Going Under! (Again)

[mac44mag]

Once again, I come seeking advice and your indulgence.  I'm a novice at Gruvin9X, especially when using Companion9X.  Here's the situation:

Hardware:  Gr9X v4.1 pre-wired board, Gruvin programmer installed, DJT module, no other mods at this time.  Computer: Windows 7, 8GB RAM

Software: Tx had gruvin9X (rev.: ???) installed.  Notice the past tense?  More on that in a bit.  I'm using Companion9X (rev.: .81)  Settings in 9X:


Without the "-F" switch, AVRDUDE returns an improper chip identification error.

Models had previously been created and uploaded using Companion9X and the "Write EEPROM to Tx" button.  At least, that's what I thought I'd done.  When attempting to do that today, the following occurred:

A) Open and modified my saved plane file from my computer in Companion9X, edited it, and saved it with file "type: EEPE files (*.eepe, *.bin, *.hex)" selected.
B) Clicked: "Write EEPROM to Tx".  LCD on Tx went blank during transfer (normal, I think), but when screen returned it read "Bad EEPROM Data".  I know that's normal for updating firmware, but not for flashing memory.
C) Clicked "Menu" to move on.  Next message:  "EEPROM formatting". 
D) Clicked "Menu" to move on.  Next message was: "Throttle not at idle."  Checked, and it was. Reset throttle anyway.
E) Clicked "Menu" to bypass alert screen.  LCD then displayed "Mode01" instead of a model that should have been there.  Also, no other models were listed as being available.  There should have been six.

After attempting this several times, I started to get desperate decided to re-flash the firmware.

A) Went to: code.google.com/p/gruvin9x/wiki/LatestRelease  (SVN-frsky-r1542) (build 34)
B) Right-clicked "gruvin9x.hex-v4.1 Custom PCB"
C) Selected: Save link as: gruvin9x.hex and specified the folder and directory.
D) Opened Companion9X
E) Clicked: "Write Flash Memory"  , then "Burn to Tx"
F) LCD went blank, and Tx is now a brick.  No display.  Nada!  Nothing!

At this point I'm not even sure if I'm trying to do the right sequence of operations at the correct time, much less having the proper configuration settings for Comp9X.  Oh, well, I wanted a challenge.  <BigGrin>

Obviously, any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Leonard

[mac44mag]

The settings in Companion9X did not come through as an image.  The settings are:

Firmware:  .........../gruvin9x.hex
Version: V1.2-gruvin
SVN: frsky-r1547
MOD/Build:  34

Hope that helps to complete the picture.

Leonard

____________________________________________

[Romolo Manfredini]

You need to check file -> preferences and be sure that selected firmware is either
gruvin-stable for V4 board or open9x for v4 board.
Also check in configure that mCPU  is ATMEGA 2560

On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 1:12 AM, mac44mag <mac3...@gmail.com> wrote:

The settings in 9X did not come through.  They are:

Firmware: ......./gruvin9x.hex

Version: V1.2-gruvin
SVN: frsky-r1547
MOD/Build: 34

On Thursday, May 24, 2012 5:09:44 PM UTC-6, mac44mag wrote:

[Bryan]

Yup ... it just sounds like you have not told Companion 9x which firmware/board you are targeting. As Romolo said -- File / Preferences.

As far as I can tell, any older (or different) model settings data you have sitting in files will be automatically converted to the correct format for the selected target (as noted above.) But I may be wrong, as I too do get confused with how it all works, when switching firmware versions. Of course, if you sit on just one version, then conversion of data is not an issue. But you probably won't. :-D

I'm not sure why you have to check the mCPU thing. The V4 board can only have a 2560 on it, so that should be automatic. Perhaps it was just a note to double-check.

Bryan.

On 25 May 2012 11:20, Romolo Manfredini <romolo.m...@gmail.com> wrote:

You need to check file -> preferences and be sure that selected firmware is either
gruvin-stable for V4 board or open9x for v4 board.
Also check in configure that mCPU  is ATMEGA 2560

...

[Romolo Manfredini]

Just to be sure further...
It's right it should not be necessary
but even with wrong firmware set in preferences if mCPU is correctly set companion should at least be able to read/write firmware/eeprom

[Bryan]

On 25 May 2012 12:52, Romolo Manfredini <romolo.m...@gmail.com> wrote:

Just to be sure further...
It's right it should not be necessary
but even with wrong firmware set in preferences if mCPU is correctly set companion should at least be able to read/write firmware/eeprom

Got it. :-D

Can you please clarify one other thing, then ...

If I wanted to use companion9x to convert a gruvin9x EEPROM file to open9x format, for example -- then is it enough to simply set my companion9x preferences to the correct destination firmware/board, before loading the original source EEPROM data file and then writing it to the destination transmitter?

Or ... do I need to first set c'9x preferences to the source firmware format, then load the EEPROM data file for that (source) format, then change the c'9x preferences to the destination firmware, before finally writing the newly EEPROM data to the transmitter? (This is what I have been doing -- but I'm wondering if it is more steps than required.)

In other words, is companion9x so clever that it always reads the EEPROM data file being opened to (somehow) determine what version of EEPROM data it is first, so that it can then automagically convert it at the time of opening / reading? Or for that matter, is all data always stored in a sort of global super-set manner and always converted at save or writing to transmitter?

If it is "that clever", then I suppose we'd need to be careful not to then hit "save" and overwrite the source file, since that would write a different firmware/eeprom version format.

Hmm. Lots of words there. I guess what I'm asking is, "What should we know, to use the conversion features correctly?"

Finally, is any of this already documentation somewhere online, where at I can point a gruvin9x FAQ entry, since people seem to come looking here for such answers sometimes?

Thanks.

[Romolo Manfredini]

No to convert to open9x v4 you need to set destination in preferences just before writing.
While reading companion automatically detect source.

>>
>>is all data always stored in a sort of global super-set manner and always converted at save or writing to transmitter?
>>

Indeed it is...
and while writing we handle restrictions of each single firmware, while editing the interface adapt itself at supported features of the firmware selected in preferences.

To Handle fast switch of firmware preferences in the last companion we added firmware profiles.
You can store different firmware profiles (stock vs V4) and even store calibration settings of each radio...

A lot of documentation is on the wiki of 9xforums.com
For any further question, detail, I'm here...

[mac44mag]

Brian, Romolo, and The Rest:

Yes, indeed!  Companion 9X was not set to read the latest stable v4 release.  Simple fix:  Start C9X -> File -> Preferences -> about half way down you'll see "Firmware"; click the down arrow and select your version. All is now loaded and appears to be functioning correctly.  Absurdly simple.....if you know you have to do it.  <BigGrin>  On top of that, it makes sense.

What may have fouled me up was installing a newer version of C9X.  Would that have reset the parameter?  After Romolo told me about setting the version, I remembered having to do that initially. 

In any case, thanks for the time and help.  Your work is much appreciated!

Leonard

On Thursday, May 24, 2012 5:09:44 PM UTC-6, mac44mag wrote:

On Thursday, May 24, 2012 5:09:44 PM UTC-6, mac44mag wrote:

[Bertrand Songis]

Small correction: c9x was not set to write the ... 

Because read is never a problem! But write yes, c9x has to know for which version he prepares the EEPROM for you!

Enjoy!

Bertrand.

2012/5/25 mac44mag <mac3...@gmail.com>

[Romolo Manfredini]

Don't think so...
The biggest issue normally is people not pressing "OK"  but closing the window.
Settings are stored only when you press OK..

[Romolo Manfredini]

With lasted mods (still not published he will be also able to guess from the radio) as long as the mcu is properly setup. But this is another story.

[Bryan]

Excellent. So I now understand that conversion during reading is all automatic and the preferences come into play when writing to the radio. Cool. Couldn't be simpler (for the user at least!) :-D