How to save an UART port on your MSP protocol compatible Flight Controller for SmartPort telemetry (Part 2)

In part 1 I already made all the hardware modifications required, in this part I'll concentrate in programming and configuring the MSP to SmartPort Nano board.

Axys' LUA CleanFlight Telemetry Script for OpenTX

CleanFlight Telemetry Script or CFTS for short, is a LUA script for OpenTX 2.1.x. This is the script I'm using on my Taranis X9D+ transmitter.

Still is a work in progress and I'll update this post with more info. While I'm refining the script, here you can take a peek:

Running on Companion simulator. Sample with data.

Running on Taranis. Not connected to FC.

Mini video:

Happy new year 2016!

How to save an UART port on your MSP protocol compatible Flight Controller for SmartPort telemetry (Part 1)

I like to receive SmartPort telemetry data to my Taranis so it gives me voice feedback when something is wrong. Flight Controllers have limited hardware UARTs so I though it should be convenient to move SmartPort telemetry out of the Flight Controller and connect it thru MinimOSD as it already receives lots of telemetry via MSP protocol.

You can save an UART port when using SmartPort telemetry data if you are also using a MSP protocol compatible OSD board with Cleanflight. The method I used is to connect an Arduino Nano clone board (Atmega328) in parallel to the OSD board so we can read the MSP protocol values and send them to the receiver's SmartPort.

Using avrdude and Arduino as ISP to program an Atmega

An Arduino board can be used as ISP programmer to program an Atmega chip.

There is a good tutorial here.

This post is just a quick note of the avrdude command to program an Atmega328p (MinimOSD).

For reading flash on COM4:

avrdude -P com4 -c avrisp -p m328p -b 19200 -U flash:r:READ.BIN

For writing flash on COM4:

avrdude -P com4 -c avrisp -p m328p -b 19200 -U flash:w:WRITE.HEX

Add -v for verbose output.

Pinmame output to Logitech G15 LCD screen

Long time ago I purchased a Logitech G15 keyboard which has a LCD screen where some programs and games output extra info or data on it.

I'm a big fan of pinball machines, so I though it could be cool to output Pinmame (a pinball machines emulator) to the LCD.

Matching clock time when booting from different OSes

If you're like me and have more than one OS installed which boot now and then, may be you have noticed that the clock doesn't match between them. The cause of this is that Windows uses Local Time instead of UTC.

Welcome reader

Hi and welcome to my blog. First of all English is not my native language, so expect some orthographic/syntactic errors.

The purpose of this blog is to take notes of my findings for my own archiving.

Why make a blog to only write some notes and, why write them in English? Good questions...
When I decided to archive my notes I though that maybe are useful for someone else. I've had lots solutions to problems on the net in the past in other blogs and forums, why not make them public for someone else? Perhaps will help...

And that takes me to the second question. Why in English? I think that in English will reach to more people, and serves me to practice my English writting!

You'll find info about anything and nothing, I've interests in a lot of things, but I specially love pinballs, old computers (mainly MSX), electronics and lately radio controlled flying devices (multi rotors specially).

So, that's it! My first blog post!

Welcome reader...