2 == Updating Device Firmware
5 TeleMega, TeleMetrum v2 and newer, EasyMega, EasyMini and TeleDongle v3
11 programmed directly over their USB connectors (self
14 TeleMetrum v1, TeleMini v1.0 and TeleDongle v0.2 are
15 all programmed by using another device as a programmer (pair
16 programming). It's important to recognize which kind of devices
17 you have before trying to reprogram them.
20 You may wish to begin by ensuring you have current firmware
21 images. These are distributed as part of the AltOS software
22 bundle that also includes the AltosUI ground station program.
23 Newer ground station versions typically work fine with older
24 firmware versions, so you don't need to update your devices
25 just to try out new software features. You can always
26 download the most recent version from
27 http://www.altusmetrum.org/AltOS/
31 === Updating TeleMega, TeleMetrum v2 or newer, EasyMega, EasyMini, TeleDongle v3 or TeleBT v3 Firmware
36 === Updating EasyMini Firmware
40 Self-programmable devices are reprogrammed by
41 connecting them to your computer over USB.
43 . Attach a battery if necessary and power switch to
44 the target device. Power up the device.
46 . Using a Micro USB cable, connect the target device to your
47 computer's USB socket.
49 . Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from the File menu.
51 . Select the target device in the Device Selection dialog.
53 . Select the image you want to flash to the device,
54 which should have a name in the form
55 <product>-v<product-version>-<software-version>.ihx,
56 such as EasyMini-v1.0-1.6.0.ihx.
58 . Make sure the configuration parameters are
59 reasonable looking. If the serial number and/or RF
60 configuration values aren't right, you'll need to
63 . Hit the 'OK' button and the software should proceed
64 to flash the device with new firmware, showing a
67 . Verify that the device is working by using the
68 'Configure Altimeter' or 'Configure Groundstation'
69 item to check over the configuration.
71 ==== Recovering From Self-Flashing Failure
73 If the firmware loading fails, it can leave the device
74 unable to boot. Not to worry, you can force the device to
75 start the boot loader instead, which will let you try to
76 flash the device again.
78 On each device, connecting two pins from one of the exposed
79 connectors will force the boot loader to start, even if the
80 regular operating system has been corrupted in some way.
85 Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the companion
86 connector. Pin 1 can be identified by the square pad
87 around it, and then the pins could sequentially across
88 the board. Be very careful to *not* short pin 8 to
89 anything as that is connected directly to the
90 battery. Pin 7 carries 3.3V and the board will crash
91 if that is connected to pin 1, but shouldn't damage
98 Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the companion
99 connector. Pin 1 can be identified by the square pad
100 around it, and then the pins could sequentially across
101 the board. Be very careful to *not* short pin 8 to
102 anything as that is connected directly to the
103 battery. Pin 7 carries 3.3V and the board will crash
104 if that is connected to pin 1, but shouldn't damage
111 Connect pin 5 and pin 1 of the debug connector, which
112 is the six holes next to the beeper. Pin 1 can be
113 identified by the square pad around it, and then the
114 pins could sequentially across the board, making Pin 5
115 the one on the other end of the row.
119 TeleMetrum v2 and newer::
121 Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the companion
122 connector. Pin 1 can be identified by the square pad
123 around it, and then the pins could sequentially across
124 the board. Be very careful to *not* short pin 8 to
125 anything as that is connected directly to the
126 battery. Pin 7 carries 3.3V and the board will crash
127 if that is connected to pin 1, but shouldn't damage
134 Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the debug connector, which
135 is the six holes next to the beeper. Pin 1 can be
136 identified by the square pad around it, and then the
137 pins could sequentially across the board, making Pin 6
138 the one on the other end of the row.
143 Connect pin 32 on the CPU to ground. Pin 32 is the
144 right-most pin on the bottom edge of the CPU when the
145 board is oriented with the USB and battery connectors
150 Connect together pins 1 and 5 of the Debug connector.
151 Pin 1 is the pin with the square pad around the hole.
156 Connect pin 32 on the CPU to ground. Pin 32 is closest
157 to the USB wires on the row of pins towards the center
158 of the board. Ground is available on the capacitor
159 next to it, on the end towards the USB wires.
163 Connect pin 4 on the CPU to 3.3V, which can be done by
164 connecting pin 1 to pin 4. Pin 1 is the left pin on
165 the lower edge of the chip when the unit is oriented
166 such that the SMA is at the top.
170 Connect pin 30 on the CPU to ground. Pin 30 is the 6th
171 pin from the right on the top when the unit is oriented
172 such that the SMA is at the top.
175 Once you've located the right pins:
177 . Turn the altimeter power off.
181 . Connect the indicated terminals together with a
182 short piece of wire. Take care not to accidentally
183 connect anything else.
187 . Turn the board power on.
189 The board should now be visible over USB as
190 'AltosFlash' and be ready to receive firmware. Once
191 the board has been powered up, you can remove the
194 ifdef::telemetrum,telemini[]
197 The big concept to understand is that you have to use
198 a TeleMetrum v1.0, TeleBT v1.0 or TeleDongle v0.2 as a
199 programmer to update a pair programmed device. Due to
200 limited memory resources in the cc1111, we don't
201 support programming directly over USB for these
204 If you need to update the firmware on a TeleDongle
205 v0.2, we recommend updating the altimeter first,
206 before updating TeleDongle. However, note that
207 TeleDongle rarely need to be updated. Any firmware
208 version 1.0.1 or later will work, version 1.2.1 may
209 have improved receiver performance slightly.
211 ==== Updating TeleMetrum v1.x Firmware
213 . Find the 'programming cable' that you got as
214 part of the starter kit, that has a red
215 8-pin MicroMaTch connector on one end and a
216 red 4-pin MicroMaTch connector on the other
219 . Take the 2 screws out of the TeleDongle v0.2
220 or TeleBT v1.0 case to get access to the
223 . Plug the 8-pin end of the programming cable
224 to the matching connector on the TeleDongle
225 v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0, and the 4-pin end to
226 the matching connector on the TeleMetrum.
227 Note that each MicroMaTch connector has an
228 alignment pin that goes through a hole in
229 the PC board when you have the cable
232 . Attach a battery to the TeleMetrum board.
234 . Plug the TeleDongle v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0 into
235 your computer's USB port, and power up the
238 . Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from
241 . Pick the TeleDongle v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0
242 device from the list, identifying it as the
245 . Select the image you want put on the
246 TeleMetrum, which should have a name in the
247 form telemetrum-v1.2-1.0.0.ihx. It should
248 be visible in the default directory, if not
249 you may have to poke around your system to
252 . Make sure the configuration parameters are
253 reasonable looking. If the serial number
254 and/or RF configuration values aren't right,
255 you'll need to change them.
257 . Hit the 'OK' button and the software should
258 proceed to flash the TeleMetrum with new
259 firmware, showing a progress bar.
261 . Confirm that the TeleMetrum board seems to
262 have updated OK, which you can do by
263 plugging in to it over USB and using a
264 terminal program to connect to the board and
265 issue the 'v' command to check the version,
268 If something goes wrong, give it another try.
270 ==== Updating TeleMini v1.0 Firmware
272 You'll need a special 'programming cable' to
273 reprogram the TeleMini v1.0. You can make your own
274 using an 8-pin MicroMaTch connector on one end
275 and a set of four pins on the other.
277 . Take the 2 screws out of the TeleDongle v0.2
278 or TeleBT v1.0 case to get access to the
281 . Plug the 8-pin end of the programming cable
282 to the matching connector on the TeleDongle
283 v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0, and the 4-pins into the
284 holes in the TeleMini v1.0 circuit board. Note
285 that the MicroMaTch connector has an
286 alignment pin that goes through a hole in
287 the PC board when you have the cable
288 oriented correctly, and that pin 1 on the
289 TeleMini v1.0 board is marked with a square pad
290 while the other pins have round pads.
292 . Attach a battery to the TeleMini v1.0 board.
294 . Plug the TeleDongle v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0 into
295 your computer's USB port, and power up the
298 . Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from
301 . Pick the TeleDongle v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0
302 device from the list, identifying it as the
305 . Select the image you want put on the
306 TeleMini v1.0, which should have a name in the
307 form telemini-v1.0-1.0.0.ihx. It should be
308 visible in the default directory, if not you
309 may have to poke around your system to find
312 . Make sure the configuration parameters are
313 reasonable looking. If the serial number
314 and/or RF configuration values aren't right,
315 you'll need to change them.
317 . Hit the 'OK' button and the software should
318 proceed to flash the TeleMini v1.0 with new
319 firmware, showing a progress bar.
321 . Confirm that the TeleMini v1.0 board seems to
322 have updated OK, which you can do by
323 configuring it over the radio link through
324 the TeleDongle, or letting it come up in
325 “flight” mode and listening for telemetry.
327 If something goes wrong, give it another try.
329 ==== Updating TeleDongle v0.2 Firmware
331 Updating TeleDongle v0.2 firmware is just like
332 updating TeleMetrum v1.x or TeleMini v1.0 firmware, but you
333 use either a TeleMetrum v1.x, TeleDongle v0.2 or
334 TeleBT v1.0 as the programmer.
336 . Find the 'programming cable' that you got as part of
337 the starter kit, that has a red 8-pin MicroMaTch
338 connector on one end and a red 4-pin MicroMaTch
339 connector on the other end.
341 . Find the USB cable that you got as part of the
342 starter kit, and plug the “mini” end in to the
343 mating connector on TeleMetrum v1.x, TeleDongle v0.2
346 . Take the 2 screws out of the TeleDongle v0.2 or
347 TeleBT v1.0 case to get access to the circuit board.
349 . Plug the 8-pin end of the programming cable to the
350 matching connector on the programmer, and the 4-pin
351 end to the matching connector on the TeleDongle
352 v0.2. Note that each MicroMaTch connector has an
353 alignment pin that goes through a hole in the PC
354 board when you have the cable oriented correctly.
356 . Attach a battery to the TeleMetrum v1.x board if
359 . Plug both the programmer and the TeleDongle into
360 your computer's USB ports, and power up the
363 . Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from the File
366 . Pick the programmer device from the list,
367 identifying it as the programming device.
370 . Select the image you want put on the TeleDongle
371 v0.2, which should have a name in the form
372 teledongle-v0.2-1.0.0.ihx. It should be visible in
373 the default directory, if not you may have to poke
374 around your system to find it.
376 . Make sure the configuration parameters are
377 reasonable looking. If the serial number and/or RF
378 configuration values aren't right, you'll need to
379 change them. The TeleDongle v0.2 serial number is
380 on the “bottom” of the circuit board, and can
381 usually be read through the translucent blue plastic
382 case without needing to remove the board from the
385 . Hit the 'OK' button and the software should proceed
386 to flash the TeleDongle v0.2 with new firmware,
387 showing a progress bar.
389 . Confirm that the TeleDongle v0.2 board seems to have
390 updated OK, which you can do by plugging in to it
391 over USB and using a terminal program to connect to
392 the board and issue the 'v' command to check the
393 version, etc. Once you're happy, remove the
394 programming cable and put the cover back on the
397 If something goes wrong, give it another try.
399 Be careful removing the programming cable from the
400 locking 8-pin connector on TeleMetrum. You'll need a
401 fingernail or perhaps a thin screwdriver or knife
402 blade to gently pry the locking ears out slightly to
403 extract the connector. We used a locking connector on
404 TeleMetrum to help ensure that the cabling to
405 companion boards used in a rocket don't ever come
406 loose accidentally in flight.
407 endif::telemetrum,telemini[]