Turnigy 9X er9x firmware flashing step by step.

[rokit5]

Hey all, Yet again another step by step, this time its Flashing the Turnigy 9X with the ER9X firmware.

First things first, What you will need:
USBasp programmer (I got mine from HK)
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__21321__USBasp_AVR_Programming_Device_for_ATMEL_proccessors.html

Software for flashing the 9X (I used EEPE an EEprom editor) Downloadable from here:
http://code.google.com/p/eepe/

Now you will need the ER9X firmware, Downloadable from here:
http://code.google.com/p/er9x/
You will need the ER9x HEX file, Right click on the file and click: save link as.

The next bit is a bit tricky if your not good at soldering, you will need to open up the back of your 9x and do a bit of soldering on the main board. Here';s a few pictures of the main board and the layout of the pads you will need to solder your wires to.
Unscrew the six screws from the back of your 9X Tx. The back part is connected to the main board via a long plug, this will need to be unplugged.
The programmer pin layout is as follows:

The main board pad layout are as follows:

You may find if you have the V1 main board that the SCK pad is to the left on pin 9 of the CPU.
I used some coloured ribbon cable but if your using the original grey ribbon cable you will need to cut one of the plugs off and strip back the wires and lightly tin the wires ready for soldering to there correct pads.

This part is very important...The wires must be soldered to the correct pads on the main board ensuring that theirs no excess solder that could cause a short circuit. It doesn';t hurt to check once or twice or maybe even three times.

Once the programmers ribbon cable wires have been correctly soldered on to the pad it';s time to prepare your computer.
Install the eepe software and leave all the settings as default.
Plug the programmer into you computer without the ribbon cable and install it using the driver from here:
http://code.google.com/p/er9x/downloads/detail?name=USBasp-win-driver-x86-x64-ia64-v1.2.4.zip&can=2&q=
The back part of the Tx will need to be plugged back in to the main board, remember the long plug? Remove the battery, you won';t need it for the next few steps.
Unplug the programmer from your computer and plug in the ribbon cable and then plug the programmer back into the same usb socket as before.
If you have soldered the wires correctly the 9X should power up as normal. If it doesn';t power up then hopefully theirs no major damage caused to the main board...check the wires and circuit for any noticable problems, correct them and plug it back in to the progammer...

With the 9X powered up via the programmer, start up the eepe software.
Click the blue cog icon and the settings should look like this:

Adjust settings if needed.
To the left of the blue cog icon there is two Tx icons, one with a green arrow (upload from the Tx) the other has an orange burn symbol (Burn firmware to the Tx)
Click the Tx icon with the orange burn symbol, this will open a window asking you to select the firmware file which will be the er9x.hex file you downloaded earlier. It will then prompt you with this message: "write er9x.hex to flash memory" Click yes.
If your programmer has been installed correctly it should start to burn the new firmware to your 9X Tx, the 9X screen should be blank while this is happening so don';t be alarmed. Once completed the 9X Tx will display an bad memory message, unplug the programmer and pop the ribbon cable inside the 9X Tx temporarily. close the casing and screw the Tx back together, (6 screws) Reinsert the battery pack and switch the Tx back on. After pressing any key to clear the error message and finish the installation you should be done with the computer.
The new ER9x firmware is a little different to the old TRY9X firmware so you should download the ER9x manual from here:
http://code.google.com/p/er9x/
Next time you switch the 9X Tx on the splash screen should look like this:


Thats all you need to do. You can leave the ribbon cable inside the Tx for future flash updates or I fitted the Programmer inside the Tx and just changed the usb plug to a socket:

With a nice neat usb socket on the outside:


Additional information:
http://code.google.com/p/er9x/downloads/detail?name=Flashing%20the%209x.pdf
I had a few problems whilst flashing mine so I';d like to thank, Chris aka Teslahed and Ian aka smeagol for there direction.
I have tried to make it as step by step as possible and also as easy as possible to follow. I';m sure I';ve covered everything but if you feel you can add to any of the steps, feel free.

If you have any problems here';s a few things to check:
Dry solder joints.
Short circuits.
Ribbon wires soldered on the correct pads.
Stray strands of wire touching other components.
Software installed correctly.
Programmer installed with the latest driver. (driver date: 08/04/2011
version: 1.2.4.0)
The ribbon cable between the programmer and the main board should be as short as possible.

[rokit5]

****If your not happy doing your own mods then I am happy to do them for you, for a small fee. PM me with your requests****

[GdLookinMingeR]

****If your not happy doing your own mods then I am happy to do them for you, for a small fee. PM me with your requests****

If you want a less evasive installation, i update your firmware via smartiparts board for a small fee. Same day upgrade and old firmware hex emailed back in the event you wish to return to the old system.

£8.00 per upgrade + return postage

P.S. Excellent Post Rokit5 for all you budding engineers get doing it.

[guest2350]

I love that installation rokit5!!

[MacGyverUK]

Hey guys, looking for a little advice on this topic.
I';ve been at it on and off for months. Is the process exactly the same for the FlySky 9X or are there diffirences im missing?

I have checked and rechecked everything 

i have checked for  continuity from the USBasp all the back to the legs of the Atmega64A in the TX.

I have made sure the USBasp is correctly installed with the correct drivers

eepe is correctly installed

tried diffirent builds of ER9X

the response (or lack of is always the same)
//
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.
//

[Paul01]

Have you tried reversing the MISO and MOSI wires just incase they are labeled wrong? as far as im aware both radios are identical as the Turnigy is just a rebranded flysky, the issue you are getting suggests an issue with the FTDI adapter your using or the wiring.

[rokit5]

Check the port settings and also the programmer type, could be that. To find out the port go into device manager and look under Universal serial bus, the programmer should be listed there. Are you embedding the programmer into the Tx?

[forest]

Hey guys, looking for a little advice on this topic.
I';ve been at it on and off for months. Is the process exactly the same for the FlySky 9X or are there diffirences im missing?

I have checked and rechecked everything 

i have checked for  continuity from the USBasp all the back to the legs of the Atmega64A in the TX.

I have made sure the USBasp is correctly installed with the correct drivers

eepe is correctly installed

tried diffirent builds of ER9X

the response (or lack of is always the same)
//
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.
//

ive just had the very same thing i was scatching my head for a week , it was a long week i can tell you! in the end i bit the bullet and bought a arduino uno and it went silky smooth, it turns out it was the cheap usbisp i had (and it didnt have the troublesome resistor pack some have) some remove the little yellow cap next to the rst wire to make it work,    there lot of info in this on the 9xforums  and prob the best place to seek help

if i had seen GoodlookingmingeR offer to do it for 8 quid i would of jumped at it lol  and saved my self a whole week  on the plus side i learnt a lot    i got to test the er9x today for real and i love it

[rokit5]

Well remembered, I had completely forgot about the programmer issue. I always use the same Hobby King KK programmer in anything related. They';re dirt cheap and always worth buying 3 or 4 when ever possible.
I can';t remember the programmers with this problem. Pop on chat and ask Gaza07 or Teslahed I';m sure with there wealth of knowledge they can steer you in the right direction. Any findings post here...

[MacGyverUK]

I have indeed tried switching MISO and MOSI around.
the port seems to be fine
Ocasionally I get some comms the the 9x allowing me to read for its EEPROM and when I try anything it pings the RST line and the transmitter blinks off and on.

I Looked up the pinout for the ATMEL chip  and it didn';t seem to tie in with the labels but there';s a chance I';m just misinterpreting it.
It may well be a duff Programmer. I do have an Arduino UNO. I';ll maybe look up the process of using that and see if there is any success that way.