I take no credit for the following other than having gone through the trials and tribulations of working through the process.  It wasn';t straightforward, although it wasn';t actually that difficult either, once I worked out what wasn';t [currently] working .

The mission - Convert the FS-i6 TX with FS-iA6B RX to operate 8 - 10 channels and improve functionality.

Essentially, I want to use the i6 kit to drive ArduCopter and Cleanflight/Baseflight flight controllers, gaining more channels than the six standard and increase the switch and potentiometer knob capability. That will allow improved access to AC flight modes (that use channels 5, 7 and 8).

In this particular exercise I am setting out to use FlySky';s I-Bus with an FS-iA6B receiver to gain 8 channels on a single-wire connection to the Flight Controller, a Flip32+.

Receivers
This process will work with the six-channel FS-iA6B and FS-iA10.  It will have no beneficial effect with the cheaper FS-iA6 (non-telemetry) receiver

Quote
The mods are:
4 extra Aux channels - any of them can be set to be any switch or VR.
New Aux channels are stored against each model.
Updated screen for setting the aux channels.
Updated screen for displaying all 10 channels.
Inactivity timer 10min instead of 1min.

Enables you to select all 10 channels in the iBus setup menu.

Warnings
1. As usual you will void warranties - although it is entirley possible to restore to factory firmwares. You can';t easily brick an i6 TX.
2. I-Bus caveat: Failsafe doesn';t currently operate across I-Bus, it merely holds the last control position.

My Hardware Kit
FS-i6 transmitter, brand new, out of the box
FS-iA6B receiver, ditto
Flip32+ (10DoF) flight controller
Cleanflight Configurator
Cleanflight flight software (more on these last two in a moment)
Servo cable - just the one - any length you want - no Signal Inverter required

NB: FlySky I-Bus support also exists in Baseflight, I';m not certain if its in Stable code yet.

FS-i6 Data Cable
You will need a USB Data Cable to connect the TX to a suitable PC to update the firmware. I have the official cable but you can make up your own if you have an USB FTDI board.  Full easy instructions are here --> https://github.com/benb0jangles/FlySky-i6-Mod-/blob/master/Images%20for%20readme/flysky-diy-cable.jpg 

Make absolutely sure you set the FTDI board to 3.3v before connecting to the FS-i6.

The Softwares
We are going to need to gather the replacement FS-i6 transmitter firmware, and at this time we will also need Developer editions of Cleanflight Configurator and flight software.  However, you won';t need the Cleanflight stuff if you';re using an FS-i10 RX connected using PWM

FlySky Software
The entire FlySky 6 Mod library is on github.com at this location --> https://github.com/benb0jangles/FlySky-i6-Mod-

Specifically, you will need to download the "10ch Mod i6 Updater" from this location --> https://github.com/benb0jangles/FlySky-i6-Mod-/tree/master/10ch%20Mod%20i6%20Updater/10ch_MOD_i6_Programmer_V1_5

Simply right click and "Save As File" the link to "10ch_MOD_i6_Programmer_V1_5.exe" - that contains the updater application and the actual version 1.5 of the modified TX firmware.

Update the FS-i6 Transmitter
Connect up the TX to the PC using the data cable (or homebrew FTDI cable) and check in Windows Device Manager what COMx port is being used. It must be in the range COM2 to COM8, change it by right-clicking the device and selecting Properties if it isn';t. 

Start up the Updater app, set the COMx port (mine was COM4) and using the menus of the TX set it into Firmware Update mode.  Then on the Updater app click the button labelled "Program" and you should see a progress bar turn green as it updates. The process takes less than a minute after which your TX will reboot.

[attach=1]

At this point your FS-i6 has access to up to 10 channels depending on (a) which RX you use and (b) what mode of connection you use to the FC

In the next post I will detail how to update Cleanflight to be able to use this with I-Bus connection.

In this section I will detail how I prepared the Flip32+ flight controller so that it could use FlySky I-Bus (IBus) protocol with a single wire hardware connection to the FS-iA6B RX. 

Warning
At the time of writing you will need to load the Cleanflight Configurator developer version 1.2.0



Lightweight details of how to do this are on the Cleanflight github --> https://github.com/cleanflight/cleanflight-configurator

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1. Clone the repo to any local directory or download it as zip
2. Start Chromium or Google Chrome and go to tools -> extension
3. Check the "Developer mode" checkbox
4. Click on load unpacked extension and point it to the Cleanflight Configurator directory (for example D:/cleanflight-configurator)

I disabled the Stable (non-Dev) version on my PC, just to save any confusion.

Connect your Flip32/Naze32 FC to the PC and then start up Cleanflight Configurator version 1.2.0 or later.

Set the COM port to whatever the FC has chosen.

Go to the Firmware Updater page and set on "Show Unstable Releases"



Then select the latest Cleanflight for the NAZE board. 

Click "Load Firmware [Online] and then click [Flash Firmware] to flash the FC.  A progress bar will show at the bottom of the page, you may need to use the Scroll Bar to reveal it.

Thats it. You';re done. 

Physical Connection of I-Bus
Using a regular servo cable plug one end into the FS-i6B I-Bus Servo port (horizontal port, top right of the RX).  Connect the other end into Input channel 4, ensuring that the power and ground pins to the RX are correctly oriented for a smoke-free zone 

Now you simply (!?) have to configure up the FC as follows (click on pictures to enlarge)

Set up the Serial Port 2 (do not attempt to use SoftSerial, its too slow)


Set up the Receiver Mode and Serial Receiver Provider on Cleanflight



Physical Connection of PWM
This is the easy bit, just hook up the associated RX pins with the Input pins/tabs of the FC.  With the FS-i10 you will have 10 channels to play with. 

Brilliant support here from HandsOn,

As I understand there is yet more to come as the developer refines this yet further and I am sure HandsOn will make this available to us on the site, so well done for spreading the word, and taking the risk with his own kit to prove it works for the rest of us.

I expect many will benefit from this and be able to realise the full 10 channel functionality of this already great budget radio.

Many thanks

Quote from: rotorx on Sunday,January 31, 2016, 17:04:27

As I understand there is yet more to come as the developer refines this yet further

I think telemetry is on it';s way

sweet i nearly sold mine glad i didnt now , it is a great little box to hold

Think I';m going to get one as I can';t get SBUS working with my DHT module. Can';t do with upgrading everything so might as well switch.

Follow the telem stuff here

https://github.com/cleanflight/cleanflight/pull/1723#issuecomment-177662160

Maybe help test if you can.

Mines done,  10channels and they all work.
I use mine together with a 10ch Rx and connected PWM at the moment (will reconnect PPM before too long, now that I know it works)
There is something magical about a 6ch radio twitching 10 servos.... ::)

Got this on mine as well, and a few other mods as well

Proper trainer switch

6 way rotary switch for flight modes

A much underrated adaptable radio