Binding and updating

[Graham R]

I am trying to get my Frsky Taranis setup back to a working system. I have tried looking through the threads but have got really confused. What I would like if possible is a list of instructions that I can follow. The main problem I have is being unable to bind receivers. I updated my taranis some time ago and then ran into problems, had to resort to another brand till I get this sorted.

Taranis is an early one.

Taranis firmware rel - 2.0.13

I have a variety of receivers

D8R II, D8R, X8R, X4R, X6R, D6R II, V8R4 II (bound ok), X8R. None of the receivers have had updates applied. 2 of the X8R are dated 2015.

I do have various update cables.

Hope that somebody may be able to help. Thank you in anticipation.

Graham

[MattyB]

When you say you updated your Taranis (at which point I assume it stopped being able to bind), what exactly did you update? The RF firmware, OpenTX or both? What did you move from and to? Final question - what RF modes (D8, D16, L9 etc) are available from the setup menu?

Edited By MattyB on 05/08/2016 22:14:49

[Graham R]

It was some time ago, I think that I updated both opentx and rf firmware. RF modes available are LR12, D8 and D16.

[Kevin Fairgrieve]

If you can still see D8 mode then you are not using the latest EU LBT firmware.

 

So the two RX labelled as 2015 will not work unless you "backdate" the firmware in them to a non EU version.

 

Binding Video`s on You Tube.

 

Once you get the hang of it it takes only a few minutes to do.

 

As a BETA tester for the upcoming Horus TX I am constantly flashing firmware to various RX swithing between my Taranis which is non LBT and the Horus which is.

 

Hope the vid`s help.

 

Kev

 

EDIT.

If you upgrade the TX firmware to the latest EU version then a lot of your RX will not work.

The EU firmare only works with the latest X series RX. All D series and V series are not compatible.

Edited By Kevin Fairgrieve on 06/08/2016 07:47:19

[Andy48]

I believe the LBT firmware does indeed support "D" series receivers. You might need to unckeck the "EU" box in the radio profile options. I don't have any "D" series receivers so cannot confirm this personally.

You need to update your OpenTX to the latest version (2.1.8), then update your FrSky Tx firmware to the LBT firmware. Finally update the firmware in the "X" series receivers to the latest LBT version.

I have written a full set of documentation for OpenTX 2.1. You can find it here:

**LINK**

It explains fully the different firmwares for the Taranis and how to update the receivers to the latest firmware. This is easily done from the transmitter with a slightly modified servo extension cable.

Its a pain doing all the updating, but once done then life gets much easier.

[Kevin Fairgrieve]

Posted by Andy48 on 06/08/2016 17:51:48:

I believe the LBT firmware does indeed support "D" series receivers. You might need to unckeck the "EU" box in the radio profile options. I don't have any "D" series receivers so cannot confirm this personally.

That option is not currently available on Open TX 2.2

Remember I am Beta testing FrSkys own software and not Open TX, so Currently only supports X series. I hope to soon test Open TX on the Horus.

Kev

[MattyB]

Posted by Kevin Fairgrieve on 06/08/2016 18:11:23:

Posted by Andy48 on 06/08/2016 17:51:48:

I believe the LBT firmware does indeed support "D" series receivers. You might need to unckeck the "EU" box in the radio profile options. I don't have any "D" series receivers so cannot confirm this personally.

 

That option is not currently available on Open TX 2.2

Remember I am Beta testing FrSkys own software and not Open TX, so Currently only supports X series. I hope to soon test Open TX on the Horus.

Kev

Well since the OP has neither a Horus nor OpenTX 2.2 that isn't terribly helpful! I can confirm that Andy48 is quite correct; if you had a Taranis that previously supported D8 mode then you can retain it after moving to the latest EU LBT RF firmware if you follow the correct procedure. Andy's instructions should be all that is needed.

Edited By MattyB on 06/08/2016 20:03:49

[Graham R]

Thank you all for your input so far. I will try following Andy48 instructions tomorrow.

Graham

[jim longbon]

Hi chaps l have a taranis plus with the original open tx x9dp-v2.0.92eu. l want to get some more receivers some x6r lbt firmware will these be compatible with the tx firmware or do l have to try and source some international rx. I have just gone on some of the you tube sites and now I'm even more confused.it seems l have to reflash my firm ware on what the tx or the rx l bought the bloody frsky gear because l thought it was future proofed. One of the club members has the same setup/equipment and has bought the new brt rx,s and they wont bind.

Wasn't it some ancient Greek bloke who said, We finally get ourselves sorted into a cohesive group and then they come along and change it

Going to retreat to the back of my cave hang up the animal skins and club and drink lots of beer.

[Graham R]

Hear hear. I am still confused as to software / companion updates and compatibility. I have given up temporarily with frisky until somebody writes a definitive list of what to do (in simple steps). 

I am running a Mac, most instructions are aimed at pc's. 

Edited By Graham Russell on 07/01/2017 11:04:34

[jim longbon]

Hi Graham, don't think l will be holding my breath anytime soon it seems the the clever dickies out there seem to love the wiff of superiority hanging in the air. If someone was to come out and say, yes we have changed the rx,s too some thing else and by connecting them to your existing software on your taranis you can reflash or whatever, to get the new stuff to work with the tx you deliberately went out and bought. How many actually use the full capability of the early open tx let alone the Christmas tree of bells ,lights, whistles on the new open tx. Yes (keep it simple).

o,well back to the cave too early for beer. dam !!!

[PatMc]

Posted by jim longbon on 07/01/2017 15:19:52:

Hi Graham, don't think l will be holding my breath anytime soon it seems the the clever dickies out there seem to love the wiff of superiority hanging in the air.

Or perhaps the "clever dickies" are just getting a bit cheesed of repeating themselves.

[MattyB]

Yes, this is complex but it's not really FrSky's fault - the ETSI legislation change is what caused them to have to release new RF firmware in the EU. My recommendation would be as follows:

• Buy the new RXs you want in the EU with the current EU LBT firmware.
• Try and bind them in D16 mode - if they work out of the box that means you have EU LBT firmware in your internal RF module already and you don't need to do anything further.
• If that doesn't work you are going to need to update the internal RF module in your TX and all your existing RX to the latest EU LBT spec. This will be a one time exercise; once done you should never have to do it again, and you will be able to buy EU LBT RXs off the shelf and use them straight away.

If you give me some time I will link you to resources on updating your internal RF module and RXs. This no longer requires specialist USB leads/devices, as you can do it all from the TX itself with a servo lead that has been slightly modified (two pins are swapped over, that's it).

Edited By MattyB on 07/01/2017 16:13:42

[Andy48]

Had put a reply in here, but when someone resorts to being rude and swearing, I've had second thoughts.

Edited By Andy48 on 07/01/2017 15:52:07

[jim longbon]

Hi chaps l do apologise if l have offended anybodys sensabilitys its the concussion from banging my head against a brick wall.

Anyways cheers matty b and all those others who dont mind repeating themselves to help others.

[Graham R]

Posted by MattyB on 07/01/2017 15:44:09:

Yes, this is complex but it's not really FrSky's fault - the ETSI legislation change is what caused them to have to release new RF firmware in the EU. My recommendation would be as follows:

• Buy the new RXs you want in the EU with the current EU LBT firmware.
• Try and bind them in D16 mode - if they work out of the box that means you have EU LBT firmware in your internal RF module already and you don't need to do anything further.
• If that doesn't work you are going to need to update the internal RF module in your TX and all your existing RX to the latest EU LBT spec. This will be a one time exercise; once done you should never have to do it again, and you will be able to buy EU LBT RXs off the shelf and use them straight away.

If you give me some time I will link you to resources on updating your internal RF module and RXs. This no longer requires specialist USB leads/devices, as you can do it all from the TX itself with a servo lead that has been slightly modified (two pins are swapped over, that's it).

Edited By MattyB on 07/01/2017 16:13:42

Thank you Matt, any helps as to what needs to be done to companion, frskky firmware, the open source software that runs the Taranis, and old and new receivers would be great.

Do you know why only Frsky seem to be affected by legislation.

[Dave Hopkin]

Posted by Graham Russell on 07/01/2017 17:42:18:

Posted by MattyB on 07/01/2017 15:44:09:

Yes, this is complex but it's not really FrSky's fault - the ETSI legislation change is what caused them to have to release new RF firmware in the EU. My recommendation would be as follows:

• Buy the new RXs you want in the EU with the current EU LBT firmware.
• Try and bind them in D16 mode - if they work out of the box that means you have EU LBT firmware in your internal RF module already and you don't need to do anything further.
• If that doesn't work you are going to need to update the internal RF module in your TX and all your existing RX to the latest EU LBT spec. This will be a one time exercise; once done you should never have to do it again, and you will be able to buy EU LBT RXs off the shelf and use them straight away.

If you give me some time I will link you to resources on updating your internal RF module and RXs. This no longer requires specialist USB leads/devices, as you can do it all from the TX itself with a servo lead that has been slightly modified (two pins are swapped over, that's it).

Edited By MattyB on 07/01/2017 16:13:42

Thank you Matt, any helps as to what needs to be done to companion, frskky firmware, the open source software that runs the Taranis, and old and new receivers would be great.

Do you know why only Frsky seem to be affected by legislation.

All manufacturers were equally affected - some adopted the LBT protocol before it was mandatory some didnt and some like OpenTx relied on users updating their firmware, some stopped producing/supporting earlier versions of their protocols

[Andy48]

OpenTX has nothing whatsoever to do with the LBT firmware. The LBT firmware is FrSky's. However, the OpenTX team have added routines to make this FrSky firmware much easier to update.

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Graham I think some of the info you need is in the rather convoluted thread above, but there is also some info above that is just plain wrong.

The most important thing for you is being able to bind Rxs to your Tx.

The version of OpenTx that you run is irrelevant.

Assuming that it's only X series receivers you need to fix then you need to get both Rx and Tx on the same system.

That can be either EU LBT or the "rest of the world" version.

There are two ways of upgrading the firmware.

1)From a PC using a USB adapter.
2)Directly from the Tx by placing the files on the SD card and going from there. (I can't remember which version of OpenTx introduced this feature)

Have you done either of these things at all in the past?

[Graham R]

Hi Chris

I have a mixture of D, V and X receivers. Will I need to set them to EU LBT version to us them in the UK.

2) Where do I download firmware from.

3)What directory on the sd card will the f/w need to be loaded on.

4How will the receivers be upgrade/down graded

5)Does having a mixture of old and new type receivers cause problems? or are they all loaded with the same firmware.

Im sorry for so many questions but I really want to try to sort my system out.

Graham

[Mike Blandford]

For information, the EU-LBT (LBT=Listen BeforeTalk) firmware for the XJT that is the latest named: XJT_LBT_build151223.frk does support D8 mode to 'D' receivers and V-II receivers.

As long as the firmware on your Tx offers D8 mode, then you may use this. I have this on an early Taranis and just checked it worked with a D8R-II. For those who don't know, I use ersky9x firmware (not openTx).

FrSky have very recently released a new version of the XJT firmware (XJT_LBT_build161214.frk), but this is specifically described as for the Taranis plus since Nov 15th 2016.

Quote from FrSky:
"FrSky has improved the performance of the BK-RF board of Taranis X9D Plus since Nov. 15th, 2016. For those with production dates between Nov. 15th, 2016 to Dec. 23rd, 2016, if you’d like to use with LR12 mode (L9R receiver), pls flash the firmware to Ver161214."

I'm not certain either when openTx added the support for flashing the internal XJT and/or external SPort devices. I wrote the code that does the flashing, but it was some time later that it was added into openTx, I think it may have been added to 2.1. Because many users didn't want to update to 2.1, I built versions of 2.0.15 through to 2.0.19 that included a "maintenance mode" (the method I use on ersky9x) that allows the required flashing. To access maintenance mode you power on holding both horizontal trims APART.

If you want to flash one of these specific versions, go to: **LINK**, to get the download. On that post there is also a pdf document "SportFlash.pdf" with instructions on using the feature.

Graham: Only the XJT module and 'X' receivers need firmware upgrading.

Mike.

 

Edited By Mike Blandford on 07/01/2017 22:45:41

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Posted by Graham Russell on 07/01/2017 22:40:02:

Hi Chris

I have a mixture of D, V and X receivers. Will I need to set them to EU LBT version to us them in the UK.

2) Where do I download firmware from.

3)What directory on the sd card will the f/w need to be loaded on.

4How will the receivers be upgrade/down graded

5)Does having a mixture of old and new type receivers cause problems? or are they all loaded with the same firmware.

Im sorry for so many questions but I really want to try to sort my system out.

Graham

No Problem Graham, they are the right questions.

I believe that V type Rxs will only work if they are V2 types. They and the D types should still bind in D8 mode.
Does that work?

(If you can't select D8 mode in the Tx then it has had OpenTx downloaded while the "EU" box has been ticked in Companion). But I think you will be able to select D8.

The firmware can be dowloaded from **LINK**. You will only be doing the X-series ones. It is the same file needed for X6R and X8R. (X4R is different).

You may need to take Mike's advice from above if you want to do it from the Tx.

To do it from the PC you need This adapter (There was an earlier version that works with an extra adapter).
You'll also need the tiny bit of FrSky software to do the upgrade.
I'll have a look for the files and list them in another post.

Edited By Chris Bott - Moderator on 07/01/2017 23:13:12

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

OK dowloading firmware.

Clicking here will download X6R/X8R latest LBT-EU firmware

Clicking here will download X6R/X8R non EU firmware

One of those should bind with your existing Tx firmware. (unless it's an older EU version)
Both downloads are RAR files so they need unpacking (like unzipping)

Clicking here will download the PC software to do the upgrading with.
This one is a ZIP file that will need unzipping.

[Andy48]

Posted by Mike Blandford on 07/01/2017 22:43:59:

I'm not certain either when openTx added the support for flashing the internal XJT and/or external SPort devices. I wrote the code that does the flashing, but it was some time later that it was added into openTx, I think it may have been added to 2.1. Because many users didn't want to update to 2.1, I built versions of 2.0.15 through to 2.0.19 that included a "maintenance mode" (the method I use on ersky9x) that allows the required flashing. To access maintenance mode you power on holding both horizontal trims APART.

I'm pretty sure you need OpenTX 2.1 to be able to update the firmware on the Taranis. Anyway it makes sense to update to 2.1.9 which is the latest stable version, there is no reason not to. There is a major change to the way telemetry is handled in 2.1, and not to upgrade to this simply locks one out of any future upgrades of OpenTX.

There is a similar issue with Windows. Some did not like the major changes made to Windows 7 on and stayed with XP. Fine until firstly Microsoft stopped supporting it, and even more of a problem when the computer needs replacing and all that is available is Windows 10.

[Graham R]

How do I find out what firmware I have in my Tx. Am I right in thinking that this may need updating.(how can I tell)

All this talk about firmware is confusing. Am I right in thinking that there are 2 types in my Taranis, 1 for transmission and the other the user interface, and another set of firmware downloads for my receivers.

I have just tested a few of my receivers

1) 2 - X8R's appear to bind ok.

2)1- X6rR won't bind . red led just flashes.

3)1 - D8R-II Appears to bind but red led stays on.

Sorry to be a pain

Graham