FrSky Major Update for most TX and RX

[Gary Manuel]

Sorry but I have another question.

Where do I get the older internal RF firmware from. Frsky website only appears to have the very latest version.

[Kevin Fairgrieve]

https://hobby4life.nl/?page_id=24

 

Please note this is for X10 and X12 only.

 

I am holding off still on doing any "upgrade" other than to the latest Open TX 2.3.5

 

Kev

 

 

Edited By Kevin Fairgrieve on 17/03/2020 07:09:07

[Gary Manuel]

Thanks Kevin.

That's exactly what I was looking for

[Gary Manuel]

All done and 4 x X8R receivers now working OK. Looks like previous owner flashed receivers and transmitter with non-matching firmware.

I can confirm that X12S_EU_1_6_06_iXJT.frk (X12S EU/LBT v1.6.06 from KEVIN'S LINK)

works OK with X8R_EU_build1702102.frk (2017-03-07 /170210 from FRSKY X8R DOWNLOAD PAGE)

This will give you the latest matching pair before the January 2020 update.

 

Edit - for completeness, I can also confirm that with this firmware, the X8R's also work OK with Jumper 4in1 External Multiprotocol Module (v1.3.0.53) - set to FrSky / LBT 8ch.

Edited By Gary Manuel on 17/03/2020 14:54:13

[Andy48]

Oh well now you know why he sold the radio.

[Gary Manuel]

Posted by Andy48 on 17/03/2020 18:13:12:

Oh well now you know why he sold the radio.

I don't think he sold it deliberately as a duffer - it's certainly not that.

He bought it, not really knowing what to do with it. He asked one of our club members, who has a Taranis and a Horus, to put the best firmware on. It was this guy who let him down.

Anyway, I'm happy now that I have my Horus up and running with my own features, sounds and model images. It's now behaving exactly as I want it to.

P.S. The hardest part of getting the receivers / transmitter firmware updated was updating the Horus from 2.2.4 to 2.3.5. Each of the 25 models worked OK after updating, but the Widgets displayed the wrong variables. i.e. instead of displaying "L2", "Batt" and "RSSI" to give a visual indication of my kill switch, Battery voltage and RSSI level, it displayed something else. I think this was because an extra switch "J" has been introduced into OpenTX to allow an extra custom switch to be fitted. I needed to select each variable and roll the selector twice to get the correct variable back. 25 x 3 adjustments!

The good thing about upgrading from 2.2.4 to 2.3.5 though, is that internal and external module flashing is now an absolute doddle! Just load the firmware onto the SD card, then select it from the menu, long press on enter key and select "flash internal..." or "flash external..." and away it goes. Connecting to the receiver is simply a case of using a servo extension lead with the red and black pins swapped on one end - easy.

[Andy J]

Come to this update thread given I am losing faith in FRSKY equipment having had uncontrolled outputs on servos and drops outs in telemetry, Currently have FRSky OS 1.3.04 installed so should I download the latest files for my X10S or move to OpenTx?

Edited By Andy Joyce on 20/03/2020 18:11:11

[Andy48]

Without any specific details of what your problems are, I doubt OpenTX will make any difference. It sounds like either a fault with the receiver or the transmitter. Almost certainly though it is better to update to the latest firmware, they don't do updates without a good reason!

[Mark Stevens 1]

Posted by Andy Joyce on 20/03/2020 18:10:00:

Come to this update thread given I am losing faith in FRSKY equipment having had uncontrolled outputs on servos and drops outs in telemetry, Currently have FRSky OS 1.3.04 installed so should I download the latest files for my X10S or move to OpenTx?

Edited By Andy Joyce on 20/03/2020 18:11:11

Andy - If you check the link at the very start of the thread and read the notes section - The uncontrolled outputs on the servos is one of the issues that has been fixed in the update. So download it and it should be sorted.

Mark

 

Edited By Mark Stevens 1 on 21/03/2020 01:43:57

[Tim Ballinger]

I have a feeling the main theme of this thread has been lost a bit. So as much to refresh my memory this what I think the position is.

The latest ACCST firmware for the Horus (x10) is 1.306 first issued on 11December 2019. On 16 Jan 2020 FrSky issued an update to the internal (and external) RF modules this XJT update was v 2.01. The latest HorusX10 firmware is still 1.306 but as re-issued and still dated 16 Jan it includes the internal(iXJT) update. The external update alone is also available as are updates to other ACCST  Horus Tx. If you implement the 16 Jan update you need to update all Rx firmware to match. No so with the December update withe the same Tx version number.

As most know the January XJT update introduced some major bugs with some Taranis Tx’s which have yet to be resolved. As a result even HORUS owners have been holding off implementing the update on the basis of why risk it when no one here has actually suffered from the uncommanded servo movements.

So the point of my producing this summary . Is Andy J saying he has suffered from this bug because if so he is the first I have heard of in this country. If so it significantly affects my reasoning in holding off on the January upgrade.

Have I missed something?

Tim

Edited By Tim Ballinger on 21/03/2020 09:14:02

Edited By Tim Ballinger on 21/03/2020 09:15:51

Edited By Tim Ballinger on 21/03/2020 09:16:44

[Gary Manuel]

You haven't missed anything Tim. Your summary sounds about right too.

It's the first time I've heard of anyone suffering from uncontrolled outputs in the UK. The thing is that the Andy J also reports telemetry dropouts, which is a new / different symptom. Probably an unrelated problem but still worth him updating the firmware in my opinion.

Hopefully Andy J will keep us updated. He's not been back since posting his query though.

Edited By Gary Manuel on 21/03/2020 09:38:18

[Peter Christy]

I can only speak of my own experience with an X9D and X10S: So far, I have not experienced any un-commanded outputs. I am therefore holding off on updates to v2.X until it is thoroughly de-bugged.

Andy's telemetry dropouts also set alarm bells ringing for me, too. Its very difficult to diagnose at a distance - you really need to get the transmitter on a spectrum analyzer to see what is going on. It does sound like a dodgy RF link, and switching between FrSkyOS and OpenTx will have little, if any, impact on this.

Andy doesn't state whether he's using the internal or external antennae. It could just be a poor connection between the RF board and antenna, so that is the first thing I would check. See if the problem goes away on the other antenna.

If its the same on both, does changing the receiver help?

If not, it points to a faulty RF board in the Tx.

I don't know whereabouts Andy is, but unless he has a local electronics guru who can run a ruler over it, I would be inclined to return the Tx to T9 for a check-up.

--

Pete

[Mike Blandford]

FrSky have a V2.1 version of the update available for testing, they have not yet released it, but if you have the time and inclination to test it, it is available to download from a Github page.

Mike

[Gary Manuel]

Good advice Peter.

Edited By Gary Manuel on 21/03/2020 10:19:21

[Tim Ballinger]

Thanks Mike,

Not sure I am brave or skilled enough to undertake that kind of testing. Having just browsed the V2.1 testing area on Github I now know I am not skilled enough!

I’ll wait .

Tim

[Bob Cotsford]

Even the German reports which brought the issues to light only talked of occasional unexpected servo movements under specific low signal levels. Andy Joyce's problem does sound more like an issue with his particular set of equipment.

Andy, if it only happens with the transmitter within a couple of feet of the receiver it's signal overload or swamping. If it's happening in flight is it with one receiver only or with all your receivers? Are you running petrol engines?

More info needed but it's unlikely to be the operating system.

[Andy J]

From memory the problem I had was on the first of possibly the second flight last year using a brand new X10S and RX8R Rx installed in a mid size 4 stroke powered by a RCV 4 stroke. Rx was powered from I think a 11.2v lipo feeding a 3A BEC with 4.8V output. Tx RF was set to external antenna.

Model was flown without issue until coming into land when the Tx suddenly announced telemetry loss at approx 20 to 30ft range quickly followed by the model pitching down as if full down elevator had been applied. Luckily the model was not damaged and all controls I think proved to work normally after impact.

In the investigation as to a possible cause I did find the BEC output was very noisy so removed the item and changed over to a dedicated 4.8V Rx battery pack. Did find also that holding the Tx very close to the Rx antenna you could replicate the telemetry loss not not the loss of control. However as a further precaution also changed the Rx. Since then the model has flown without further issue.

Only now ponder in the Tx does have a RF fault as when flying my e-glider last week at a significant range of say 100ft the Tx did announce a telemetry loss but appeared to remain in full control. Unfortunately telemetry logging was not enabled so unable to say if this issue is related to the first issue or not. Again I note the Rx supply is very noisy as it is fed from a 30A speed controller with integral BEC but getting rid of this will be difficult due to the lack of space so some low ESR caps may improve things.

[Andy J]

Well making a start to do me first upgrade

Have down loaded FW-X10-X10S-V1.3.06 & FW--iXJT-HORUS-v2.0.1 from the FRSKY site along with a crib document how to download files, which results in my first query.

The procedure dictates you download the necessary files to the System folder on the SD card "Copy the correct FrOS firmware bin file for your system to the SD FIRMWARE folder. Caution. Only ONE file can be in this folder."

In my SD System folder there are several sub-folders; AirPlane, Custom, Glider, Helicopter, Multicopter and two transmitter files; err-transmitterFile.bin and transmitterFile.bin

So do I down load all the files in FW-X10-X10S-V1.3.06 or just Release_X10_mode2_EU_frtx.bin?

[Peter Christy]

Andy,

1) BECS. I don't like them! I've known them cause all sorts of issues, and will only use them on lightweight models where there is no other option.

2) Yes, telemetry loss when the model is close to the Tx is normal, and nothing to worry about.

3) The perceived wisdom is that the internal antennae offer a better signal distribution than the external one. I've not experienced an issue with either option, but am only stating what has been reported.

Your update suggests to me that your original issue was caused by the BEC. I have witnessed this on several other occasions over the years, with all manner of different equipment (35Mhz, 459 MHz, 2.4 GHz).

I don't use FrOS, but I would suggest doing the RF upgrade first, as once done, you can remove the relevant firmware files from the SD card. I've never experienced the issues that the new RF firmware is supposed to "fix", but there are reports that the new firmware itself may have some bugs. I intend to wait for further updates before I consider upgrading the RF firmware on my systems.

Just my 2p worth!

--

Pete

[Tim Ballinger]

Andy,

The only one in this folder refers to the FiRMWARE folder. SD card folders should look like this

I have not looked at the files in the current version of the firmware download but you should just need the one you have chosen as the the others will not be for your TX and the iXJT is already included in that file and not needed separately. ( at least for your Horus and FrOS). You will of course need to flash the firmware on your RX's as well or nothing will work.

Hopefully one of our gurus will confirm that for you before you press any buttons.

However I am not upgrading until the next release, which hopefully will not be long. If you do a ground run with logging on and then look at the Rx voltage file and it is essentially flat ,perhaps with the odd step of +/- .1V then yore BEC would seem ok. If it has higher frequency noise and dropouts I would suggest you have your problem.

Tim

Edited By Tim Ballinger on 21/03/2020 18:40:21

[Tim Ballinger]

Andy,

Just to illustrate what I mean by good and bad SBEC output take a look at these:-

The last picture is for an ESC that I threw away as being suspect following a couple of flights where I had a couple of glitches I could not explain. New ESC/SBEC with profile similar to the first pic and no more trouble. I don't buy low end EXC/SBECs any more. The 1st pic is for the FrSKY neuron40S ESC.

Tim

[Andy48]

Interesting! Been through all my model logs to check the rx battery as I always use BECs. Not found the slightest problem with any BEC except a cheapo foamy that came ready equipped with motor and BEC, and that was "acceptable".

It really is useful keeping a full log or each flight.

[Tim Ballinger]

Andy,

I have been running a separate BEC for the Rx for the past 2 yrs and while I now adhere to my policy of buying from a reliable source I have not seen a dodgy output. The neuron 40s in the picture has looked rock solid and is the first ESC/BEC combination I have tried for a while, principally because the inbuilt telemetry saves on sensors and offsets the cost of the unit. It is also the smallest/lightest around and suited the Gnat. I was so impressed I have just bought a 60s for my current build. The dodgy one in the picture was not exactly an unknown make but did come with a foamy.
While I do not archive logs for every flight I always have logging on and scan them all before deletion. Quite a lot I keep because they can be useful reference points and to be honest I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to post flight analysis.

Tim

[Andy J]

Tim

We appear to have different files structures on the SD card. Is this because your running OpenTx? My structure looks like this:

The top clip is the root of the SD card and the lower clip is the expansion of the System folder. Assuming I simply delete the file TransmitterFile.bin and replace it with Release_X10_mode2_EU_frtx.bin as extracted from the update FW-X10-X10S-V1.3.06.

[Andy48]

If you are running FrOS, the file structure will be different.