Mike Blandford

I've just gone to the FrSky website and found a download for the XJT module that says it is the final version of the EU firmware for it, and it only supports D16 mode. This means we may find that a new Taranis, and new XJT modules, may NOT support anything other than D16 mode. It may also mean that the DJT and DHT modules become unavailable as they may not be compliant. Mike.

I believe putting either openTx or ersky9x on to your Taranis will restore the D8 functionality on the internal XJT module. Has anyone checked the options available in the FrSky EU firmware for the external module? This should still have PPM as an option, and you should be able to use an external DJT module for 'D' series receivers. Mike.

My understanding of the situation is as follows: There are TWO items of firmware in the Taranis: 1. The firmware in the internal XJT module 2. The application firmware. Either of these may be updated independantly of the other. The FrSky supplied application firmware only offers D16 mode. The internal module, whether flashed with EU or non-EU firmware still supports D8 mode. If you flash new application firmware, openTx or ersky9x, then you will have D8 offered again and be able to use the Taranis with 'D' type receivers. The DJT module is still available and one could be installed in the module bay as an alternative method of obtaining 'D' mode transmission. Mike.

Be AWARE that if you update the receiver "in situ", and power it from the Tx, you will supply 7.5 to 8 volts from the Tx to the Rx and ANY ATTACHED SERVOS. Make sure anything connected to the Rx is rated for 8 volts. The 'X' series receivers are, I believe, rated for 10 volts. Mike.

Yes it allows you to update the internal XJT module, an external XJT module, 'X' series receivers and SPort sensors. It isn't incorporated into the standard openTx release. They don't seem to want to use my "maintenance mode" so instead of just adding my changes (20 minutes work), they are coding it up to operate from elsewhere in the code so it won't be available until 2.1 is released. There are instructions on the post I linked showing how to update receivers and SPort sensors. Note that you need a cable where the power and ground wires cross over, or use a separate battery to power the device. Mike.

It seems the module update option is not in 2.0.16 after all. I've done the changes to add my "maintenance mode" to 2.0.16 and posted the files here: **LINK** I've done a quick test and all seems to work OK. Mike.

It provides the ability to update the firmware on the internal XJT module, or external XJT module or X series receivers or SPort sensors, from files on the SD card. Mike.

Yes they do. I think from when the firmware shipped is 2.0.09, I'm not sure of the date. I believe all Taranis Plusses have the bootloader. Contrary to my earlier statement, it seems 2.0.16 does NOT include an option to do module/sensor firmware updates. I've done the changes to add my "maintenance mode" to 2.0.16 and posted the files here: **LINK**. I've done a quick test and all seems to work OK. Mike.

Zadig has a problem in that once you have found a Taranis to update, it doesn't find a second one. You have to either uninstall Zadig and re-install it, then try the second Taranis (losing the first one) or run Zadig.exe that opens a window, plug the second Taranis in, then run the driver install. This is one of the reasons I wrote the bootloader. With the bootloader, firmware updates should be easy, and you can have as many transmitters as you like, they all just work in bootloader mode. Mike.

I understand the facility is included, but not using "maintenance mode". Apparantely, if you go to the SD card manager and select a .frk file, it will offer module update options. I haven't tried this. Mike.

You can look here: **LINK**, to see what has changed. Note that if you have flashed the openTx 2.0.15 I modified to have "maintenance mode", this is not in 2.0.16. Mike.

If the Taranis is old, then it won't have the bootloader I wrote, so you will definitely need to use Zadig to update the firmware. The firmware is stored on the processor flash memory. The model data is stored on a EEPROM, external to the processor. With the firmware you have, then plugging in the USB cable with the Tx switch on will give you two drives, one the SD card, the other looks like a disk drive, but reading and writing it actually accesses the EEPROM. The only way to update the firmware is to plug the USB cable in first, then switch the Tx on. You then need to get Zadig installed on the PC to be able to 'talk' to the DFU bootloader. Your best bet is probably to read this: **LINK** to start with. Once you have upgraded to a recent version of openTx (or ersky9x come to that), you will then have the bootloader I wrote and won't need Zadig again. Mike.

Well, for er9x, where we just don't have the storage to handle icons, I've currently got the following: On the main screen you just press the MENU button and you get a popup menu of: Model Select Model Setup Last Menu Radio Setup Statistics You simply choose one of these. As an example, if you choose Radio Setup you get a menu of headings to choose from: Display......... | Version AudioHaptic | DiagSwtch Alarms......... | DiagAna General....... | Hardware Controls...... | Calibration.. | Trainer......... | These are supposed to be descriptive of what you find if you select them. I've a lot of positive responses to say this is very easy to use and, for most things, you don't need the manual to find anything. There is also the problem of designing an ICON that is meaningful for each item. As I said before, if somebody comes up with a design for a user interface then maybe what we have can be improved, but we need the feedback, otherwise we have to guess what is needed. Mike.   Edited By Mike Blandford on 30/04/2015 19:18:56

Erfolg: Of course, we all think in different ways, so what you might think of as "intuitive" someone else might not. What could be helpful is a clear description of the sort of user interface you might like to see. Both openTx and er9x/ersky9x started out on the 9X transmitter. This has limited program and data space, so the user interface was also limited. I have managed to improve the user interface on er9x/ersky9x and I'm continually looking for feedback to improve it further. We also have programs that run on a PC and may be used to configure models in the radio. If you don't have a Taranis, you can still download and run the PC program, which will even simulate the actual transmitter so you can see what it is like without actually buying one. A bit of history: FrSky started out producing Tx modules, receivers and telemetry sensors. They contacted us (in 2011) regarding er9x supporting their "new" PXX protocol to the DJT Tx module. We did in fact do this, and updated DJT modules to use it, but this never went on sale. Instead, FrSky went down the line of developing the Taranis and the XJT module, but actually asked us if we wished to be part of the development so they produced something people wanted. They were intending to ship with their own firmware, but preferred openTx in the end and went with that. Quite possibly, they could see they could get to market faster than completing their own firmware. They sent us prototypes of the Taranis, and we probably got them running with the open source firmware sooner than they expected. I only had to write a few hardware drivers to get the existing code running! I'd already got similar drivers running for use on the "SKY" board upgrade for the 9X. Mike.

Glasshopper: Yes that would work. You would need to make sure the new XJT does have the new firmware, it is still allowed to sell pre-2015 stock in 2015, even if it doesn't comply with the new regulations. Mike.

Note that the non-EU firmware is available so if you purchase a receiver from the EU you can flash the non-EU firmware to it. Mike.

I test flew with this 'new' module in a Taranis (Plus) yesterday, previously I had been using a 9X with the SKY board upgrade. All worked as well as before. Still using ersky9x firmware. I'm looking at getting the module driver code imported into openTx. Same model, with the Lemon stabiliser receiver. All 8 channels work. On the Taranis I set the left slider up to control the master gain on channel 8, as well as mixing in throttle on channel 8 so the gain reduced as I increased the throttle above half. Mike.

No! The transmitter consists of the openTx (or my ersky9x) firmware and an internal XJT module. Only the internal module is affected by the EU firmware change and only if you update this will you need to update your receivers. You may update the openTx firmware if you wish, but this will NOT affect the internal XJT module, that is updated as a completely separate operation. Mike.

It sounds like you are using revision 2940 (or thereabouts) of openTx. If this does everything you need, then there is no need to update it. OpenTx is currently at revision 2.0.15 (it's changed the way the revision is shown, 2940 was the last revison before this change), but to use that with the PC you would also need to install the latest version of companion. Mike.

You need a cable that connects to pins at both ends. If you have such a cable, it is usually quite easy to remove the socket pins from the plastic housing and replace them swapped over. Just lift the small plastic tongue a bit with a pointed instrument and the socket pin should slide out. Another way of connecting up is to just connect ground and signal to the receiver, and power the receiver from a normal Rx battery. Just wait to switch the receiver on unitl the firmware is searching for the device to update. Mike.

This feature will get into future versions, from 2.1 I believe. I felt there was a requirement NOW for this, so I added it in myself. I've had it in ersky9x for many months. NOTE: Be very careful with the connections from the module connector to the SPort connector on the receiver, POWER and GROUND need to be CROSSED over. EW: Yes, you will need to update both the internal XJT and the receivers. As long as you have the non-EU firmware for the receivers, you should always be able "downgrade" any new receivers. Mike.

Have you upgraded the firmware on the Taranis itself (openTx, not the internal module)? I've built and published a version of openTx 2.0.15 that includes the ability to update the receiver firmware using the external module connector. Mike.

If you wonder "What is this Taranis all about", you could download the (free) program(s) that run on your PC and allow editing of all the settings in the radio. This would let you see what the open source firmware is all about. There are two options for the firmware, openTx and ersky9x. For openTx: **LINK** For ersky9x: **LINK** Both also include simulators so you may see what your settings actually do. Mike.   Edited By Mike Blandford on 17/04/2015 15:19:23

For information I've been testing a prototype DSM2/X Tx module (JR mechanics). This module uses a serial protocol between itself and the main radio firmware and supports telemetry, as well as up to 14 channels. I have full support for this module in ersky9x firmware working on a SKY board in a 9X, a 9XR-PRO and the Taranis. Currently I don't know when it might be available to purchase, but I have flown successfully with it using a Lemon stabilising receiver (DSMX) and a telemetry unit from the same source as the Tx module. I had over 60 paces range on the ground in range check mode, and no problems in flight. I had the telemetry unit (which doubles as a satelite I understand) monitoring the flight pack voltage. Mike.

It supports both DSM2 and DSMX. I've just been testing it and doing the support firmware for the radios, they have developed the module and its firmware. My test flight yesterday was with a Lemon stabiliser Rx. Mike.