openrcforums

I had a bit of trouble getting eepskye to recognize my 9xtreme board, but after some experimenting I found how to get it working.
As this process was not that straightforward, even after reading instructions found on this forum, and because I found I had the execution of the exact steps to be critical, I thought to share it with others.
Perhaps this could also lead to feedback from others, to see whether the behaviour I'm experiencing is normal.

These are the steps needed to connect the remote with 9xtreme board installed to a PC using a USB cable. The PC has eepskye installed, which can be downloaded from http://www.er9x.com/ (I am executing these steps on ubuntu linux but it's possible this does not matter):

* make sure batteries are connected to the remote
* make sure that NO usb cable is inserted in the remote at this time
* power on the remote in bootloader mode by holding both horizontal trim buttons inwards and turning on the power
the backlight should come on but you should not see any text on it
In some other senarios I saw the text 9Xtreme on the screen, but in this case it never worked
* plug in usb cable in pc
* plug in usb cable in remote
* turn remote power button off, the backlight should continue to light
* now pc will detect external usb drive
* now you can use eepskye

Failure to execute these exact steps resulted in eepskye not detecting the remote and no USB storage device popping up on the PC.
In linux, the command lsusb shows the following usb id:
ID 0483:df11 SGS Thomson Microelectronics STM Device in DFU Mode
this does not seem to change when the remote is in removable storage mode, or in another mode where eepskye will not detect it (pluggin in the remote while it's on always makes the computer detect it, regardless of whether the external usb storage feature and eepskye detecting it works).


Now that eepskye detects my remote I can update the firmware.
I compiled the latest development version myself, as I described in another thread: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8203
The .bin file that resulted from this compilation process can be flashed to the remote using eepskye.

After flashing, disconnect the USB cable, wait for the remote to power down. Then power it back on regularly.
Go into the "Radio Setup" menu, and select the "Version" option to verify whether the firmware was updated. The date and version number, as well as the username of the person that compiled it should give a hint whether the firmware was successfully updated.

Odd. When you power on in bootloader mode, you should see the text showing "Boot Loader V1.7Ready" on the top line of the display, together with a list of files on the SD card, or a message saying "No Firmware". Specifically, you should see "9Xtreme" in the centre of the screen, put there by the AVR processor, then this change to the bootloader message, put there by the 9Xtreme processor.
Also, it should not be necessary to switch the power off after plugging in the USB cable.
It may be worth re-flashing the original AVR processor, as this is used to handle the display. To do this, from the main display press UP LONG, then LEFT twice. This gets you to the "SLAVE" menu that shows the revision of the AVR firmware and the revision available, both are at 0.3 currently. Pressing MENU LONG will re-flash the AVR processor.
If you plug the USB cable in without powering the radio on, you should still see "9Xtreme" in the centre of the screen, but without the backlight.

Mike.

If it can help :
When I start in bootloader mode, at first I only have the backlight and no text, the text appears 10 seconds after with "Boot Loader V1.7Ready" and a list of files. Then I plug the radio to the PC : the drives appear normally, no need to power off.
This happens since I updated to last test version AND formatted the SD card (I've also had odd display in normal mode before...)
In maintenance mode and normal mode the text appears instantly.

Do you have another card you can try and see if things get faster?

João

Yes, I'll try this this evening.

Joao : it's the same even without a SD card (I reflashed the AVR too)
What I noticed after several bootloader starts is that the text sometimes appears instantly, sometimes after 10 seconds.

I tried connection with Xubuntu : the 2 drives appear normally like in windows. (no need to power off)

duststorm : can you try to wait longer after power-up in bootloader mode to see if the same thing happens ?
Perhaps re-flash the bootloader from maintenance mode ?

When you say "10 seconds" how accurate is that? And how consistent? If it is consistently a specific amount of time that might be a clue.

It's not precise at all (instantly - 2secs - 6 secs...)
But there's no dysfunction !
I was just trying to find out why "duststorm" doesn't see any text when he starts in bootloader mode...

So do you not see "9Xtreme" in the middle of the display when you switch on in bootloader mode before the "Boot Loader V1.7" text appears. The AVR processor is supposed to display this all by itself as soon as it is powered on.

Mike.

Exact : no "9xtreme" message ; the radio starts with purple backlight and no text.

I just had a quick look round the code. It seems I may not force the reset signal to the M64 off when in the bootloader, I do in the main firmware. This would have the effect described.

I'll check the bootloader code, and post a test version if I find this needs to be added.

Mike.

I still have to run the tests Mike asked for, but I did notice that the behaviour changes slightly with an SD card inserted or not. Mainly I noticed that when going into bootloader mode, and turning the remote off again (no usb cable inserted), that there is a delay of a few seconds before the backlight goes out. With an SD card or USB plug inserted (but not connected to a host device), the backlight powers down instantly when turning the remote off.
To clarify, I did the above experiments without an SD card inserted.

Also the observations above are with the very first 9xtreme firmware that came shipped with the first batch of 9xtreme boards.

I've just posted a new test version of the firmware (here: viewtopic.php?f=126&t=7751&p=103194#p103194). While the main reason for this is the addition of Bluetooth, it also includes an update to the bootloader. This update may make the display work for you.

To update the bootloader, start in the bootloader, and copy the ersky9x9XT_rom.bin file (from the .zip) onto your SD card in the FIRMWARE directory.
Then restart the radio in "maintenance mode" (hold the two horizontal trims APART at power on).
Now select the "UPDATE BOOTLOADER" option, select the file you put on the SD card, and confirm.

Mike.

Hi Guys
I have the same issue with the display when selecting bootloader but it can take several minutes before I get the display 'bootloader ready'

Nevertheless file transfers and firmware updates work ok

I guess I need to try Mikes latest firmware fix

regards
Hans

Did you try removing the SD Card?

João

Joao

No but I will try that today before updating the firmware

thanks for the suggestion

regards
Hans

Hi Mike/Joao

Tried bootloader without SD card in place - no change

Updated the firmware to version 8/12/15 and bootloader to v1.8

The bootloader screen now loads ok within about 1 second but the splash screen has gone

When switching on, I now get a very short flash of red screen and then it goes straight to the chosen model

Otherwise the TX is working fine - any thoughts?

regards
Hans

Out of interest, do you see "9Xtreme" appear briefly on the display when starting in bootloader mode?
When starting normally, do you get the voice "welcome" message announced?
Do you get switch and throttle warnings if needed?
Finally, after powering on normally, press UP long, then LEFT to get to the "Boot Reason" display. Does this say "POWER ON"?

Mike.

Hi Mike

The firmware and bootloader update has cured the very long delay before the bootloader text appeared but things still dont seem quite right

The 'Extreme' text doesnt appear - there is just a very quick red flash before going into bootloader

The text on the bootloader screen comes on after about a second

I get the normal welcome message and switch warnings

At switchon there is a quick red flash and the display goes straight into the model screen

I have also discovered that the splash screen only comes on during switchon when some switches are left on

Does that give you any clues?

regards
Hans

Hi Mike

Forgot to answer your final question
The answer is yes - after powering on normally,and getting to the "Boot Reason" display, I get "POWER ON"?

regards
Hans

Mike
Any further thoughts on this splash screen anomaly?

regards
Hans

I've just posted a special test version for you here: viewtopic.php?f=126&t=7751.
After boot up, press UP LONG, then RIGHT a few times to get the the DEBUG display. There will be 9 (hex) numbers displayed.
Please let me know what these are.

There is code in the splash display that cancels the splash screen when you move a stick. This may not be working correctly. These numbers will tell me if that is your problem.

Mike.

Mike what about changing the filter in the hardware menu? I had to change mine as the inputs were really noisy

I already use FILT for the splash screen processing.

Mike.

MikeB wrote:I've just posted a special test version for you here: viewtopic.php?f=126&t=7751.
After boot up, press UP LONG, then RIGHT a few times to get the the DEBUG display. There will be 9 (hex) numbers displayed.
Please let me know what these are.

There is code in the splash display that cancels the splash screen when you move a stick. This may not be working correctly. These numbers will tell me if that is your problem.

Mike.

Thanks Mike
I will get back to you today with the numbers
regards
Hans

Hi Mike

The numbers are:-

045B 03AA 0081 03FA
0459 03AA 007F 03FA
F000


Hope this helps

many thanks for your efforts
Hans

Yes, they tell me what the problem is. I now need to design a solution!

Mike.

Mike
Thanks for the ultra quick reply

I'm glad you understand them

Good luck with the fix - I think a few people have this glitch

Regards
Hans

Just posted an update (here: viewtopic.php?f=126&t=7751).
This should fix the splash screen problem.
It also fixes not being able to edit the last deadband setting and the bug in logging.

NOTE: The MULTI protocol is changing to use an SBUS type format. This change is in this firmware, so if you are using MULTI, you will need to update the firmware on the MULTI module to match.

Mike.

Mike, are you releasing test versions with multi also for the other boards? I'm asking because I fly with my multi more on the other (Ar9x) radio. If I change the firmwware in the module to test the 9XT I won't be able to fly it with the other radio anymore..

Thanks

No hurry of course..
João