Basic Installation

Everything about the smartie programmer and backlight kit!
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GrootWitbaas
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Basic Installation

Post by GrootWitbaas »

So you have ordered a SmartieParts board from Steven, now to get it working.

In most cases the installation goes without problems and is pretty straight forward. If however you don't get it working right away then this is where you will find the answers.

Most problems is caused by driver installation not done correctly. For this there are some nice guides and I will add them here shortly. For now I refer you to Stevens Page on this
Update:
OK so I use mainly Mac, but just to help out, I installed Windows 7 64. To get the drivers I used fischl.de and downloaded the drivers marked here
Driver download.png
Next in Device Manager I chose the driver marked here
Driver.png
Then I had in Device manager the following:
Device Manager.png
Next I downloaded eepe and installed it.

I did not change any settings, just downloaded the "new" version of er9x it found on 1st launch.
I flashed my TX just to check all is working.

Note that from the start of the download of the driver until the end the TX was connected with the usb cable. Also remember that the TX Switch should be OFF, and it should turn on when the usb cable is plugged in. If it does not turn on then there is a problem with the usb cable or the cable from the board to the usb plug. More details on this will be added later.

Second problem is the board not making contact with the Main board because of Flux left on the pads. This is normally indicated by the following error from avrdude

Code: Select all

=================================================================================
Started AVRDUDE
C:/Program Files/eePe/avrdude.exe -c usbasp -p m64 -P usb -U eeprom:r:C:/DOCUME~1/YourName/LOCALS~1/Temp/temp.hex:i
=================================================================================

avrdude.exe: error: programm enable: target doesn't answer. 1 
avrdude.exe: initialization failed, rc=-1
             Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override
             this check.


avrdude.exe done.  Thank you.


=================================================================================
AVRDUDE done - exit code 1
=================================================================================



This can be fixed easily by just cleaning the pads with 96%+ alcol. (I will also expand on this a bit more) Below I have marked all the pad, clean them all, and be sure to use something with >95% Isopropanol. You can also clean the Pogo pins, but do not scrape or file them, they are gold plated and scraping or filing them will damage them easily, and can cause more problems in future. Also check all the pads marked, some have found solder blobs on them, preventing the board from working.
test1.png
Isopropanol.png
Isopropanol.png (145.08 KiB) Viewed 25471 times
Below is copied from Stevens Site:

How to identify your 9x hardware generation
To determine what hardware generation your 9x radio is, you must remove the 6 case screws holding on the back of your radio and take a look inside. Use the picture below to locate the radio's CPU and pay particular attention to the highlighted circle, representing the "SCK solder pad". If your pad is in the same location as shown and is connected to the 6th CPU pin from the right then you have the 2nd generation hardware. If, however, your pad is connected to the 8th CPU pin from the left, then you have the 1st generation hardware. What's the difference? The SCK pin hasn't changed (its always been the 6th from the right) but in the early version, FlySky made a mistake with the pad location.
ID_V2.jpeg
So what can you do if you have 1st generation harware? You can still use our add-on board, but a little soldering is now required. First you need to either remove the SCK pin from the add-on board, or simply put a piece of electrician's tape on the pin to prevent it from coming in contact with the incorrectly placed pad on your radio's board (I recommend tape just in case you want to move this board to a 2nd generation radio at a later date). Then solder one end of a wire to your radio's (true) SCK and the other end to the add-on board's SCK. For the radio, you could solder the wire directly to the 6th pin from the left shown above, but these tiny pins are difficult to isolate. Instead, if you follow the trace from the 6th pin you'll see it connects with a resistor which is slightly easier to solder a wire to. An example of this (on a 1st generation board) is shown below.
V1_solder.jpeg
V1_solder.jpeg (92.76 KiB) Viewed 25424 times
For connecting to the SCK on the add-on board, you could solder directly to the SCK pin, but it may be better instead to use an alternative connection point. Over on the right side of the add-on board, you'll see a bank of 8 unused wire-holes marked "ISP". Refer to the image below. The hole for the SCK pin is the one noted with the number "2".
8_pad.jpeg
So yes, you can use our add-on programmer with EL backlight on a 1st generation hardware 9x radio! But it requires a small amount of soldering to do so. We've been asked many times if we can make a 1st generation compatible version of our board, but it just isn't possible since the pad location of Gen 1 was a mistake and not just a design change. In other words, the SCK pad on the Gen 1 radio is NOT connected to the SCK pin of its CPU... and its the pin, not the pad, that makes programming possible.


If your EL backlight does not work, have a look Here
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GrootWitbaas
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Re: Basic Installation

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Re: Basic Installation

Post by GrootWitbaas »

It's a work in progress ...May things needs to be added still. Once it is all done I will most probably edit this post, or remove it completely :)

Help is appreciated and if you think I have left out any thing feel free to post it here. Once the forums are running and most info is here we can go along and clean up :D
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by RCPlaneHobby.com »

thanks i appreciate it, that's what I thought. I'm on the wiki page now ready to do the dead.
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by wheelspinner20 »

RCplanehobby.com, where did you get the radio?? was it recently?? Just wondering if it was from Hobbypartz?
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by RCPlaneHobby.com »

wheelspinner20 wrote:RCplanehobby.com, where did you get the radio?? was it recently?? Just wondering if it was from Hobbypartz?
no got it from leadershobby...
http://www.leaderhobby.com/product.asp?ID=9394001220239

SPBOARD TEST PROBLEMS
so i'm doing the preflight test of the board according to this link
http://www.smartieparts.com/shop/index. ... page&id=11
downloaded and installed the drivers according to this
http://www.smartieparts.com/shop/index. ... page&id=12
then on the install wizard i'm supposed to choose "USBasp" from the list, but the only thing close to that which showed up on the list in the wizard is "USB2.0-CRW" so i chose that. the only others on the list were 'validity sensor', 'g-drive' and 'hp webcam'
what am i doing wrong? I tried it on my netbook and only the webcam option showed up in the list.
i'm running win 7 64x
i tried 3 usb cables and the backlight doesn't come on and there is no chime.
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by wheelspinner20 »

I will take a shot at this one, Groot is probly sleeping.

There have been issues with windows not installing the drivers correctly. Or they look like they are, but the device is not directed to them.
What I ended up doing is noting the folder location of the driver, and going into the device manager through the control panel/hardware and sound... and manually pointing the usb question mark device that you hopefully find in the device manager, and double click on the question mark one. Then select update driver, and then select browse my computer for driver software.

This is how I had to do it. The install wizard lost its mojo and failed me.

Try it.

P.
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by RCPlaneHobby.com »

wheelspinner20 wrote:I will take a shot at this one, Groot is probly sleeping.

There have been issues with windows not installing the drivers correctly. Or they look like they are, but the device is not directed to them.
What I ended up doing is noting the folder location of the driver, and going into the device manager through the control panel/hardware and sound... and manually pointing the usb question mark device that you hopefully find in the device manager, and double click on the question mark one. Then select update driver, and then select browse my computer for driver software.

This is how I had to do it. The install wizard lost its mojo and failed me.

Try it.

P.
thanks :)
I'm a bit ahead of you on that one. I tried using the device manager to install it but there is no .inf file in the driver download folder. I dl'd a couple more times to be sure. so i dl'd this...
http://www.protostack.com/blog/2011/05/ ... vista-x64/
I was able to get this installed, there is a 'libusb-win32 devices' entry in the device mngr and a sub entry 'usbasp'. I plugged in the spboard and still nothing, trying 3 different usb cables and 2 other pc's.
I also tried this..
http://www.ngohq.com/home.php?page=dseo
but that didn't help.
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by wheelspinner20 »

Link post it there, and if no help, then send S_mack a p.m. and I'm sure it can be resolved. I wish I could help more.

P.

Edit by Mod - Fixed your link
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by GrootWitbaas »

RCPlaneHobby.com wrote: thanks :)
I'm a bit ahead of you on that one. I tried using the device manager to install it but there is no .inf file in the driver download folder. I dl'd a couple more times to be sure. so i dl'd this...
http://www.protostack.com/blog/2011/05/ ... vista-x64/
I was able to get this installed, there is a 'libusb-win32 devices' entry in the device mngr and a sub entry 'usbasp'. I plugged in the spboard and still nothing, trying 3 different usb cables and 2 other pc's.
I also tried this..
http://www.ngohq.com/home.php?page=dseo
but that didn't help.

when did you see the sub entry for usbasp ? from the above it looks like you installed the driver on something other than the SP board. You have to connect the SP board BEFORE installing the driver. Have you tried different USB port (I see you have tried other cables). There should be a windows sound when connecting the cable, but the Backlight will only work after flashing the new Firmware AND enabling it in the setup of the firmware. Your TX must be with the Switch in the OFF position, and when you plug in the usb cable it should come on from the usb power.

(I will add this to the 1st post, and clean up later)
OK so I use mainly Mac, but just to help out, I installed Windows 7 64. To get the drivers I used fischl.de and downloaded the drivers marked here
Driver download.png
Next in Device Manager I chose the driver marked here
Driver.png
Then I had in Device manager the following:
Device Manager.png
Next I downloaded eepe and installed it.

I did not change any settings, just downloaded the "new" version of er9x it found on 1st launch.
I flashed my TX just to check all is working.
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by RCPlaneHobby.com »

Thanks for the help I greatly appreciate it.

So there is really no way to test the board and backlite as described in the preflight board test on the wiki?
http://www.smartieparts.com/shop/index. ... page&id=11
It has to be installed in the radio in order for all this to work?
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by GrootWitbaas »

No, you can test the board before installing, Stevens guide is the one to follow, but you can only get to the point in eepe were you get the avrdude error like below

Code: Select all

=================================================================================

avrdude.exe: error: programm enable: target doesn't answer. 1 
avrdude.exe: initialization failed, rc=-1
             Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override
             this check.


avrdude.exe done.  Thank you.


=================================================================================
AVRDUDE done - exit code 1
=================================================================================
And following Stevens instructions you can even test the backlight, but remember, it is a backlight, not a flood light :D
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by RCPlaneHobby.com »

great,
so i tested 3 different usb cables in 3 different laptops on about 3 usb ports per laptop. I don't know the math on how many connections but i think I got all the possible combinations. the board was not recognized (no windows chime) an any of the combos. I also ran the driver install wizard each time but a usbasp option on the list never showed up.
I'm heading out to walmart to get another usb cable just in case. which one should i get? anything specific?
I know it has to support data.
after that, i'm gonna contact support cuz I think i have a bad board.
Last edited by RCPlaneHobby.com on Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by GrootWitbaas »

Post a picture of how you have in connected. no need for a new cable just yet.
You ma have the connections wrong, so if possible A picture showing the small usb board to the big board and how it is plugged in.
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by RCPlaneHobby.com »

GrootWitbaas wrote:Post a picture of how you have in connected. no need for a new cable just yet.
You ma have the connections wrong, so if possible A picture showing the small usb board to the big board and how it is plugged in.
k, did you one better, here is the link to the vid...
http://rcplanehobby.com/error.html
note that i was wearing a esd wrist strap throughout and according to the preflight directions, the drivers must be installed first.

thanks again for the help :D
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by GrootWitbaas »

Ok the video was not that helpful, because it is out of focus, but at least from here I can give you some advice. Those clips are not save at all, they will easily make a nice big fat short.

So What I will sugest is the following.
Remove the crocodile clips !!!!
1 disconnect the Back light from the board.
2 connect ONLY the usb extension cable.
Now connect it to USB and make sure your sound/speaker are on so you can hear the sound (similar to when you plug in a usb drive)
If you hear this sound then good, we can go on. If not then we have to take it the board may be damaged. from there we can do some other tests.

If posable take a still picture in focus showing the part where you have the usb extension plugged into the board, from the top, and also a picture of the back of the small board where the 4 wires comes to the board.

If you did hear the sound then check in Device manger and maybe post a screenshot of what you have there. Lets go on from there then
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by ReSt »

GrootWitbaas wrote:Ok the video was not that helpful, because it is out of focus, but at least from here I can give you some advice. Those clips are not save at all, they will easily make a nice big fat short.
Is it really true, that you have to shorten the +5v pogo pin with the ground pin???
I don't know the progamming board, but doesn't that mean, that you shortcut the supply voltage?

I would supply a 5 volt power source to those two pins and expect the backlight to lighten



Reinhard
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by GrootWitbaas »

Most certainly NOT. Never short the +5V to ground, that is why I said remove the clips, they can easily short out the supply. To test the BL Steven said that pin +5v and VDD should be linked, but before that test I would recommend we 1st see the usbasp show up in Windows.
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by RCPlaneHobby.com »

K, i found the problem. and as embarassing as it is, i'll admit it so other noobs can save themselves a good ego bruze :)
it was not connected correctly, like an idiot I 'assumed" and plugged in the connector using the first 4 pin positions on the connector. In other words, since it is a 7 pin connector, i didn't pay attention and connected it so pins 1,2,3,4 were connected to the board. but slot 1 is empty, the wires if you look closely on the connector are in the 2,3,4,5, slots. so i was 1 off.
that's what you get when you try to quit drinkin coffee ;)
so, the preflight test worked, got the drivers in, my pc saw detected it, and the bl was lit up.
just finished flashing my tx cuz the board has been installed and eepe said it flashed successfully :)

its a good thing we have this forum!!!! its always the noobs making the noob mistakes that need the most help.
thanks everyone :)
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by wheelspinner20 »

Very glad you got that sorted. You are going to enjoy playing with the new firware.
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Basic Installation

Post by GrootWitbaas »

Now could you please post a nice closeup of the cable and how it should be plugged in. I ask this for two reasons, 1st I can not do it, my board is older with other connector, and 2nd you are not the first one to make this mistake, and surely wont be the last. If you can post the picture (or even a few) then I will add this info in post one here.

Thanks and glad you got it working

Groot


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Re: Basic Installation

Post by wheelspinner20 »

I can not disconnect it without removing the board. And I am too tired to do that now.

Its a 7 pin connector using 2,3,4,and 5. #2 is the black wire, ground. #5 is the red wire +5v.

connector2.jpg
connector1.jpg
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Basic Installation

Post by GrootWitbaas »

1st pic is almost perfect. No need to unplug the cable. O and i was actually asking rc to take the picks ;)


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Re: Basic Installation

Post by wheelspinner20 »

Ya I know you were, I'm not smart enough to help too much. But I can take pics. I have one of each, a gen 1 and a gen 3 SP board.

I see what you mean by almost... that last blank pin hole on the left, #7 is in the shadow. Thats why I specified numbers and colors.
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by RCPlaneHobby.com »

hehe thanks spinner those are good pics, here's my collection in case there is something you can use.

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
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Basic Installation

Post by Scott Page »

Nice pics. I want to add that the connector is too big for my large old paws to slip into place once the board is seated, so I've introduced the plugs to Mr. Razor Blade and trimmed off the two useless slots on one side.
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by RCPlaneHobby.com »

If you have a Gen 1 board, one alternative to the soldering point for the wire instead of here on the end of the resistor...
Image


...Is to solder on the trace between the resistor and the pin. This might reduce the chance of cooking that resistor if you are new to soldering. I botched it the first time and burnt the resistor. The way I could tell is my menu button on the tx didn't work. Everything else did; I could flash it and change settings, but when I tried to calibrate the sticks, I needed the menu button for that but it didn't work. If you have this problem check out this link for a fix that worked for me.
http://www.openrcforums.com/forum/viewt ... p=528#p528

(sorry about the picture size, just go to the pic's url where it is hosted to see the full size)
Very carefully scrape off the green from the trace, be very delicate. I used an xacto knife. I also had those magnifier glasses which helped greatly.
Image

Then flux it and tin it.
Image

Strip, flux and tin the end of the wire you are soldering to it. With just a touch, you should be able to solder the wire on quickly and cleanly. The image below shows a solder I did in the middle of the wire, but soldering the end of the wire should be easier.
Image

If you have too much solder it will flow to the pad next to it. Just use a wick or solder vacuum tool to get it out. One thing I didn't try is to put a dab of hot glue on the tab next to the trace to protect it from getting soldered and shorted.

Make sure you solder the other end of the wire to the correct hole in the spboard. I marked it on both sides with a red sharpie so I wouldn't get confused.
Image

check out these soldering tuts before you tackle this if you are new to soldering pcb's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Sb21qbpEQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYz5nIHH0iY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9FC9fAlfQE
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by GrootWitbaas »

Nice, can I add this to post 1 (or2) please ?

Also I never had a Ver1 board, but I was thinking, you could also make the change like this:
Clipboard01.jpg
Red lines indicate cut the track, Orange is a small link, blue is a small insulated wire. Maybe it can also work, nut sure if the pad will touch the pin from the board, but this will make it possible to use the SP board without mods (wire link to it) so it can be taken out easily.
I do realize this does need some soldering skills, but finding someone to do this mod once should not be to hard.
Groot



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Re: Basic Installation

Post by RCPlaneHobby.com »

GrootWitbaas wrote:Nice, can I add this to post 1 (or2) please ?

Also I never had a Ver1 board, but I was thinking, you could also make the change like this:
Clipboard01.jpg
Red lines indicate cut the track, Orange is a small link, blue is a small insulated wire. Maybe it can also work, nut sure if the pad will touch the pin from the board, but this will make it possible to use the SP board without mods (wire link to it) so it can be taken out easily.
I do realize this does need some soldering skills, but finding someone to do this mod once should not be to hard.
Groot

Smart!
You wouldn't have to tape or remove the sck pogo pin either.
Looking at the gen 2 board below, it could easily work.
Image
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Re: Basic Installation

Post by GrootWitbaas »

Actually looking at the gen 2 board it looks like the pad location is a slight bit off, so here is a update possible mod. Clean the track like in the picture.
At the red line cut very carefully and at the blue circle place a small drop of the conductor paint used to repair the heater in the back window of a car.
Clipboard04.jpg
I do not know how good this will be, but if you put a few small coats of the paint it can probably work ok, and that will be a solder less solution. No extra wire needed for the track to the left :D

Alternative a small piece of copper track from a broke/test board can be soldered between the pad and track.

JUST BE WARNED: I take no responsibility if you break your board doing the above ....

Edit Update:
I have posted this elsewhere also, but here goes ...
In Hind sight to my suggestion of cutting the pad from the track, how about placing some sticky tape over the track and pad to the left, stopping just before the cleaned track. Maybe do it double just to make sure it isolate the two. Now place the conductive paint and it can even go over the tape, forming a painted pad.
Only two risks remain, 1: when you clean the track to remove the solder mask, so you can get contact, and 2: the conductive paint may go underneath the sticky tape if you did not clean nicely or did not stick it tightly on.

This eliminates the high risk cutting between the track and pad.

Boy I need a v1 board to test on and make a nice video and some pictures.
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