Full Written Tutorial
This is not a difficult process but I highly recommend you have intermediate to advanced soldering skills and a decent fine tip soldering iron.
Do not use a soldering gun or anything with a massive chisel tip!
Do not use a soldering gun or anything with a massive chisel tip!
Step one: Liberating the Module
First you will need to remove the two screws on the module and get the back plate off. You should see where the antenna wire comes into the module and is soldered to the PCB. Take your soldering iron and heat both points of the antenna. There will be a ground shield and active element past that. Those must remain independent. Once you have desoldered the antenna wire, remove the plastic antenna from the top of the TX with a single screw. Pull the wire through the TX and now you can remove the module from the TX.
Now re-solder the ground and active elements of the antenna wire to the module's PCB where it came from. Be very careful not to connect the ground and center wire. They MUST be separate or you will have a short in the antenna.
The next step is to put a slot in the back plate of the module. I used a soldering iron but you can dremel it or cut it with a knife if you choose. Now you can stuff the antenna wire into the module being careful not to kink the wire. Screw the plate back on the module and secure the antenna. You can see in the pictures that I was using the soldering iron to "weld" the plastic of the case and antenna together, This works well for strength but is slighty hazardous due to plastic fumes. You can also use glue. Now you have a working stock module that is independent from the TX!
Now re-solder the ground and active elements of the antenna wire to the module's PCB where it came from. Be very careful not to connect the ground and center wire. They MUST be separate or you will have a short in the antenna.
The next step is to put a slot in the back plate of the module. I used a soldering iron but you can dremel it or cut it with a knife if you choose. Now you can stuff the antenna wire into the module being careful not to kink the wire. Screw the plate back on the module and secure the antenna. You can see in the pictures that I was using the soldering iron to "weld" the plastic of the case and antenna together, This works well for strength but is slighty hazardous due to plastic fumes. You can also use glue. Now you have a working stock module that is independent from the TX!
Step Two: Taking the TX Apart
Next up is taking the TX apart so we can get access to the main processor. There will be 6 phillips screws to remove. Be careful not to strip the heads.
Now that you have removed all 6 screws, you will need to disconnect a ribbon cable in order to separate the halves fully. Try your best to pull on the cable from the plastic plug and not the cables themselves.
Now that you have removed all 6 screws, you will need to disconnect a ribbon cable in order to separate the halves fully. Try your best to pull on the cable from the plastic plug and not the cables themselves.
Step Three: Building the Wiring Adaptor
This part can be as simple or complicated as you want. The only goal you should have is safely getting your AVR programmer hooked up correctly to the TX. I used some female servo connectors and removed the surrounding plastic to expose the pins. With two of these glued together, you have a perfect match with the 6 pin coming off the programmer.
Pay careful attention to the order of the pins. Follow this diagram exactly. Mark the end of your wires any way you can to ensure you know what wire goes where.
Pay careful attention to the order of the pins. Follow this diagram exactly. Mark the end of your wires any way you can to ensure you know what wire goes where.
Step Four: Locating and Soldering the Pads
Now we get to the fun part! You need to locate and tin the flashing pads on the TX. This photo tells you exactly what pads will match with the AVR adaptor you have made. When soldering you need to be very careful not to overheat the PCB. If you have high heat, use some flux and you should only need to touch the tip for a second to get the solder to flow.
Now you have tinned the pads, get your adaptor and gently solder the corresponding wires to their pads making sure you don't use too much solder and flow onto another contact.
Now you have tinned the pads, get your adaptor and gently solder the corresponding wires to their pads making sure you don't use too much solder and flow onto another contact.
Step Five: Flashing with EEPE
This part is surprisingly simple. Use the links above and download the program EEPE. With this tool, you will be able to flash your 9X and even customize your own splash screen! Once you have the program installed, confirm if you need a driver for the AVR programmer. Most do not but most often a PC will. You should be able to find the driver on the site where you bought the programmer.
Now, plug the AVR into your computer and start up EEPE. Upon start up, the program will tell you if there is a new version of ER9X available. With your approval, it will download it. Now all you need to do is select "flash firmware to TX" and select your newly downloaded .Hex file. You will see the processing screen as is reads and writes. If all goes well, you will see "AVRDUDE finished correctly".
Now, plug the AVR into your computer and start up EEPE. Upon start up, the program will tell you if there is a new version of ER9X available. With your approval, it will download it. Now all you need to do is select "flash firmware to TX" and select your newly downloaded .Hex file. You will see the processing screen as is reads and writes. If all goes well, you will see "AVRDUDE finished correctly".
Step Six: Reassemble and go FLY!
Now all you need to do is desolder all 6 pins and plug that ribbon cable back in. Replace the six screws and plug your battery in. Turn it on and you should see a warning for bad EEprom data. Just click any button and it will clear the bad data.
Congratulations!
You are now running the newest ER9X firmware
HTML Comment Box is loading comments...