-with-built-in-Programmer-and-EL-Backlight/page85 is going to see me right very soon! What an amazing project you have completed!

I have the 9extreme board, which I found to be an amazing product! I have eepskye too. I broke the mini usb socket off the circuit board early on and Steven quickly supplied a replacement. Now I have added some epoxy to beef it all up a bit. Is the firmware still in need of any flashing and what do I flash it with? Very wary of writing anything to the Tx at the moment in case it gets corrupted! I have set aside a week or two of study to get to grips with er9x, that's what being retired is all about! My wife is an ex-bank manager and always advised her staff to sort out pensioners' problems quickly because they have all the time in the world to pester you!!

Many thanks for the prompt response Mike. Yes the download was from your link and how do I tell what processor I have? guessing it's a 128. I read the EEPROM with a list of my models and can access the programming and simulation pages OK now, but each time I do something new it's difficult to remember how to get back there later; definitely "anno domini" but not dementia yet! It puzzles me that the SParts board needs flashing with software; I thought it already came ready to run and actually flashed the existing processor at first switch-on. I have the er9X manual, it is excellent I am sure though it will take a while longer before my understanding of it gives me any satisfaction. Another error message I get today when reading from the TX is "avrdude.exe missing" or "not found"!! I have the Voice files on the SD card and can play them with windows media but no idea how to use them yet!! I shall persevere for all the reasons you give Andy48, thanks for your encouragement!

I have recently upgraded a Turnigy 9X with the SmartieParts board and am hoping that Mike Blandford is on this forum soon, as I think he is the Guru for me! Eepe is finally on my PC and I have managed to read from my Tx and save the file. When I try to open the file I get the message "Error reading file. File wrong size" I am coming round to agreeing with other contributors that maybe programming my kit is not such a brilliant idea at 68 years old! I am prepared to spend as much time as it takes to learn, though I have to say the teaching materials via YouTube et al seem to assume a level of knowledge beyond me. No criticism is intended of the brilliant and selfless work from all concerned.

Oldgit, Allan, Frank good morning! Please can you help me unravel the mystery of programming an ESC? HoobyKing circular card and a HobbyKing 25 amp ESC: with "brake off" jumper selected the beeps tell me it accepts the setting. I want "brake on" for my electric Golden Lady, so change the jumper to "ON" and the ESC emits continuous "beep beep beep beep........" until I unplug the battery. It doesn't seem to like the setting! Tried the throttle stick drill with a Sanwa RDS 8000 tx and a Turnigy 9X tx and neither produces the beep sequences detailed in the instruction leaflet. When the stick is moved to the mid position to start the programming, the ESC just stays silent with both sets. I know there's a lot of info out there on youtube etc, but none of it applies to the results I am getting. Best regards, Allan Morris

Thanks WolstonFlyer! Judging by the low number of views, more publicity will mean a lot more enlightened folk.

I have just stumbled across a Youtube channel called "Painless360" that contains some really good in-depth video tutorials on a wide range of topics. I don't think I have seen this mentioned in the mag yet. As a sixty year old modeller returning to RC I have really enjoyed RCM&E for the past 4 years or so here in Wilderness, South Africa. These videos fill in many blanks in my knowledge and supplement very well the content of many magazine articles which often leave a question-mark over my greying head! Many congratulations David on your first 6 months at the helm, and the Bleriot made it safely back to terra firma courtesy of BA, shortly to take to the skies in the southern hemisphere! Allan Morris allan320