Minor Bugs & Suggestions

[josephdouce]

Latest version from er9x.com for 9XR-PRO.

I currently have an excessive amount of spare time so I'll have a good look through all the menus. I'm new to er9x so fresh pair of eyes.

Hardware page ELE row has 2 spaces before "switch" rest have 1.

Timers, I have an additional page after timer 2 that says total but doesn't appear to do anything or change from 00:10.

Pics to follow.

Just a comment, you could do with a dedicated web page for distribution, change log etc. Forums aren't a very user friendly distribution method. Open tx was much easier to find but once I found er9x I defiantly prefer it and your support is much better.

[MikeB]

I picked up the two spaces after ELE and have changed this in the source files.
The Total Time is a recent addition. It is intended to keep track of the total time for each model. What I haven't decided (yet) is what the conditions should be for when this counts time.
Should it be as long as the model is selected, or some specific condition so only flight time is accumulated?

Mike.

[jhsa]

Maybe a popup on power OFF asking if we want the time to be saved.. We could have been only messing around with the radio, or programming something new on that model, or making adjustments.. That in my opinion should not be part of the total time

Maybe only when logging is active..

maybe when the timers or a certain timer is counting the time.. it would be added to the total time. In real aviation, we normally start a timer when we turn the motor ON, or on takeoff, and stop it after landing.. So as good pilots we are we could have to simulate the reality

Just a few ideas..

João

[josephdouce]

Maybe just count any time one of the counters is counting count on the total timer.

Add an option on long press menu to reset.

Maybe move all the timer resets to long press menu I liked that on opentx at the min there is only one to reset but once we have more then one.

[jhsa]

You already have an "all timers reset" when pressing long EXIT
And every single timer has a reset switch also.

If depending on a timer I think there should be an option to select which one. The total model time would then follow that timer, whatever it did. Even if we did reset the timer in flight, the time would continue to add to the total time. Obviously the total time would be also logged
Actually I find this a very reasonable solution..

João

[josephdouce]

OK here are some bugs/suggestions functionally everything is fantastic, these are just a few medial house keeping & layout tasks.

On the "Radio Setup" and "Model Setup" highlighting of the 2nd collumn overflows to the first pixel of the next line.

I find some of the menus the values are messy, the names are all aligned neatly to the left but the values are staggered on the right. e.g. radio setup > general. Maybe all values should be aligned neatly to the right.

Some menus use [more] to designate another page, some menus -> and some simply scroll.

[MikeB]

I can fix the second column highlighting easily (already changed the source code).

All the menus used to scroll, but I think, in general, paging is better so that is what I've been changing everything to, just missed some so far. I actually did the paging for er9x as it used less flash and the Mega64 processor was running out of flash space.

I've just changed [more] to [->]. This is language independent. I think some menus just use -> as there wasn't space to fit [more] due to having something to edit on the same line. Mostly I avoid doing that, but some pages need 7 items to edit as they are related (e.g. a timer).

I know some values/items don't align. I do try to correct them when I notice them and are doing other changes.
If you can be very specific with items that don't align, it is easier for me to find and fix them.

Thanks for the input.

Mike.

[jhsa]

Mike in case you've missed this, voice alarms, function, v~=val. It shows v~=valv. You will see the problem as soon as you select the function. But if you are working o the "Range" idea it might not matter as that function would probably be replaced by the new one..

João

[MikeB]

That one already fixed in the source code. I'm only thinking about the RANGE idea at present. I'll want to get it right if/when I put it in.

Mike.

[jhsa]

of course..

[josephdouce]

Yea I think unless its a continuous list like alarms and the mixer then paging is better.

I'll go through the pages and take photos and highlight the alignment issues that way you can see exactly what I mean.

I don't know how others feel but I feel that the Expo/DR duplicates things that I can just as easily do in the mixer. Maybe its because I was using opentx before but at the min I'm using for example;

Code: Select all

     
   30 Ail      E 
R  50 Ail  GEAE 

could do with a space between GEA and E

Additionally, I think the curve/diff/expo should be on one line at the min when you open the page you can see the selection but not its corisponding value without scrolling.

Also in the mixer all the values are spaced differently from the right of the screen. Maybe justify them so they in 2 neat columns all the way down. Just makes it difficult to read when everything is staggered.

e.g. change from

Code: Select all

Source   Thr
Weight    30
Offset     0
Fix Offset           ON
EnableExpoDr        ON
                         Expo
                          50

to

Code: Select all

Source                 Thr
Weight                 30
Offset                 0
Fix Offset             ON
EnableExpoDr           ON
Expo                   50
Modes               123456

[MikeB]

I feel that the Expo/DR duplicates things that I can just as easily do in the mixer.

The Expo/Dr applies to the sticks, while similar things in the mixer applies to channels.
This is important when, for example, you do an elevon mix. By using the Expo/Dr, you apply Expo or dual rates to the elevator and/or aileron function, which is then used on ALL channels where these are used in a mix.

Trying to do the same in the mixer would require putting expo on every mix line, and then not being able to use diff, and several mix lines to handle dual rates.

One problem with the alignment concerns ON and OFF. Clearly, in English, ON is 2 characters and OFF is 3, so should we use:

Code: Select all

ON
OFF

or
 ON
OFF

as the alignment.

Mike.

[michel49]

I would like to have a flashing dot on the screen to warn when the data record is on; like on my sat receiver...

[jhsa]

Mike, your ON OFF example above doesn't show well because the forum ignores the spaces when placed before the words or when more than one space is inserted between words or characters. That is why mixer examples most of the time look very untidy and confusing.. I don't know if Rob can do anything about it but I guess it's worth asking..

João

[jhsa]

I don't know how others feel but I feel that the Expo/DR duplicates things that I can just as easily do in the mixer.

As Mike explained above the expo and DR most of the times is applied to the inputs (sticks) instead of in the mixer (channels). You could even just dump the entire DR menu and do all in the mixer but it is not quite the same. The expo in the mixer is a great feature for some special occasions.
Expo and diff are both curves and therefore they can be used instead of a curve in the mixer.
You could do the same with just a curve but having them is just like having a preset where you just change the values instead of programming a complete curve, making the programming much easier.

João

EDIT: OpenTX and Er9x/Ersky9x may look similar but very often they handle things in a different way.

[MikeB]

I've put "Code" around the example so the spaces show up.

Mike.

[jhsa]

You are right, they do show here on the computer. They do not in tapatalk on my smartphone..

João

[josephdouce]

most things are 3 char or less so I'd say

Code: Select all

  ON
  OFF
  A
  AB
  ABC
 ABCD
12345
 1234
  123
  12
  1

upto 3 char the first char is aligned as I think this looks better. above 3 char it pushes to the left. that way all menus could have the last 3 chars of each line dedicated to values but if you needed more space you just push to the left. also don't know how the code with but I imagine you count pixels from the left so that way they would all start at the same place unless there greater than 3.

[josephdouce]

Expo and diff are both curves and therefore they can be used instead of a curve in the mixer.
You could do the same with just a curve but having them is just like having a preset where you just change the values instead of programming a complete curve, making the programming much easier.

I wasn't suggesting to remove diff/expo just combine it to one line
.
Curve/Diff/Expo (select) Val

[MikeB]

Yes, pixels are counted from the left.
For information, text is painted on the display from the starting position left to right, but, in general, numbers are painted right to left!

As well as the look of a menu, there is also the 'useability' to consider.
If there is only 1 item on a line, then UP/DOWN selects the items, while LEFT/RIGHT changes the item.
If there are 2 (or more) items on a line, the LEFT/RIGHT selects between them and you have to press MENU to change to editing mode so LEFT/RIGHT changes the value, then press MENU again to stop editing and go back to "navigation" mode.
This is why only 1 item appears on many lines, it is easier to do the editing.

Mike.

[josephdouce]

urgh numbers and text are painted in opposite directions, getting stuff to line up could be a pain.

but I think

Code: Select all

   ON
  OFF
ABCDE
    1
   12
12345

or

Code: Select all

  ON
  OFF
ABCDE
  1   
  12
12345

ot

Code: Select all

  ON
  OFF
ABCDE
    1   
   12
12345

are all fine

just pick one and go with it (easiest). you have so many great features i think a good tidy up of the menus would make the whole thing a lot more aesthetically pleasing since you already did the menu selection.

as for the multiple items on one line maybe go for this instead keeps 1item per line.

Code: Select all

 
CURVES
 TYPE               EXPO
 VALUE                50

yea it uses one more line for the title BUT it looks neater and avoids havkng to press menubto select, at the min you have to scroll down to see the value anyway.

[jhsa]

If there is only 1 item on a line, then UP/DOWN selects the items, while LEFT/RIGHT changes the item.
If there are 2 (or more) items on a line, the LEFT/RIGHT selects between them and you have to press MENU to change to editing mode so LEFT/RIGHT changes the value, then press MENU again to stop editing and go back to "navigation" mode.
This is why only 1 item appears on many lines, it is easier to do the editing.

Mike.

I would prefer to keep all the same. I mean having to press menu to edit and press again ( or exit) to move on. This keps confusion away. I keep changing values all the time when I don't want to. And sometimes I don't even realise it. As we can move to other options using either left/right or up/down, depending on the situation, sometimes I just do left or right and change the settings. Normally we are thinking about what we have to enter and navigation should be easy and consistent. And at the moment it is not. So, only one one way should be adopted in my opinion. And that is pressing menu to edit ALWAYS. Then our brain automatically switches to edit mode, and we can keep thinking about our model programming instead of if we should press menu or left/right.
João

EDIT: Ahh, and this way you can always put more options in one line saving even more space and probably keeping things tydier

[MikeB]

That works/goes wrong, just differently. OpenTx on the Taranis works that way, and, probably because I'm used to NOT needing to press MENU to edit, I find I'm changing values when I don't want to because I haven't pressed MENU to stop editing. I also find it a BIG nuisance having to keep pressing MENU so many times to edit values.

Mike.

[jhsa]

Ok, I prefer not to change values when I don't want to..
If you change a value because you forgot to exit edit mode, you just put it back as you were already editing it. It's not a big deal. It won't affect other settings.
But....
If you change a value when you intent to scroll through options, you might not even notice you did and crash your model afterwards. We all do adjustments on the field and sometimes under stress.. That is a fact.
It happened to me a couple times. Luckly once with the timer and another time with the voice I think..
As far as I know many commercial appliances work this way, and might there be a good reason why it is like that

João

[josephdouce]

I'm not really bothered either way works fine as long as you remember. What if up down always goes to the next editable item regardless of position and left right always changes it. Crazy idea I know!

I'm getting along fine with the way things are edited. Was more concerned about just a general tidying of the alignments to make everything a little clearer.

For me the key is consistency.

[MikeB]

No, it's worse than that. If you forget to exit edit mode, and start navigating to somewhere else, you have both changed the value and NOT got where you wanted to get to. So then you have to undo the edit you didn't mean to do, leave edit mode and then navigate to where you thought you had already got to.

Both methods have advantages and disadvantages.
For now, I'm not going to spend time changing this, and keep to fewer button presses for most editing.
Note that one or two items do need to be in edit mode to allow changing, like the stick mode.

"What if up down always goes to the next editable item regardless of position and left right always changes it."
I have used this idea in one or two places. The problem is on a screen like the LIMITS screen where there are so many items, stepping through them all takes a long time.

Mike.

[josephdouce]

Yea we kind of got off track of the layout. I'm quite happy with the methods of editing and im sure moving things about is a lot less labour intensive than changing the way all the items are edited.

If the layout is clear and you can see you are going up and down the values on the right hand side of the screen there shouldnt be any confusion about the editing method.

[jhsa]

Ok, I will move the conversation to another topic if it is getting off topic here.. I believe this is important and should be discussed..

João