Getting Started with FrSky radios and OpenTX software

[DonStegall]

As a software engineer and software architect, I have to document a lot of what I do in my jobs. I find it easier to document systems as I learn them instead of after the fact. Then I can refer back to my documentation and correct it as needed.

There are lots of of videos on "FrSky" radios and the OpenTX" operating system that runs on them. Since this is a pylon focused forum, I'm going to document my journey into learning this equipment that is new to me. I have been flying the Taranis for a couple of years. But a friend set it up for my FPV racing drones and I'm just now really working on learning the radio and system.

I'm attaching actual photos I've taken, instead of the promo and product listing photos.

I have the Taranis X9D Plus edition of the transmitter.

I added one new option today. I got some Apex RC Products Red Aluminum Futaba / Spektrum DX6 DX6i DX7S DX8 DX9 / Taranis X9DRC Transmitter Gimbal Stick Ends #1711. I like these better than the Apex RC Products Red Futaba / Spektrum DX5i DX6 DX6i DX7S DX8 DX9 / Taranis X9D Umbrella Transmitter Gimbal Sticks Ends #1714. The first ones provide more thumb grip. I fly with my thumbs and I don't pinch the sticks. The umbrella sticks would be easier on your thumbs is you pinch the sticks. These are compatible with most radios. At least they should work on Futaba,Spektrum, and Taranis.

Here is my transmitter with the new stick ends.

I had heard that OpenTX had a transmitter screen capture function. My Google searches turned up messages saying it can be done, but I found a video in French here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT0T5NKapnY that shows how to do it.

Press the "MENU" button and the transmitter is is MODEL SELECTION mode.The press the "PAGE" button until you get to "SPECIAL FUNCTIONS". I assigned SF1 to SH↓ (or SH▼ for readability here) to the "Screenshot" option. So pulling back on the SH switch takes a screenshot. Plug in the transmitter to a Windows computer using a USB A Male to USB Mini Male ... like https://amzn.to/2HXEDOs ... You will have a choice of picking USB Joystick or USB Storage modes. To access the data including screenshots on the Tx, pick USB Storage. Then you will find the screenshots in a folder on the transmitter called SCREENSHOTS which will appear in a USB Drive folder.

I have a model on my Tx that is set up for the FPV drone simulator called "Velocidrone". Since my pylon racing add-on's for RealFlight 8 are what I practice pylon racing on, I'm going to see if I can get the FrSky working with RealFlight 8. Even if I have to create a new model.

[DonStegall]

My FPV Racing Drone Velocidrone model memory was not appropriate for use controlling RealFlight 8 and planes.

I created a new model in the OpenTX Companion and walked through the wizard that set up channels.

I wound up deleting all if the Inputs, Mixes, and Outputs.

In reasonably short order, I had a working model with the controls mapped and some switches mapped.

I remapped the momentary SH switch to be the Kill Engine / Reset Position switch. I currently have the flaps set the Switch C, and I have the rates mapped to Switch A. I just need to map a switch to the Flight Mode which controls (on a P-51) Smoke and Canopy retraction. Should be easy. I will share my RealFlight model when I have the basic setup complete. I plan to use the simulator to learn how to set up mixes for different kinds of models before I commit to using the system with real money eating airplanes.

I also hooked up the S8R receiver to the USB STK (S.Port ToolKit) and re-calibrated the stabilization on the receiver.

I'm doing the work from my Windows 10 Desktop. When I set everything up on my WIndows 10 Touchscreen Laptop, I will document the order and procedures I use to get the software on that computer ready for field action.

I watched a couple of videos on https://www.frsky-rc.com/ and they call the systems "Free-Sky" and not "F.R.Sky", so in my videos I will say it like Free Sky.

[DonStegall]

Disclaimer: I'm very new to FrSky and OpenTX. I may write something that is not correct and others may have differing opinions. If you have a different or better way, please share your comments and suggestions.

If you are going to do any upgrading of firmware in your FrSky receivers or telemetry receivers, you need the FrSky STK Tool for S.Port Products Upgrading and S6R/S8R Receivers Configuration Tool ... Get it on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2IiCEnf or HobbyKing https://hobbyking.com/en_us/stk-with-up ... -side.html ... You can also get it from https://www.getfpv.com/ at https://www.getfpv.com/frsky-s-port-tool-kit-stk.html and most any place that sells FrSky equipment.

I will be getting at least one more since they are inexpensive and not having a link from your computer to your FrSky equipment is not something to waste time over.

I also recommend getting a 3' to 6' USB A Male to USB A Female cable like this one AmazonBasics USB 2.0 Extension Cable - A-Male to A-Female - 6.5 Feet (2 Meters) or this one AmazonBasics USB 2.0 Extension Cable - A-Male to A-Female - 3.3 Feet (1 Meters).

I'm doing my initial work on a Windows 10 Desktop and I don't want to be reaching for the USB ports. Having the cables makes it easy to have the STK where I need it. And having space to work at the flying field can be the difference in getting something fixed and not getting it the way you want it.

I have a lot of experience with the CP210x_VCP_Windows drivers which is probably why I did not have any trouble with getting the STK to work. The drivers on the page at https://www.frsky-rc.com/stk/ say they are for Driver-Windows XP/7/8/Vista but they work for Windows 10. I have installed the x64 drivers, but will be trying try x86 on a little Windows 10 Atom CPU based computer. When I install them on my Windows 10 AMD Touchscreen Laptop, I will document the entire procedure. The biggest issue I had with the STK was getting the USB connector fully seated. Mine bound a little and I need a little extra push.

After you get the STK and drivers installed, you will be able to update your receivers with S.Port and S.Port telemetry sensors.

Setting up stabilization on the S6R and S8R receivers becomes much easier as well with the STK.

[DonStegall]

I have created an OpenTX model for RealFlight for Mode 2 I'm using OpenTX 2.2.3.

I have it working using the RealFlight built in software controls and mixing for the most part.

The switch assignments are:

SA - Dual Rates
SC - Flaps
SG - Gear
SH - Reset Position

You can get an OTX file with a single model at https://www.dropbox.com/home/FrSky%20Sh ... ht_V1D.otx

Next up is turning off the RealFlight channel mixing and features and learning how to set up the OpenTX for dual rates, mixing, etc.

I have a LOT to learn. Being able to back up the entire radio on the computer and exploring the functions is very liberating.

The fun part is that I'm flying the simulator a lot and I always get better the more stick time I get.

Don't know if I will be comfortable enough with it by the OJA Spring Race on May 4th and 5th to use it in EF1 or 424 though.

I have a lot of tutorials to watch. But it seems like a good investment of time.

Does anyone out there in pylon land have the Horus X10S ???

[DonStegall]

In case you missed this in the "Tutorials..." thread.

I have a 1TB DropBox account. (Maybe even more space than that)

I have created a folder for sharing FrSky setups at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x5geas2udj1u ... cqUua?dl=0

Everyone has read access. Only people I add will have Edit/Upload access.

If you would like to share your stuff, You can email me at Don.F.Stegall@gmail.com

I will create a folder for you and this can be a good community building hotspot.

[DonStegall]

This YouTube Playlist is on my "Must Watch" list now that I have a little introduction to OpenTX and the FrSky radios.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 3D8LKjX0FC

[DonStegall]

Cindy and I went to eat on Friday night, drop off a shipment of cab-o-sil going to Amazon, get some more Bankers Boxes, shop at Guitar Centers and a few other errands. When we were on the way home, my air indicator for my right rear time came on and the tire went to flat pretty quickly. So the night turned into something other than what I had planned of doing guitar maintenance videos for http://MakeSomeMusicTV.com.

When I got home I decided I wanted to work with the FrSky radio and the OpenTX Companion software to see if I could apply some of what I have learned.

I'm going to put the first setup in one of these in red and white ... ClubWingman.com ... http://www.abmshowcase.com/the_wings_ma ... fault.aspx



I setup an S8R receiver https://www.frsky-rc.com/product/s8r-2/ ... The video on that page is short and provides some information but not a lot

I have a bunch of Hitec HS-5085MG servos waiting for use in EF1 and other light planes like the Wingman II. I got 8 of them and hooked them up to the S8R on all eight channels. I call it my "Lab" setup since I will be creating models for several planes that I'm putting together.

It is best to learn new radios on the bench and not in planes. You can make much more progress not dealing with linkages and awkward handling of the plane or planes. I'm doing a 10' wingspan plane and some 80" P-51 planes. Handling those while working on a radio would be a severe time waster.

I see people plugging battery packs into receivers and unplugging them a lot. Save yourself time and frustration by putting a receiver switch on your Lab setup.

I backed up my transmitter using OpenTX Companion and deleted all of the models. I was able to get a new model called WingmanII created using the New Model Wizard and I got it set up for multiple rates on Aileron, Elevator, and Rudder.

This is what the setup looks like for the basic controls.

This morning I changed the servo horns to have prong arms so I can see what the servos are doing easier.

I have not started working on stabilization and telemetry for this model yet.

I took a bunch of screen shots and will document in pictures and words what I did to get to this point

[DonStegall]

If you are going to use a FrSky radio or any radio using in the OpenTX transmitter operating system, you are going to need a computer do do very much.

Windows is the most fully supported computer operating system with support for the OpenTX Companion software and many of the FrSky devices. Windows 10 is what I'm using on a PC. The OpenTX Companion software is also supported on macOS and Linux. I have not found Mac and Linux versions of some of the software like the PC Config application used for setting up the FrSky S6R and S8R receivers with 3-axis stabilization and telemetry. Maybe it's out there and I just haven't found it yet.

On the Taranis transmitter (Tx), when I hold the rudder and aileron trims inward and power on the Tx, I get a screen that looks somewhat like this:

Taranis BootLoader - 2.1.6

Write Firmware
Restore EEPROM
Exit

Or plug in a USB cable for mass storage

On the back of the Tx is a USB Mini female connector. Plugging in a USB A Male to USB Mini male cable opens two devices in WIndows that appear as drives:. One has a name of USB Drive. The other has a name of TARANIS.

Now the fun can begin.

The USB Drive is actually a microSD card that is inside the Tx battery hatch. I'm not sure of the size of the SD card, but it looks to be a 1GB installed in mine.

You can copy files to the SD card which has a directory structure on it corresponding to folders that the Tx data is organized into.

The SOUNDS folder holds the audio WAV files that are used for callouts of voice prompts, telemetry information, and other spoken output. Multiple languages are supported and you can replace the prompts with your own sounds or sounds created by others.

The SCRIPTS folder hold what are known as LUA Scripts. It is said like "LOU-uh". These are effectively programs that add additional functionality to the base OpenTX operating system. There are scripts for doing things like setting up a new model and calibrating stabilizing receivers. LUA scripts are very flexible. From what I have read and heard, LUA scripts may be specific to particular transmitter models and their screens. The latest radio from FrSky is the Horus X10S which has a bigger full color screen that can display more information. You can likely write LUA scripts that will require the bigger full color screen of the Horus X10S. Whether or not these will run on the Taranis is something I do not know yet.

The SCRIPTS\WIZARD folder has LUA scripts in it, plus some BMP files like these:

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flaps-1.png (3.66 KiB) Viewed 4061 times

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I have increased these images by 400 percent. The screen on the Taranis is not a real high resolution screen, but it does have grayscale. The screen is 212 x 64 pixels and has a bit depth of 4. This means it should have 16 shades from white to black.

The images in the SCRIPTS\WIZARD folder are used by the new model LUA scripts to show what you are choosing when you set up a mode l on the TX and not when using the OpenTX Companion software.

Next I will show how I progressed through OpenTX Companion to create a new model for the Wingman II that I will be putting together to test the EF1 power systems and get to know the TX well enough to use on an EF1 plane.

[DonStegall]

After getting the Tx connected to the computer, it is possible to modify all of the models, radio setup, the firmware of the Tx, and anything on the transmitter. One of the great things is that you can see EVERYTHING on the computer. You can fully backup the radio on files on your computer. And you can restore the Tx from any of your saved So it is very easy to keep your work at any point in time. You should save your files onto external storage lik an SD card or USB drive.

I retrieved my transmitter. I had cleared the model memory and created a model for flying the RealFlight 8 simulator. I've been practicing EF1 and Club 40.

Here I have deleted all of the models.

I created a new model in Slot 1. This starts a wizard to walk you through basic setup.

Here I changed the name of the model to WIngmanII

If the model is not a glider, select an engine and assign the channel. I have my transmitter set up for AETR (Aileron, Elevator, Throttle, Rudder) because the S8R receiver has the channels in this order. I plan to the S6R and S8R receivers because they have stabilization and telemetry and the s8R is $55 or less.

The Wingman II is a conventional wing plane so I picked the standard wing.

[DonStegall]

These are the rest of thee new model wizard pages I walked through.

You have options on things like no aileron, single servo, or dual aileron servos, and what channels they are on.

I always use dual aileron servos when I can so I can use differential to straighten out any roll issues like a barrel roll. I like my planes to roll 100% accurately. I know how to do this on Spektrum, but have not learned it in OpenTX so far.

When I do a plane with flaps, I like to use programmable digital servos so I can reverse one of them and use a single channel. You usually only need flaps for landing and possibly takeoff. If I need to make adjustments to one servo or the other, I use a digital programmer like these for Hitec servos. Hitec HPP-21 Digital Servo Programmer and Hitec HPP-21 Plus Digital Servo Programmer .. My HPP-21 stays on my computer desk because you have to use a computer with it. I have misplaced my HPP-21+ but I expect to find it while I finish up my shop cleanup. I use these to cycle, test, and program servos.

[DonStegall]

Here is what the initial model looks like.

This is the main model setting screen.

This model initial only has 4 inputs.

These are the mixes. You can see that Channel 5 is the other aileron servo with a weighting of -100. This reverses that aileron input.

On Channel 3 the SF switch cuts the throttle (an electric motor on this model). It is currently set to cut when the switch is towards the back. I anted to change this because I like to pull the switch back to cut a throttle. It is easy to bump it forward for enabling the engine.

On this page I set up the H so that I pull it back to me to grab a screenshot bitmap image of the Tx screen.

Now it is time too write the initial setup to the transmitter and see how it works. After transferring the setup to the radio, you eject the USB Drive and the TARANIS drives. Then disconnect the cable from the TX, and turn the Tx off. The model now needs to be bound to the receiver for the model memory.

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[DonStegall]

This shows the mixes with the Throttle Cut on the F switch pushed forward.

Clicking on the Cut brings up the dialog to change the parameters.

Here I have changed the cut for when the F switch is pulled back.

Now I start on editing the elevator

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Here the Curve is changed to expo and Expo is set to 25

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Now you can see the Expo applied to Elevator.

[DonStegall]

The Elevator with no rates applied and Expo of 25.

Here is the Elevator set up for three rates with expo at 25 for each rate.

I changed the Elevator witch to be the SD switch which is on the right top front D switch. Aileron is the top right G switch in the top right corner. Rudder is on the top left front A switch. I have the rates so that up or forward is high and down or back is low. That's just how I like my rate switches set up. And while I could use a single switch for all three and probably will in the future. I want to be able to tune them individually in different setups. When I do the EF1 planes, I will use a single switch after getting the throws, expo, differential, etc, worked out

[DonStegall]

There are many videos about OpenTX and FrSky radios on YouTube and other video services.

One good documentation resource is at OpenTX University.

I will continue to document my efforts at learning and using OpenTX.

[DonStegall]

Jason Oliver posted on my personal Facebook page an attack on my posting on the NMPRA forums.

I'm documenting what I do and learn so others may benefit from what I learn and do.

I have taken a deep dive into OpenTX and FrSky radio equipment. I have a lot more to share including a lot of stabilization and telemetry work. I have many new videos in progress.

He stated that no one wants to see this stuff and that I need to stop posting here and wasting people's time.

I don't care about the people that don't like what I write and do.

If only one person besides me benefits at all, I feel it is worthwhile.

I get lots of emails, so I know that what I do matters to some people.

But I can shift all of my posting to Facebook and RCPRO.

If you want to see more or if you at least find what I'm doing informative or somewhat interesting, please post a message here so I know and others know.