2 == Updating Device Firmware
4 TeleMega, TeleMetrum v2, EasyMega, EasyMini and TeleDongle v3
5 are all programmed directly over their USB connectors (self
6 programming). TeleMetrum v1, TeleMini and TeleDongle v0.2 are
7 all programmed by using another device as a programmer (pair
8 programming). It's important to recognize which kind of devices
9 you have before trying to reprogram them.
11 You may wish to begin by ensuring you have current firmware
12 images. These are distributed as part of the AltOS software
13 bundle that also includes the AltosUI ground station program.
14 Newer ground station versions typically work fine with older
15 firmware versions, so you don't need to update your devices
16 just to try out new software features. You can always
17 download the most recent version from
18 http://www.altusmetrum.org/AltOS/
20 If you need to update the firmware on a TeleDongle v0.2, we
21 recommend updating the altimeter first, before updating
22 TeleDongle. However, note that TeleDongle rarely need to be
23 updated. Any firmware version 1.0.1 or later will work,
24 version 1.2.1 may have improved receiver performance slightly.
26 Self-programmable devices (TeleMega, TeleMetrum v2, EasyMega
27 and EasyMini) are reprogrammed by connecting them to your
30 === Updating TeleMega, TeleMetrum v2, EasyMega, EasyMini or TeleDongle v3 Firmware
32 . Attach a battery if necessary and power switch to
33 the target device. Power up the device.
35 . Using a Micro USB cable, connect the target device to your
36 computer's USB socket.
38 . Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from the File menu.
40 . Select the target device in the Device Selection dialog.
42 . Select the image you want to flash to the device,
43 which should have a name in the form
44 <product>-v<product-version>-<software-version>.ihx,
45 such as TeleMega-v1.0-1.3.0.ihx.
47 . Make sure the configuration parameters are
48 reasonable looking. If the serial number and/or RF
49 configuration values aren't right, you'll need to
52 . Hit the 'OK' button and the software should proceed
53 to flash the device with new firmware, showing a
56 . Verify that the device is working by using the
57 'Configure Altimeter' or 'Configure Groundstation'
58 item to check over the configuration.
60 ==== Recovering From Self-Flashing Failure
62 If the firmware loading fails, it can leave the device
63 unable to boot. Not to worry, you can force the device to
64 start the boot loader instead, which will let you try to
65 flash the device again.
67 On each device, connecting two pins from one of the exposed
68 connectors will force the boot loader to start, even if the
69 regular operating system has been corrupted in some way.
73 Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the companion
74 connector. Pin 1 can be identified by the square pad
75 around it, and then the pins could sequentially across
76 the board. Be very careful to *not* short pin 8 to
77 anything as that is connected directly to the
78 battery. Pin 7 carries 3.3V and the board will crash
79 if that is connected to pin 1, but shouldn't damage
84 Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the companion
85 connector. Pin 1 can be identified by the square pad
86 around it, and then the pins could sequentially across
87 the board. Be very careful to *not* short pin 8 to
88 anything as that is connected directly to the
89 battery. Pin 7 carries 3.3V and the board will crash
90 if that is connected to pin 1, but shouldn't damage
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 could 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
106 Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the debug connector, which
107 is the six holes next to the beeper. Pin 1 can be
108 identified by the square pad around it, and then the
109 pins could sequentially across the board, making Pin 6
110 the one on the other end of the row.
114 Connect pin 32 on the CPU to ground. Pin 32 is closest
115 to the USB wires on the row of pins towards the center
116 of the board. Ground is available on the capacitor
117 next to it, on the end towards the USB wires.
119 Once you've located the right pins:
121 . Turn the altimeter power off.
125 . Connect the indicated terminals together with a
126 short piece of wire. Take care not to accidentally
127 connect anything else.
131 . Turn the board power on.
133 The board should now be visible over USB as
134 'AltosFlash' and be ready to receive firmware. Once
135 the board has been powered up, you can remove the
140 The big concept to understand is that you have to use
141 a TeleMetrum v1.0, TeleBT v1.0 or TeleDongle v0.2 as a
142 programmer to update a pair programmed device. Due to
143 limited memory resources in the cc1111, we don't
144 support programming directly over USB for these
147 ==== Updating TeleMetrum v1.x Firmware
149 . Find the 'programming cable' that you got as
150 part of the starter kit, that has a red
151 8-pin MicroMaTch connector on one end and a
152 red 4-pin MicroMaTch connector on the other
155 . Take the 2 screws out of the TeleDongle v0.2
156 or TeleBT v1.0 case to get access to the
159 . Plug the 8-pin end of the programming cable
160 to the matching connector on the TeleDongle
161 v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0, and the 4-pin end to
162 the matching connector on the TeleMetrum.
163 Note that each MicroMaTch connector has an
164 alignment pin that goes through a hole in
165 the PC board when you have the cable
168 . Attach a battery to the TeleMetrum board.
170 . Plug the TeleDongle v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0 into
171 your computer's USB port, and power up the
174 . Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from
177 . Pick the TeleDongle v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0
178 device from the list, identifying it as the
181 . Select the image you want put on the
182 TeleMetrum, which should have a name in the
183 form telemetrum-v1.2-1.0.0.ihx. It should
184 be visible in the default directory, if not
185 you may have to poke around your system to
188 . Make sure the configuration parameters are
189 reasonable looking. If the serial number
190 and/or RF configuration values aren't right,
191 you'll need to change them.
193 . Hit the 'OK' button and the software should
194 proceed to flash the TeleMetrum with new
195 firmware, showing a progress bar.
197 . Confirm that the TeleMetrum board seems to
198 have updated OK, which you can do by
199 plugging in to it over USB and using a
200 terminal program to connect to the board and
201 issue the 'v' command to check the version,
204 If something goes wrong, give it another try.
206 ==== Updating TeleMini Firmware
208 You'll need a special 'programming cable' to
209 reprogram the TeleMini. You can make your own
210 using an 8-pin MicroMaTch connector on one end
211 and a set of four pins on the other.
213 . Take the 2 screws out of the TeleDongle v0.2
214 or TeleBT v1.0 case to get access to the
217 . Plug the 8-pin end of the programming cable
218 to the matching connector on the TeleDongle
219 v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0, and the 4-pins into the
220 holes in the TeleMini circuit board. Note
221 that the MicroMaTch connector has an
222 alignment pin that goes through a hole in
223 the PC board when you have the cable
224 oriented correctly, and that pin 1 on the
225 TeleMini board is marked with a square pad
226 while the other pins have round pads.
228 . Attach a battery to the TeleMini board.
230 . Plug the TeleDongle v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0 into
231 your computer's USB port, and power up the
234 . Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from
237 . Pick the TeleDongle v0.2 or TeleBT v1.0
238 device from the list, identifying it as the
241 . Select the image you want put on the
242 TeleMini, which should have a name in the
243 form telemini-v1.0-1.0.0.ihx. It should be
244 visible in the default directory, if not you
245 may have to poke around your system to find
248 . Make sure the configuration parameters are
249 reasonable looking. If the serial number
250 and/or RF configuration values aren't right,
251 you'll need to change them.
253 . Hit the 'OK' button and the software should
254 proceed to flash the TeleMini with new
255 firmware, showing a progress bar.
257 . Confirm that the TeleMini board seems to
258 have updated OK, which you can do by
259 configuring it over the radio link through
260 the TeleDongle, or letting it come up in
261 “flight” mode and listening for telemetry.
263 If something goes wrong, give it another try.
265 ==== Updating TeleDongle v0.2 Firmware
267 Updating TeleDongle v0.2 firmware is just like
268 updating TeleMetrum v1.x or TeleMini firmware, but you
269 use either a TeleMetrum v1.x, TeleDongle v0.2 or
270 TeleBT v1.0 as the programmer.
272 . Find the 'programming cable' that you got as part of
273 the starter kit, that has a red 8-pin MicroMaTch
274 connector on one end and a red 4-pin MicroMaTch
275 connector on the other end.
277 . Find the USB cable that you got as part of the
278 starter kit, and plug the “mini” end in to the
279 mating connector on TeleMetrum v1.x, TeleDongle v0.2
282 . Take the 2 screws out of the TeleDongle v0.2 or
283 TeleBT v1.0 case to get access to the circuit board.
285 . Plug the 8-pin end of the programming cable to the
286 matching connector on the programmer, and the 4-pin
287 end to the matching connector on the TeleDongle
288 v0.2. Note that each MicroMaTch connector has an
289 alignment pin that goes through a hole in the PC
290 board when you have the cable oriented correctly.
292 . Attach a battery to the TeleMetrum v1.x board if
295 . Plug both the programmer and the TeleDongle into
296 your computer's USB ports, and power up the
299 . Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from the File
302 . Pick the programmer device from the list,
303 identifying it as the programming device.
306 . Select the image you want put on the TeleDongle
307 v0.2, which should have a name in the form
308 teledongle-v0.2-1.0.0.ihx. It should be visible in
309 the default directory, if not you may have to poke
310 around your system to find it.
312 . Make sure the configuration parameters are
313 reasonable looking. If the serial number and/or RF
314 configuration values aren't right, you'll need to
315 change them. The TeleDongle v0.2 serial number is
316 on the “bottom” of the circuit board, and can
317 usually be read through the translucent blue plastic
318 case without needing to remove the board from the
321 . Hit the 'OK' button and the software should proceed
322 to flash the TeleDongle v0.2 with new firmware,
323 showing a progress bar.
325 . Confirm that the TeleDongle v0.2 board seems to have
326 updated OK, which you can do by plugging in to it
327 over USB and using a terminal program to connect to
328 the board and issue the 'v' command to check the
329 version, etc. Once you're happy, remove the
330 programming cable and put the cover back on the
333 If something goes wrong, give it another try.
335 Be careful removing the programming cable from the
336 locking 8-pin connector on TeleMetrum. You'll need a
337 fingernail or perhaps a thin screwdriver or knife
338 blade to gently pry the locking ears out slightly to
339 extract the connector. We used a locking connector on
340 TeleMetrum to help ensure that the cabling to
341 companion boards used in a rocket don't ever come
342 loose accidentally in flight.
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