Flashing The Flight Controller And ESC's

[Glenfilthie]

Hi fellas - I have parts inbound from Hobby King for my first build and I want to make sure I understand my microprocessors and algorithms.

The impression I am under is that simonK firmware is probably the best out there for beginners. What is this firmware exactly?

Do I need to flash that on to the KK2.1.5 or can I install it and fly it right out of the box? What about the ESC's? I have seen the programming cards available for it and that doesn't seem too bad...but what about flashing the KK2? Do I need special tools for that too?

 

[C0d3M0nk3y]

I would strongly recommend flashing the KK2 Here's a good how to video.

Flashing the ESCs is going to depend on which ones you have.

 

[jaskoller]

Building a Tri

Hi fellas - I have parts inbound from Hobby King for my first build and I want to make sure I understand my microprocessors and algorithms.

The impression I am under is that simonK firmware is probably the best out there for beginners. What is this firmware exactly?

Do I need to flash that on to the KK2.1.5 or can I install it and fly it right out of the box? What about the ESC's? I have seen the programming cards available for it and that doesn't seem too bad...but what about flashing the KK2? Do I need special tools for that too?

Hello, I'm in the same boat as right now I'm just finishing my tricopter. I've been told that you should probably flash your KK2.1.5 board with "Stevies" firmware, and flash your ESC's with SimonK. The reasons are that Stevies gives your board better/more stable flight characteristics and with the ESC's the simonK increases the resolution/response time of the ESC making them much better and faster. This will reduce the oscillation issues you may have when your board is telling your esc's to do corrections on motor speed faster than they are originally capable of doing. I hope this all made sense.

 

[jaskoller]

Check your Esc's and make certain they don't already have SimonK on them. Some come preflashed with that firmware.

 

[jhitesma]

Simonk is alternative firmware for ESC's. It's flashed to the ESC not the FC. Stevies and RC911 have custom firmwares for the KK boards available which are much improved over the firmware that HK ships them with. I've only used Stevies and it was rather simple to flash, just hook up the USBASP and then use the kkflash tool (http://lazyzero.de/en/modellbau/kkmulticopterflashtool) by following the instructions. As for which KK firmware is best...I can't really help since I don't fly a KK - have only helped a friend with his.

As for your ESC's SimonK and Blheli are the two most common custom firmwares - originally simonK was for AVR based ESC's and blheli was for silabs based heli's (avr and silabs are the brand of processor chip used.) But blheli now offers support for AVR as well.

Simonk is easiest to start with as it's pretty much flash and forget. Blheli has more configuration options which can be overwhelming when first starting out. Blheli also supports more methods of flashing and due to the sheer number of ESC's and processors and flashing methods it supports things can get confusing fast

Which ESC's do you have coming - that will help answer what firmware is your best bet for them.

 

[PhenomPilot]

You will be able to fly with the stock setup as I did for almost a year. I just flashed Stevies a few days ago but haven't been able to test it because of all the snow.
I used a card to program my esc's and it was easy to do. Some esc's have pads that are easy to solder to and others you have to have a special tool from HK to be able to flash. Most people are using a usbasp to flash these chips from your computer.