My Taranis Spektrum module

Choosing an RF Module? What modules work? What is compatible with the 9x?
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jhsa
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by jhsa »

JohnOCFII wrote: Would you also use a higher temperature for soldering components to the new PCB?
I would use higher temperature and a fine soldering tip to solder components.. Remember that what damages the component is leaving the iron there for a longer time.
If you have a hotter tip, the solder will melt quicker and you'll do the job quicker too.. If you see that is taking too long, remove the tip, let the component cool down, and start again. It might take longer, so what? ;) :) we have time to do things right, don't we?? :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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jprikkel
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by jprikkel »

The black insulator isn't necessary, but useful for spacing if you are using a socket on the new PCB. Just make sure that the module back isn't contacting any metal on the PCB. You could use any nonconductive material or even electrical tape.
JohnOCFII
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JohnOCFII »

jhsa wrote: It might take longer, so what? ;) :) we have time to do things right, don't we?? :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Indeed!

Thanks again

John
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JohnOCFII »

jprikkel wrote:The black insulator isn't necessary, but useful for spacing if you are using a socket on the new PCB.
Thanks. I've still got it. It's a little beat up. but I think it'll do.

John
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Philipp
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by Philipp »

The removal of this module is quite tricky indeed.
I did it as Mike suggested: Add some solder to the pins and heat all of them with a powerful iron. Before you do this remove the sticky foam tape between the module and the mainboard with a knife. This way the module should easily be pulled off the mainboard. Don't burn your hand with the large, hot and know floating blob of solder on the mainboard though, guess how I learned that.
When you got the module off the mainboard you can go ahead and clean up the holes with a solder wick or a sucker.

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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JohnOCFII »

Philipp wrote:Don't burn your hand with the large, hot and know floating blob of solder on the mainboard though, guess how I learned that.
:o

I did remove the foam adhesive fairly early in the process. It helped me to gauge whether the board was getting looser as I continued.

Part of my concern was not knowing if I was feeling physical resistance due to the pins in the black insulator piece, or resistance from the solder. At the time, I didn't know if the black piece was intended to come up with the module or stay on the board.

I'm a consultant and started a new project for a new client this week, so I might not get to the next step until the weekend. I hope my activities were gentle enough (especially regarding the heat) so that I did not damage the module!

John
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Philipp
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by Philipp »

That's the major flaw of this whole hack, obtaining a good, tested Spektrum module.
I wish they would sell them as individual items for 20$ or so. They won't do that of course, nobody would buy their more expensive radios anymore. They build very nice radios, though. I would love to play around with the new DX6, but I can not justify owning more radios than planes :D
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JohnOCFII »

Tonight I completed soldering the components on the PCB. I increased the heat and that really sped up the process.

Are there any suggested tests I should make before inserting the dx4e module and completing the installation? Any suggested continuity tests, or other tests I should do with the multimeter before installing in the Taranis and applying power?

Thanks again for all your guidance!

John
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JohnOCFII
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JohnOCFII »

Greetings,

This evening I attached the dx4e module to the completed PCB, and installed it into the DM9 module case. I attached the module to the Taranis. I powered up the Taranis, and I didn't smell any smoke, which I took to be a good sign. :)

I downloaded an eepe for a Blade NanoQX, and used Companion to move it to my Taranis. I reviewed the downloaded model for a few minutes. When I went to set up the radio, I selected DSM2 - DSMX. I attempted to bind to my nanoQX with no success.

A couple of minutes later my Taranis started to reboot. It did this twice, so I powered it off and removed the module. I powered it back on, and the Taranis seemed normal. No rebooting. I re-inserted the module, and the Taranis would start to reboot after about a minute. :(

Any ideas? I looked over the order and alignment of my components, and the only ones that I could not confirm were the capacitors. A little Googling led me to believe that these small, ceramic capacitors are not polarized and can be installed in either direction.

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/po ... capacitors

I used the continuity checker of my multimeter to check for adjacent pins being connected via a bad soldering job, but it all seemed OK.

Any ideas? The rebooting which stops after the module is removed certainly points to a hardware issue in my module. I did have it installed in the operating Taranis for close to 30 minutes before it started rebooting, so maybe there is some configuration related issue here too.

Thanks,

John
jprikkel
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by jprikkel »

I believe the caps on the parts list are polarized. The longer leg is positive. Can you try reverting the taranis config?
JohnOCFII
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JohnOCFII »

jprikkel wrote:I believe the caps on the parts list are polarized. The longer leg is positive. Can you try reverting the taranis config?
Without the module installed, the Taranis seems fine (i.e., does not reboot) and I can modify the config as required. I can remove the nanoQX model that I loaded up and try something different. Actually, that is what I had done first -- and it seemed that I got as far as binding successfully, (i.e., the rapidly flashing lights on the nanoQX turned to a slow blink), but I could not arm the copter. That is when I realized I had selected a Blade 200QX config, which has a more elaborate arming sequence.

If anyone has a dirt simple nanoQX config eepe, that might help simplify things.

I'll also check the polarity of the caps. I've got extras, so I can look and compare to the installed caps to see if by chance they are in backwards.

Thanks for the advice.

John
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JohnOCFII »

jprikkel wrote:I believe the caps on the parts list are polarized. The longer leg is positive.
At least I'm consistent.

I'll unsolder and reverse the two capacitors.
cap-view.jpg
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KAL
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by KAL »

The capacitors on your picture are definitely polarized!

Please see here.

Klaus
( TH9X / 9XTreme / FrSky DHT / Spektrum / Multi / RotEnc )
( 9XR PRO / erSKY9x  / FrSky DHT / Spektrum / Multi / RotEnc / P3 as Slider )
JohnOCFII
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JohnOCFII »

:D Hey Everybody! Guess what is working! :D

I thought it would be so simple to unsolder those two capacitors and turn them around.

Silly me. While I have a small stand that can hold the components and a small PCB, I don't have a small vise that can actually hold a board with enough force to allow me to use a forceps to remove a component while in contact with the soldering iron. I ended up breaking the capacitor, and STILL I could not remove the remnant of the leg.

I went to plan B and used my second of three PCBs from Oshpark and my second set of components and soldered up a new board.

This one works!

I loaded up a simpler nanoQX eepe, and I was off to the races. The binding process took much longer than I thought it would, but it eventually bound. The transmitter probably beeped 10-15 times before the light on the nanoQX went from blinking very fast to a slow (or steady, I forget) blue. Somewhere I read that you should not have the transmitter too close to the receiver. The Taranis was probably just under a meter away from the nanoQX receiver.

After that I flew the nanoQX around the living room for about 15 minutes (or three batteries worth). Everything seemed to work fine. I didn't check range (I was indoors, after all) other than to walk about 25 feet away and confirmed things worked from that distance.

Thanks to everyone for their help and patience, and especially to John Prikkel for creating the PCB and BOM and sharing it with everyone.

John
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by jprikkel »

Thanks John and everyone else for helping out!

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Daedalus66
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by Daedalus66 »

Just to say that the NanoQX can be quite slow to bind, even with a native Spektrum transmitter like the DX4e.
JohnOCFII
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JohnOCFII »

Last night I bound the Blade 180QX. It bound in just 3-4 beeps. So far, so good!
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by bob195558 »

Hi everyone,

When unsoldering the components would a Chip Quik SMD1 Low Temperature Removal Kit
help with the difficulty of removing the needed components ?
(http://www.amazon.com/ChipQuik-SMD1-Low ... emoval+kit)

Bob B.
Er9x on 9x radio, with Smartieparts Programmer and TelemetrEZ Board.
ErSky9x on Taranis, Sky9x, 9Xtreme radios.
3D-Printing: (https://openrcforums.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=129).
JohnOCFII
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JohnOCFII »

bob195558 wrote:When unsoldering the components would a Chip Quik SMD1 Low Temperature Removal Kit
help with the difficulty of removing the needed components ?
(http://www.amazon.com/ChipQuik-SMD1-Low ... emoval+kit)
Very interesting. Ten days ago, I would have said it was unnecessary. Today -- I might say it would be worth the $14.00 investment. I still think if I had better technique, I should have had success, but I'm 0 for 3 in my two different attempts. Two of those were simple, little, capacitors too. In that case, a solid vise might have been the tool I needed.
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JonasL »

Hi guys.
I have built a John Prikkels DSMX module, and made a video of it...
So if you have not build yours yet, here is a little help:

[BBvideo 425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw-t_C0nuPc[/BBvideo]
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by jprikkel »

Thanks Jonas. Then video turned out nice and has a lot of information not previously posted. This should really help. Great work!
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JonasL »

jprikkel wrote:Thanks Jonas. Then video turned out nice and has a lot of information not previously posted. This should really help. Great work!
Thanks John! But I'm the one thanking you! Without your blog I would not have been able to make this video, and the module with such ease :)
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JohnOCFII »

JonasL wrote:I have built a John Prikkels DSMX module, and made a video of it...
Very nicely done!

I loved your on screen warning about removing the prop, and then getting to see what happened. :)

What tool did you use to heat up the solder to remove the module from the donor transmitter? That looked so much easier than the long battle I had with the small soldering iron trying to heat it up enough to pull out the module.

John
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by JonasL »

JohnOCFII wrote: Very nicely done!

I loved your on screen warning about removing the prop, and then getting to see what happened. :)
Thanks :D
I also decided to keep the little mishap in the video to warn viewers what can happen if the prop is not removed :lol: Luckily on this little 20gram AUW plane nothing happens
JohnOCFII wrote: What tool did you use to heat up the solder to remove the module from the donor transmitter? That looked so much easier than the long battle I had with the small soldering iron trying to heat it up enough to pull out the module.
I'm using the hot air gun (SMD rework station) that you can see in the film, located between the PC monitor and the soldering station. Its a Scotle 858D+ that can be found many places online for about 50-60USD
It works very well, with adjustable temp and air flow.
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by aV8erUK »

Wow, I've been away a while haven't I? It's really humbling to see how this little project has mushroomed into something very practical and reasonably easy for people to do. Many thanks to JP and all others for all the amazing effort, and taking this to places that I'm just not capable of.

When I un-soldered my module from the Spekky Tx, I used de-solder braid (wick) to suck up the wet solder. This leaves the pins pretty much free in their holes. Another way would be to use a solder suction pump, but I don't get on with those as well as I do with the braid.

Great to catch up and see the PCB anyway, does anyone know if this could be purchased and delivered to the UK?
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by jprikkel »

Thanks! I also added more solder to the pins then used good solder wick. That worked best for me.

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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by gzkpez »

I have a X1TXN that is in a DM8 (FUTABA STYLE MODULE); I use to get 9 channels out of it using PPM and my ACE transmitter. I currently use in my Tranis with the but want a better fitting and work module, (it Changes the channel order which drives me nuts, when using other peoples EEPEs)

Will this work with John Prikkels purple circuit board?

I plan on putting one or two together regardless of the answer. I want to make two modules, one only needs to work little indoor stuff.

Thanks
jprikkel
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by jprikkel »

I think we had one report that modules from DM8 don't work. However, I don't have first hand experience. The problem could be a slightly different pin out or protocol difference. I would measure some of the pins and try it out.
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by CKF4Y »

Seems I have a similar problem. Received recently an empty DM9 module housing to build a Spectrum module using my old DX5e. But the molex position on the PCB together with the 5 holes in the module are not aligned with the 5 pole header on my Taranis Plus, the position of the header is appr. 2mm inwards. I don't know wether the Taranis header is out of range (I measured 7mm from the right compartment edge) or they have changed the module housing. The latter can't be as PCB and housing are in alignment.
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Re: My Taranis Spektrum module

Post by jprikkel »

Try the case alone. Does it line up? If so, solder the molex connector with a scrap male header inserted (simulating the taranis header). That way it ensures the pins aren't slightly off due to soldering. I also tape down the molex connector before soldering.

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