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 TeleMini v3 can be updated directly over USB, but has no USB connector
21 on the board. Instead, the USB signals are present on a row of 6
22 holes adjacent to the copyright assertion in the silk screen. Thus,
23 updating firmware on TeleMini v3 requires making up a special cable,
24 after which you can treat it just like TeleMetrum or TeleMega. Many
25 USB cables seem to follow the color code of red is +5V, black is GND,
26 green is USB +, and white is USB -. On TeleMini v3, pin 3 which has
27 a square copper pad is ground, pin 1 is USB -, and pin 2 is USB +.
29 You may wish to begin by ensuring you have current firmware
30 images. These are distributed as part of the AltOS software
31 bundle that also includes the AltosUI ground station program.
32 Newer ground station versions typically work fine with older
33 firmware versions, so you don't need to update your devices
34 just to try out new software features. You can always
35 download the most recent version from
36 http://www.altusmetrum.org/AltOS/
40 === Updating TeleMega, TeleMetrum v2 or newer, TeleMini v3, EasyMega, EasyMini, TeleDongle v3 or TeleBT v3 Firmware
45 === Updating EasyMini Firmware
49 Self-programmable devices are reprogrammed by
50 connecting them to your computer over USB.
52 . Attach a battery if necessary and power switch to
53 the target device. Power up the device.
55 . Using a Micro USB cable, connect the target device to your
56 computer's USB socket. If the target is a TeleMini v3,
57 make up and attach a special USB cable.
59 . Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from the File menu.
61 . Select the target device in the Device Selection dialog.
63 . Select the image you want to flash to the device,
64 which should have a name in the form
65 <product>-v<product-version>-<software-version>.ihx,
66 such as EasyMini-v1.0-1.6.0.ihx.
68 . Make sure the configuration parameters are
69 reasonable looking. If the serial number and/or RF
70 configuration values aren't right, you'll need to
73 . Hit the 'OK' button and the software should proceed
74 to flash the device with new firmware, showing a
77 . Verify that the device is working by using the
78 'Configure Altimeter' or 'Configure Groundstation'
79 item to check over the configuration.
81 ==== Recovering From Self-Flashing Failure
83 If the firmware loading fails, it can leave the device
84 unable to boot. Not to worry, you can force the device to
85 start the boot loader instead, which will let you try to
86 flash the device again.
88 On each device, connecting two pins from one of the exposed
89 connectors will force the boot loader to start, even if the
90 regular operating system has been corrupted in some way.
95 Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the companion
96 connector. Pin 1 can be identified by the square pad
97 around it, and then the pins count sequentially across
98 the board. Be very careful to *not* short pin 8 to
99 anything as that is connected directly to the
100 battery. Pin 7 carries 3.3V and the board will crash
101 if that is connected to pin 1, but shouldn't damage
108 Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the companion
109 connector. Pin 1 can be identified by the square pad
110 around it, and then the pins count sequentially across
111 the board. Be very careful to *not* short pin 8 to
112 anything as that is connected directly to the
113 battery. Pin 7 carries 3.3V and the board will crash
114 if that is connected to pin 1, but shouldn't damage
121 Connect pin 5 and pin 1 of the debug connector, which
122 is the six holes next to the beeper. Pin 1 can be
123 identified by the square pad around it, and then the
124 pins count sequentially across the board, making Pin 5
125 the one on the other end of the row.
129 TeleMetrum v2 and newer::
131 Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the companion
132 connector. Pin 1 can be identified by the square pad
133 around it, and then the pins count sequentially across
134 the board. Be very careful to *not* short pin 8 to
135 anything as that is connected directly to the
136 battery. Pin 7 carries 3.3V and the board will crash
137 if that is connected to pin 1, but shouldn't damage
144 Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the debug connector, which
145 is the six holes next to the beeper. Pin 1 can be
146 identified by the square pad around it, and then the
147 pins count sequentially across the board, making Pin 6
148 the one on the other end of the row.
153 Connect pin 32 on the CPU to ground. Pin 32 is the
154 right-most pin on the bottom edge of the CPU when the
155 board is oriented with the USB and battery connectors
160 Connect together pins 1 and 5 of the Debug connector.
161 Pin 1 is the pin with the square pad around the hole.
166 Connect pin 32 on the CPU to ground. Pin 32 is closest
167 to the USB wires on the row of pins towards the center
168 of the board. Ground is available on the capacitor
169 next to it, on the end towards the USB wires.
173 Connect pin 4 on the CPU to 3.3V, which can be done by
174 connecting pin 1 to pin 4. Pin 1 is the left pin on
175 the lower edge of the chip when the unit is oriented
176 such that the SMA is at the top.
180 Connect pin 30 on the CPU to ground. Pin 30 is the 6th
181 pin from the right on the top when the unit is oriented
182 such that the SMA is at the top.
185 Once you've located the right pins:
187 . Turn the altimeter power off.
191 . Connect the indicated terminals together with a
192 short piece of wire. Take care not to accidentally
193 connect anything else.
197 . Turn the board power on.
199 The board should now be visible over USB as
200 'AltosFlash' and be ready to receive firmware. Once
201 the board has been powered up, you can remove the
204 ifdef::telemetrum,telemini[]
207 The big concept to understand is that you have to use
208 a TeleMetrum v1.0, TeleBT v1.0 or TeleDongle v0.2 as a
209 programmer to update a pair programmed device. Due to
210 limited memory resources in the cc1111, we don't
211 support programming directly over USB for these
214 If you need to update the firmware on a TeleDongle
215 v0.2, we recommend updating the altimeter first,
216 before updating TeleDongle. However, note that
217 TeleDongle rarely need to be updated. Any firmware
218 version 1.0.1 or later will work, version 1.2.1 may
219 have improved receiver performance slightly.
221 ==== Updating TeleMetrum v1.x Firmware
223 . Find the 'programming cable' that you got as
224 part of the starter kit, that has a red
225 8-pin MicroMaTch connector on one end and a
226 red 4-pin MicroMaTch connector on the other
229 . Take the 2 screws out of the TeleDongle v0.2
230 or TeleBT v1.0 case to get access to the
233 . Plug the 8-pin end of the programming cable
234 to the matching connector on the TeleDongle
235 v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0, and the 4-pin end to
236 the matching connector on the TeleMetrum.
237 Note that each MicroMaTch connector has an
238 alignment pin that goes through a hole in
239 the PC board when you have the cable
242 . Attach a battery to the TeleMetrum board.
244 . Plug the TeleDongle v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0 into
245 your computer's USB port, and power up the
248 . Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from
251 . Pick the TeleDongle v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0
252 device from the list, identifying it as the
255 . Select the image you want put on the
256 TeleMetrum, which should have a name in the
257 form telemetrum-v1.2-1.0.0.ihx. It should
258 be visible in the default directory, if not
259 you may have to poke around your system to
262 . Make sure the configuration parameters are
263 reasonable looking. If the serial number
264 and/or RF configuration values aren't right,
265 you'll need to change them.
267 . Hit the 'OK' button and the software should
268 proceed to flash the TeleMetrum with new
269 firmware, showing a progress bar.
271 . Confirm that the TeleMetrum board seems to
272 have updated OK, which you can do by
273 plugging in to it over USB and using a
274 terminal program to connect to the board and
275 issue the 'v' command to check the version,
278 If something goes wrong, give it another try.
280 ==== Updating TeleMini v1.0 Firmware
282 You'll need a special 'programming cable' to
283 reprogram the TeleMini v1.0. You can make your own
284 using an 8-pin MicroMaTch connector on one end
285 and a set of four pins on the other.
287 . Take the 2 screws out of the TeleDongle v0.2
288 or TeleBT v1.0 case to get access to the
291 . Plug the 8-pin end of the programming cable
292 to the matching connector on the TeleDongle
293 v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0, and the 4-pins into the
294 holes in the TeleMini v1.0 circuit board. Note
295 that the MicroMaTch connector has an
296 alignment pin that goes through a hole in
297 the PC board when you have the cable
298 oriented correctly, and that pin 1 on the
299 TeleMini v1.0 board is marked with a square pad
300 while the other pins have round pads.
302 . Attach a battery to the TeleMini v1.0 board.
304 . Plug the TeleDongle v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0 into
305 your computer's USB port, and power up the
308 . Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from
311 . Pick the TeleDongle v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0
312 device from the list, identifying it as the
315 . Select the image you want put on the
316 TeleMini v1.0, which should have a name in the
317 form telemini-v1.0-1.0.0.ihx. It should be
318 visible in the default directory, if not you
319 may have to poke around your system to find
322 . Make sure the configuration parameters are
323 reasonable looking. If the serial number
324 and/or RF configuration values aren't right,
325 you'll need to change them.
327 . Hit the 'OK' button and the software should
328 proceed to flash the TeleMini v1.0 with new
329 firmware, showing a progress bar.
331 . Confirm that the TeleMini v1.0 board seems to
332 have updated OK, which you can do by
333 configuring it over the radio link through
334 the TeleDongle, or letting it come up in
335 “flight” mode and listening for telemetry.
337 If something goes wrong, give it another try.
339 ==== Updating TeleDongle v0.2 Firmware
341 Updating TeleDongle v0.2 firmware is just like
342 updating TeleMetrum v1.x or TeleMini v1.0 firmware, but you
343 use either a TeleMetrum v1.x, TeleDongle v0.2 or
344 TeleBT v1.0 as the programmer.
346 . Find the 'programming cable' that you got as part of
347 the starter kit, that has a red 8-pin MicroMaTch
348 connector on one end and a red 4-pin MicroMaTch
349 connector on the other end.
351 . Find the USB cable that you got as part of the
352 starter kit, and plug the “mini” end in to the
353 mating connector on TeleMetrum v1.x, TeleDongle v0.2
356 . Take the 2 screws out of the TeleDongle v0.2 or
357 TeleBT v1.0 case to get access to the circuit board.
359 . Plug the 8-pin end of the programming cable to the
360 matching connector on the programmer, and the 4-pin
361 end to the matching connector on the TeleDongle
362 v0.2. Note that each MicroMaTch connector has an
363 alignment pin that goes through a hole in the PC
364 board when you have the cable oriented correctly.
366 . Attach a battery to the TeleMetrum v1.x board if
369 . Plug both the programmer and the TeleDongle into
370 your computer's USB ports, and power up the
373 . Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from the File
376 . Pick the programmer device from the list,
377 identifying it as the programming device.
380 . Select the image you want put on the TeleDongle
381 v0.2, which should have a name in the form
382 teledongle-v0.2-1.0.0.ihx. It should be visible in
383 the default directory, if not you may have to poke
384 around your system to find it.
386 . Make sure the configuration parameters are
387 reasonable looking. If the serial number and/or RF
388 configuration values aren't right, you'll need to
389 change them. The TeleDongle v0.2 serial number is
390 on the “bottom” of the circuit board, and can
391 usually be read through the translucent blue plastic
392 case without needing to remove the board from the
395 . Hit the 'OK' button and the software should proceed
396 to flash the TeleDongle v0.2 with new firmware,
397 showing a progress bar.
399 . Confirm that the TeleDongle v0.2 board seems to have
400 updated OK, which you can do by plugging in to it
401 over USB and using a terminal program to connect to
402 the board and issue the 'v' command to check the
403 version, etc. Once you're happy, remove the
404 programming cable and put the cover back on the
407 If something goes wrong, give it another try.
409 Be careful removing the programming cable from the
410 locking 8-pin connector on TeleMetrum. You'll need a
411 fingernail or perhaps a thin screwdriver or knife
412 blade to gently pry the locking ears out slightly to
413 extract the connector. We used a locking connector on
414 TeleMetrum to help ensure that the cabling to
415 companion boards used in a rocket don't ever come
416 loose accidentally in flight.
417 endif::telemetrum,telemini[]