OpenTx - Questions and Problems

[Glasshopper]

Different problem......I seem to have corrupted my opentx files in some way. Changes made in my Taranis plus TX are no longer appearing in "Companion" when I want to load up my models The changes are filed OK in the Taranis EEPROM.bin file when I open "Companion"from that file, but "Companion" does not find them when I click on the button to read models and settings from the TX. Can any one help solve my problem please?

[Glasshopper]

I think I have fixed it.I hope!

[allan morris]

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.

[Mike Blandford]

What did you read from the 9X, the EEPROM or the flash memory?

Did you download eepe (and er9x) from here: **LINK**?

What processor do you have on your 9X, a MEGA64 or a MEGA128?

For when you get er9x flashed to the 9X, there is a manual for it here: **LINK**.

Since you have eepe, I'm assuming you want er9x, if you want openTx, then you need companion, not eepe.

Mike.

[Andy48]

Posted by allan morris on 27/07/2017 08:00:50:

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'm 68 and I could not disagree more strongly. We live in a world of technology which is going to continue whether you like it or not. I see it as a challenge to keep the old brain working and therefore help with my long term health and ability to cope with this ever changing world. Step off the technology train and as you age, the world will become more and more inaccessible to you.

My in-laws refuse to have anything to do with modern technology, and it is having a considerable negative impact on their lives now at an age where it could be really beneficial.

[Trevor Crook]

I decided to get a QX7 to play with. Lots of helpful videos etc. on line. So far I've managed to download voice files and get a timer working with voice annunciations. I've also configured one of the rotary knobs as a volume control.

However, most of the guides are from drone fliers, so I have yet to find help in setting up CH5 to be a gear switch. I've managed to assign the CH5 input to SWF, but can't get the two positions to 1ms and 2ms respectively. I think you use the Mixer screen. Can any QX 7 owner give a detailed guide please?

Oh, I'm 63 by the way!

[Bryan Anderson 1]

Posted by Trevor Crook on 27/07/2017 17:42:44:

I decided to get a QX7 to play with. Lots of helpful videos etc. on line. So far I've managed to download voice files and get a timer working with voice annunciations. I've also configured one of the rotary knobs as a volume control.

However, most of the guides are from drone fliers, so I have yet to find help in setting up CH5 to be a gear switch. I've managed to assign the CH5 input to SWF, but can't get the two positions to 1ms and 2ms respectively. I think you use the Mixer screen. Can any QX 7 owner give a detailed guide please?

Oh, I'm 63 by the way!

You have probably used SWF as both a source to the mix and as a switch. The switch reference then mucks up the source.

You only need the former.in the mix.

It should look like 

CH5 SF weight(+100%)

You can twiddle that sign to get up/down the way you prefer.

Bryan, 78

Edited By Bryan Anderson 1 on 27/07/2017 18:07:00

[Andy48]

Posted by Trevor Crook on 27/07/2017 17:42:44:

I decided to get a QX7 to play with. Lots of helpful videos etc. on line. So far I've managed to download voice files and get a timer working with voice annunciations. I've also configured one of the rotary knobs as a volume control.

However, most of the guides are from drone fliers, so I have yet to find help in setting up CH5 to be a gear switch. I've managed to assign the CH5 input to SWF, but can't get the two positions to 1ms and 2ms respectively. I think you use the Mixer screen. Can any QX 7 owner give a detailed guide please?

Oh, I'm 63 by the way!

Full guide for OpenTx here. This was written for the Taranis, but apart from having a couple of switches less and a different sized screen, the Q7 is basically a Taranis.

**LINK**

[Trevor Crook]

Thanks chaps. Will have a further play when I get home from hols.

Due to the lack of official documentation for this gear, it's quite challenging for the newcomer, but I was expecting that. I got it because it looked interesting, and provides a low cost route to voiced telemetry when we are playing at FPV. I'm perfectly happy to keep using my Spektrum gear for my normal flying.

The other mistake I made when ordering was specifying an X8R "Universal" version. This wouldn't bind with the QX7, and a phone call to T9 revealed that I should have ordered the LBT version, which they have agreed to swap it for. Unless I missed it, there was no explanation of the difference on the T9 website, and I'm surprised they didn't contact me when I ordered an incompatible Tx/Rx combination, but it's probably all automated. They were certainly extremely friendly and helpful on the phone.

Looking forward to the adventure ahead!

[Andy48]

Once you get used to the Q7, you'll be flogging the Spektrum gear. You could have quickly downloaded the LBT firmware for the X8R and undated it to the LBT version. It can be done from the transmitter. -Again see the documentation I gave a link to earlier.

Edited By Andy48 on 27/07/2017 19:49:57

Edited By Andy48 on 27/07/2017 19:51:39

[Trevor Crook]

No thoughts of deserting Spektrum at present, has been 100% reliable and I like the way it does things, plus I'vegot a dozen or more models kitted with it, as well as few bnf models. But you never know. The QX10 thats been shown on other posts looks tempting. And my initial impressions of the build quality of the QX7 is that it is better than any af the mainstream manufacturers' £100 trannies.

[allan morris]

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!

[Mike Blandford]

You may be confusing the SP board, or I'm confused.

There is the basic SP board, which is a solderless programmer for the standard 9X processor.

There is also the 9Xtreme board, which has a better processor on it.

I have assumed you have the first board (quite a small board). Please confirm which SP board you have.

If you have the 9Xtreme, then you need to be running eepskye, not eepe (both are installed in the same directory).

Mike.

[allan morris]

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!!

[allan morris]

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!

[Mike Blandford]

The processor on the 9Xtreme is basically the same as that on a Taranis. Flashing is performed in the same way.

You power the radio on while holding the two horizontal trims towards the centre. This starts the radio in bootloader mode. Now connect the USB to the computer, and two hard drives should appear.

Now run eepskye. Go to the BURN|Configure menu and make sure "Use SAM-BA" is NOT ticked.

You should now be able to use eepskye read/flash both the EEPROM and the flash memory from eepskye.

Plenty of reading also here: **LINK**.

Mike.

[PatMc]

Posted by allan morris on 28/07/2017 07:12:20:

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!!

I would have thought it was because pensioners had less time left than most.

[allan morris]

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!!

[Mike Blandford]

Are you certain you are running eepskye, and not eepe. AvrDude is only used by eepe.

Go to the eepe install directory and run eepskye.exe.

Mike.

[Andy48]

Dear Moderators

Would it be sensible to move these latter posts to a new topic as they relates specifically to the 9X and not to OpenTX in general. I can see many forumites who are already struggling with OpenTX being thoroughly confused by this?

[Trevor Crook]

Bryan

I've deleted the mix I originally had for channel 5 on my QX7 to attempt to get the string you gave in your post. My Mixer screen seems to have a different format, see screenshot below. The OpenTx version is 2.2.0

[Bryan Anderson 1]

Posted by Trevor Crook on 28/07/2017 16:48:44:

Bryan

I've deleted the mix I originally had for channel 5 on my QX7 to attempt to get the string you gave in your post. My Mixer screen seems to have a different format, see screenshot below. The OpenTx version is 2.2.0

Trevor,

As I suspected. I showed what you would see using Companion. Yours is what is shown on the transmitter.

Your line shows I05 (that is Input 5) as the source and SF as the switch. You do not need to feed switches through the INPUTS page. Just use them directly as SOURCES. You should delete the I05 line in INPUTS.

You should edit that MIXES line to change the source to be SF and to leave the switch source as blank ( "---" ). It should then work.

Alternatively, through the wonders of OpenTX, you could leave the INPUTS as they are and just edit the SWITCH part as above. But why have lines on two pages when only one line on one page is needed. There has to be a MIXES line in order to send something to the receiver.

Edited By Bryan Anderson 1 on 28/07/2017 17:11:36

Edited By Bryan Anderson 1 on 28/07/2017 17:12:25

Edited By Bryan Anderson 1 on 28/07/2017 17:12:58

[Trevor Crook]

Bryan, you are a star! Worked a treat, although very non-intuitive. I'll now have a go at setting up channel 6 as a 3-position flap switch.

I've installed Companion on my PC but I'm trying to do as much setting up on the Tx as possible so I am familiar with how to change things without a PC being available. It's also easier to use the Tx buttons and dial than using the mouse etc. on the PC.

Thanks again, and stand by for more stupid questions. I will have a read through the documents that Andy linked to above, though.

[allan morris]

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

[Bryan Anderson 1]

Posted by Trevor Crook on 28/07/2017 19:29:59:

Bryan, you are a star! Worked a treat, although very non-intuitive. I'll now have a go at setting up channel 6 as a 3-position flap switch.

In a MIXER line, using a switch as a source and also as a switch in that mix does not work as you have found.

To make it more intuitive, consider the lights in a stairway that can be operated by a switch downstairs and one upstairs. What would happen if both switches were thrown at the same time? Answer: no change. That is exactly what that MIXER line was doing.