ERSKYTx (was ersky9x) Questions

[jhsa]

I can see that soon it will be worth it to buy an Horus.
Shame that it is too expensive for me
João

Hi João,
You need a Taranis first, as I think if you had one, would help with new modifications with erSky9x on Taranis.

Bob B.

I never liked the Taranis radio and I wouldn't want one even if it was given for free to me. I have much better radios in my opinion and they do certain things I need much better than the taranis.. I wouldn't swap any of my 9x radios for a Taranis. The Q7 looks promising though. Probably more room for some nice mods. But as far as I'm concerned the 32kb eeprom size is a turn off..

João



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[RCHH]

I have had 3 Taranis - 2 X 9 and a 9+. All sold on. Simply could not get on with them. They could do nothing my Sky9X could do and the button sequences with them was awful.

Horus is a different kettle of fish altogether. Once it is fine-tuned firmware-wise whether it be the (currently bleeding awful!) FrSkyOS, getting there OpenTX or the ultimate ErSky9X in the fullness of time, it will be a TX to behold.

[MikeB]

PageUp is MENU.
PageDn is EXIT.
MOL is UP.
TELE is RIGHT.
RTN is DOWN.
SYS is LEFT.
I hadn't seen the button names on the actual hardware.
I'll try a few more things.

Mike.

[bob195558]

I can see that soon it will be worth it to buy an Horus.
Shame that it is too expensive for me
João

Hi João,
You need a Taranis first, as I think if you had one, would help with new modifications with erSky9x on Taranis.
Bob B.

I never liked the Taranis radio and I wouldn't want one even if it was given for free to me. I have much better radios in my opinion and they do certain things I need much better than the taranis.. I wouldn't swap any of my 9x radios for a Taranis. The Q7 looks promising though. Probably more room for some nice mods. But as far as I'm concerned the 32kb eeprom size is a turn off..
João

Is there anything could be done with the future limiting 32kb eeprom size ?
João you left-out the big one, no room for the encoder (Taranis Q7 comes with one).
I like doing most of the Radio programming on my PC using eepSkye EEprom Editor.

Bob B.

[RCHH]

Swap the MCU for one with a larger eeprom size. Not something the non-modding user would consider agreed. But it could be an option I suspect.

[MikeB]

The MCU on the Taranis doesn't have any EEPROM on the chip, the EEPROM is a separate chip. The early prototypes had 64K!

The Horus is using the SD card rather than EEPROM. This method could be ported to the Taranis to overcome the EEPROM limitation.

Mike.

[jhsa]

@Mike
And can we trust that? Imagine the SD Card goes bad while flying a model, what would the consequences be?

Thanks

@Bob

Yeah, no encoder, terrible programming buttons, very small eeprom size, I don't really know why this radio really got so famous I think the eeprom size was very well hidden from the general public At least I didn't know about it until quite recently.
Of course it has some positive points as well, good gimbals, many (way too many) 3 position switches, 2 sliders, it runs open source firmware, etc..
The Qx7 does have an encoder, it looks much better, but it still has the same very small eeprom size I can't believe they (Frsky) didn't improve that
The lack of switches and sliders could probably be overcome with the very good hardware support Ersky9x always had for all platforms. This is one of the reasons ersky9x is my favorite firmware. I believe Ersky9x was, and is, pioneer in some of the hardware implementation, as well as in many features, thanks to Mr. Mike Blandford

João

[MikeB]

And can we trust that? Imagine the SD Card goes bad while flying a model, what would the consequences be?

Should be OK. Radio and model data is read into RAM and used there while flying. Data may be saved while flying, if you change a trim setting, but even if the SD card isn't working, that should have NO effect on controlling the model.

Mike.

[bob195558]

But as far as I'm concerned the 32kb eeprom size is a turn off..
João

The MCU on the Taranis doesn't have any EEPROM on the chip, the EEPROM is a separate chip. The early prototypes had 64K!

The Horus is using the SD card rather than EEPROM.
This method could be ported to the Taranis to overcome the EEPROM limitation.
Mike.

There you go João, the EEPROM limitation problem can be fixed !
The big one, no room for the encoder is the only one left to overcome.
Maybe having the encoder connect externally using a cable or Bluetooth ?
Or maybe mounting it on the back of the Taranis-Plus ?

Bob B.

[MikeB]

I've posted an "A3" test version for the Horus. At startup, immediately after initialising the display, it pauses, flashing the red and blue leds 3 times, with the display set to all blue.
This is to see it it is being initialised correctly, then upset by something else.

When I turn the prototype on, I get a brief flash of the display all white with the backlight on. This happens, I think, before the firmware starts to run. Does this happen on the production hardware?

Mike.

[jhsa]

There you go João, the EEPROM limitation problem can be fixed !
The big one, no room for the encoder is the only one left to overcome.
Maybe having the encoder connect externally using a cable or Bluetooth ?
Or maybe mounting it on the back of the Taranis-Plus ?

Bob B.

Yep, I bet Mike will in time fix that. As he just said, at least in theory there shouldn't be any problem..
I'm not sure, but i think the Taranis might not have any extra inputs for an encoder..
Also, does the taranis support Bluetooth for trainer? Didn't know that.. Did you install a Bluetooth module on yours? I don't remember reading about someone installing one in the taranis, at least not the way we use it.
But no, even though I still wouldn't have one, my 9x radios are much better in my opinion but that is just my opinion

João

[MikeB]

The Taranis Plus has a spare analog input and ersky9x supports the use of an analog input to act as an encoder, the 3 signals being combined into a single analog value.
You could replace one of the pots with an encoder therefore.

Mike.

[RCHH]

Not sure how the Horus stores information exactly, but the production version does not need to have an SD card inserted at all. I cannot remember the actual change that was made from the development version to the production version but am thinking it was that all data was stored on a new-to-the- production-version flash memory chip. I have been running my Horus without an SD card for some time now, and during testing with no data creating/ saving/changing/selecting issues.

[bob195558]

The Taranis Plus has a spare analog input and ersky9x supports the use of an analog input to act as an encoder,
the 3 signals being combined into a single analog value.
You could replace one of the pots with an encoder therefore.
Mike.

There you go João, spare analog input for the encoder !

Bob B.

[jhsa]

Good, now you know you can install one on your radio I already have one on all my 9x radios, and I didn't lose a Pot
And I have the 7 way encoder. You won't fit that one on the Taranis.. It would fix the HBS "Horrible Button Syndrome" if it did

João

[RCHH]

Mike ..........

[jhsa]

Drag the image with the mouse to fit the screen

João

[RCHH]

Lol!!! Look at the space the true genius can utilise ... lol!

Most all things work just as on the 9X versions we are all used to menu wise, but no 'control' system as of yet, so there is no output to receivers. But there is colour! Amazing! The Horus feels like part of the family already now! Haha!

I have no doubt Mike will get everything sorted. Amazed how much is working already!

[MikeB]

Please report on the "Type=" value on the DiagSwitch screen/
Do the gimbals on the production unit work correctly with the "telltales" in the square boxes? Also there are 7 pots/sliders. I think only 4 of these will be showing on the display between the boxes. Which ones are they?

I now need to sort the lack of audio out (beeps). There is another difference between prototype and production in this area (no volume control and an enable signal for the amplifier. If I get this wrong, you may find the audio starts at full volume!

Plenty of space to use, the bigest problem is deciding what to put there (and in what colour)!

I'll see if I can get some output on the external module port.

Mike.

[bob195558]

Drag the image with the mouse to fit the screen
João

I tried using my mouse on RCHH photo, But it did not work !
Maybe we can upgrade the Taranis to be (close to) like the Horus.

There are a lot of Taranis's out now, Maybe we will see a TaranisXtreme Upgrade Board with a new radio case placing a new display screen at the top, 7 way encoder, GPS and a lot more.
Cool ?

Bob B.

[RCHH]

Mike,
Type=1

Gimbals working fine but throttle and aileron are reversed. Calibration works. All switches work. Trims 1 thru 4 work. T5 & T6 are inoperative.

4 bars show for the pots. S1 is bar 2, S2 is bar 1, the 6pos knob is bar 3. Bar 4 does not move at all.

The shoulder sliders and faceplate (L1 & L2) sliders are inoperative.

[MikeB]

I've posted an "A4" version.
This should sort all those items. You will need to run the stick/pot calibration again.
There are now 6 bars between the stick telltales. You will need to use the hardware menu to calibrate the 6-pos switch. There are some items in the hardware menu I need to remove (e.g. PB1/2 assignment).
T5 and T6 appear as PB1-PB4 in switches.
The external module supports PPM output (or OFF). This works on my prototype, but as the production version uses a different timer and output pin, it may not work there. The firmware detects which hardware it is running on and adjusts as required.
I used a DJT module and a D8R-II Rx and controlled a servo OK.
I should be able to get the other protocols (PXX/XJT, DSM, MULTI) working once I know PPM is OK on the production unit.

Mike.

[RCHH]

Mike,
I have flashed A4 and so far am seeing the following:
On boot, volume is at full - and on Horus that is LOUD! LOL!!!.
The pots are running in reverse - S1 when fully anti-clockwise is full volume. Turning clockwise reduces volume. Volume indicator bar follows same direction. Nice touch!
Beeps are working on button presses now.
Right hand cluster scrolly button works nicely. It also gives entry to the menu selection popup with a 2sec press, and exit from menu the same way.
On the home screen, there are two columns of numbers/letters below the usual screen. The left one has 8 rows of zeros. The right one has 6 rows of numbers/letters, with the top row constantly changing. 2nd row has 0001, 3rd has SCA0, 4th has 0000, 5th has 7D00 and 6th has 0001.

Once into calibration, the telltales are there. However, when moving the throttle stick, any left/right movement causes a 'beep'. Does not happen on ail/ele stick. Directions are now correct.
For the pots/sliders telltales, when moving the sliders L1 and L2, each one actually causes two telltales to move - L1 causes the far left and 3rd from left to move, L2 causes the far right and 3rd from right to move. They do however move in the correct directions.

In the Hardware menus, where you have the Stick Reverse screen, it is not possible to select any options for any items on that screen. With A3, that was working, as I reversed my throttle stick in there.

That is all I have had time to check as of yet, and I have not tried a module yet.

[MikeB]

I'll reverse S1 and S2, I assume you have the volume set on S1. I did say there might be a volume problem!
If beeps are working, then voice should also work if you have the voice files on the SD card.

That left column under the main display is the channel outputs. They should be non-zero when PPM output is running. You may need to cycle the power after setting the external module to PPM to get the outputs working.

There only needs to be 6 vertical bars, the outside 2 are "extras" carried over from the X9E, I'll remove them.
Regarding the beep, check if you have "BeepCnt" with the 'R' highlighted in the model|general menu (Beep at Centre).

I'll look at the hardware menu, adding the 6-pos calibration has upset things. I'll get it working now, but sort those item that need to be removed later.

Mike.

[RCHH]

Yes. Volume is set on S1 - by default. I have not changed that from how the firmware assigns it. Not put voice onto the SD card as of yet, but will do this evening.

Have just tried an original OrangeRX (not the newer version) module and a DJT in the rear slot and am getting nothing. No LED's, no beeps nada.

Also, something else is different to A3 is whwn powering up, the button has to be kept pressed until the process reaches the ErSky9X splash screen. Releasing beforehand causes the tx to fully power off instantly. On A3, holding the button until the blue screen appeared was sufficient.

[MikeB]

Odd, I don't think any code assigns the volume to S1. I don't have a physical S1 connected so I wouldn't have done that.
It is correct that the power switch should be held until you get to the splash screen. THis is to avoid an accidental power on. I'm not sure why A3 didn't wait that long. I'll remove the blue screen and that pause.

I suggest you turn the volume assignment in the model to "---", and set the volume to 1 or 2 before testing "A5", which I shall post very shortly. I've done a couple of small tweaks to the module driver code. It should, at least, start when you select PPM without needing a power cycle.

Check if the left column of numbers is no longer all 0000s. While they are 0000s, then the output isn't working.
Also, on the DEBUG menu (UP LONG, LEFT a few times), there is a (hex) number middle left that should be counting up.

If you still get no module output I'll toss in some specific debug, although the right column of numbers below the main screen will still tell me something.

Mike.

Edit: "A5" posted.

[RCHH]

Hang on! I can't keep up! Lol!!!

[jhsa]

See, it is not easy to be a tester when Mike implements new stuff

João

[RCHH]

What gets me João, is he is not even working on the same hardware I have - and there are some very marked differences. I dunno how the hell he does it ...

[jhsa]

It's magic

João