Question on uploading

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Dave McDDD
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Joined: 28 Apr 2020, 19:37

Re: Question on uploading

Post by Dave McDDD »

After searching the Archives, I found the Redboard mods under the Reeduino section in P19. I don't remember looking there before, but at least it didn't disappear.

It turns out my redboard has a different foil track layout than the one shown in the archive. Modifying it to electrically match the archive will just involve cutting the track in a different location.

Thanks for the help!
Built a Heathkit GD-19 in 1969. Been flying RC ever since!
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Phil_G
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Re: Question on uploading

Post by Phil_G »

Hi Dave, welcome aboard. Remember that none of the mods are essential, the idea is that they just make the job easier by providing a three-pin header for the module, carrying battery pos, neg and PPM.

You could omit the mods and take battery pos from the on/off switch, and the PPM schottky is only necessary for the very early modules like the Frsky V8 and the Corona CT8Z which are unlikely to be found now.

Moving PPM from D13 to D0 was also a convenience thing, the DIY-More 'Strong' board mod again is purely to give a 3-pin battery/neg/ppm header for the module using D0. Its all about convenience, none of the mods are strictly necessary.

Reds are great for experimenting but the DIY-More Strong board is the best we've found so far, its smaller, its integrated, it uses a crystal rather than the 16mhz resonator on the Nanos, the mod is easy to do with no track cuts, its cheaper than a red+nano combination, it comes in 5v and 3v3 versions which is handy for some projects (NRF etc)... no wonder its our favourite board :D

Incidentally reds also come in blue :lol:

Cheers
Phil
Dave McDDD
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Joined: 28 Apr 2020, 19:37

Re: Question on uploading

Post by Dave McDDD »

Phil, first I want to thank you for developing and publishing the Arduino encoder! This makes retro conversions not only possible, but also much more likely to succeed.

I suspected the redboard mod was simply a convenience feature to group together the signal, power, and ground connections to the RF deck.
Phil_G wrote: 30 Apr 2020, 10:51 You could omit the mods and take battery pos from the on/off switch, and the PPM schottky is only necessary for the very early modules like the Frsky V8 and the Corona CT8Z which are unlikely to be found now.
Thank you for clearing that up! I was wondering why a schottky was used instead of a simple jumper wire.
Phil_G wrote: 30 Apr 2020, 10:51 Reds are great for experimenting but the DIY-More Strong board is the best we've found so far, its smaller, its integrated, it uses a crystal rather than the 16mhz resonator on the Nanos,
My scope seems to be having some difficulty locking onto a stable PPM output display. I can still see the pulse train, but it's almost like the timing isn't stable enough for the scope to lock in the display. Could this be the difference between timing with a resonator versus a crystal? Or am I on the wrong track?

Now that I know Nano encoder worked on the bench, I'll order some DIY-More Strong boards for the actual conversions.

Thanks again!
Built a Heathkit GD-19 in 1969. Been flying RC ever since!
Dave McDDD
Posts: 24
Joined: 28 Apr 2020, 19:37

Re: Question on uploading

Post by Dave McDDD »

Phil_G wrote: 01 May 2020, 10:05 Thanks for the nice comments :D they' are only simple contributions amongst many more elaborate alternatives :D
One more quick question.
Is there a simple way to eliminate channel 7 from being added to the pulse train? Can this be done without disabling the range check function? (Even though the Anylink2 doesn't have a range check mode as far as I know.)
Built a Heathkit GD-19 in 1969. Been flying RC ever since!
Dave McDDD
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Joined: 28 Apr 2020, 19:37

Re: Question on uploading

Post by Dave McDDD »

Phil_G wrote: 01 May 2020, 10:05 To display stable PPM on a scope you need a sync per frame - my siglent has 'trigger on interval' which I set to 3ms. That gives a rock-steady display. You cant trigger on pulses as they're not contiguous.
Alternatively get the encoder to output a separate momentary trigger pulse on a spare pin during the sync.

I just got a Hantek DSO5102P scope a few weeks ago, and I'm still learning to use it. In fact, this conversion project was the perfect excuse to finally buy a scope. I'll look for the "trigger on interval" function instead of relying on the "Autoset" button.
Phil_G wrote: 01 May 2020, 10:05 Re channel 7, anything is possible, but why? ;)
According to Hobbico, the Anylink2 can only transmit the first 6 channels, so the channel 7 pulse gets ignored anyway.

Ideally it would be better (for me) to reassign the channel 7 output function to channel 5. This would make it much more useful for retracts, flaps, etc. with a 6 channel receiver, and still keep the servo-slow function.

EDIT: Hobbico is mistaken. I'm able to receive channel 7 on a Tactic 8 channel receiver using the Anylink2 RF module. So eliminating channel 7 is no longer an issue. But it would still be nice to move the servo slow function to channel 5 if possible.
Last edited by Dave McDDD on 01 May 2020, 21:09, edited 3 times in total.
Built a Heathkit GD-19 in 1969. Been flying RC ever since!
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Mike_K
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Re: Question on uploading

Post by Mike_K »

Phil_G wrote: 01 May 2020, 10:05 To display PPM on a scope you need a sync per frame
Hi Phil

I often use either a cheap logic analyser or a Picoscope digital storage scope, both are USB devices that you connect to your PC and can save traces to disk so that you can view the ppm frames afterwards, though I appreciate the logic analyser can't view in real-time. But as the logic analysers only cost around £12 from a UK seller, I think they are an affordable option. In fact, you can get them for around £6 from Banggood, if you shop around and don't mind waiting.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Logic-Analys ... accbae84ea

Logic_Analyser_Typical.jpg

The Picoscope's are a lot more expensive though! You can pick up working second-hand ones on eBay for a reasonable price, the latest software still supports all their models including all the old ones and I can't fault mine, though I would love one of their newer and faster models.

Both can decode SPI, I2C, serial (and hence S-BUS) etc, so are very versatile. Where my Picoscope loses out is that it is only 4 channels and 20MHz, any faster and the old "steam-powered" Tektronix scope has to come off the shelf.

Mike
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