How to Flash Firmware in the Turnigy/FlySky/Eurgle/IMAX 9x Transmitter

This guide is intended as a cookbook solution to flashing new or alternate firmware to the various
labeled brands of the OEM FlySky 9x. One way to do it is resented! which works well. "lternatives
are generally not shown to revent confusion. #f you follow these stes exactly! you should have good
luck. #f you do something else! this guide will be of only general hel. Everything on the list is
available from $S suliers! excet as noted. # don%t know about shiing to other countries.
Disclaimer
&hile # believe the instructions in this document are accurate! # make no guarantee that you will be
successful! and won%t brick your 9x. "nything you do to your 9x based on this document is entirely at
your own risk. The 9x and it%s rocessor are tough but not indestructible. 'ou%ve been warned((
&")*#*+, #f you have never soldered before! and articularly if you have never soldered on a
rinted circuit board before! now is not a good time to start(( -ave someone exerienced do the
soldering on the mainboard of your 9x.
e!uirements
'ou will need the following,
Turnigy.FlySky.Eurgle.#M"/ 9x Transmitter
&indows based comuter with &indows /0 or higher and one free $S1 ort
"2) 0ocket 0rogrammer! available here, htts,..www.sarkfun.com.commerce.roduct3info.h4
roducts3id59678
9*OTE, #%ve also been told that these rogrammers also work well. They have different drivers
available on their websites! and will re:uire different settings in 1$)*;O;M"T. # have *O exerience
with them.
"vailable for worldwide shiing from "ustralia,
htt,..www.rotostack.com.index.h4
main3age5roduct3info<c0ath57=<roducts3id57><sid5?77@98A=B8>Bc9BABe>Aeba>@b9f8d?9
"vailable in Euroe,
htt,..sho.myavr.com.index.h4s5article.s.h<art#C57AAAA? D
"2) 0ocket 0rogrammer &indows driver! available here,
htt,..www.sarkfun.com.datasheets.0rogrammers.ocketrog;driver.Ei
$S1 cable like this, htt,..www.monorice.com.roducts.roduct.as4
c3id5BA=<c3id5BA=A=<cs3id5BA=A=A7<3id5=69?<se:5B<format57
B8 watt F*OT-#*+ -#+-E)(((G encil soldering iron like this,
htt,..www.radioshack.com.search.index.Hs4kwIat#d5<kw5B8J7AwattJ7Asoldering
J7Airon<origkw5B8J7AwattJ7AsolderingJ7Airon<sr5B
)osin core solder
&in"2) rogram, htt,..sourceforge.net.roHects.winavr.files.&in"2).7ABAABBA.&in"2);
7ABAABBA;install.exe.download
"2) 1urn;O;M"T rogram, htt,..avr6;burn;o;mat.aaabbb.de."2)631urn;O;Mat373B373setu.exe
#f you don%t already have the Kava )untime Environment FK)EG installed on your comuter! you will
also need this to run "2) 1urn;O;Mat, htts,..cds.sun.com.is;bin.#*TE)S-O0.enfinity.&FS.ICS;
ICS3Ceveloer;Site.en3$S.;.$SC.2iew0roductCetail;Start40roduct)ef5Hre;?u7B;oth;K0)LICS;
ICS3Ceveloer
This cable.connector combination, htt,..search.digikey.com.scrits.CkSearch.dksus.dll4
lang5en<site5$S<&T.E3homeage3link5h3go3button<Mey&ords5hBkxh;BA=?m;nd<x5B@<y578
This is a color coded flat cable.connector combination which makes it really easy to figure out which
wire is which. They show as Eero in stock! but they make them u custom and shi usually in one day.
Iable connector, htt,..search.digikey.com.scrits.CkSearch.dksus.dll4
&T.E3header5search3go<lang5en<site5us<keywords5awBA;@7>B;t;r<x5A<y5A
This is used to ca the above cable when not in use.
Now tem hot glue gun and low tem glue gun sticks. # bought mine at &almart.
2arious small drills.files.hillis screwdriver. # also recommend head mounted magnifiers to make the
soldering easier to see.
Har"ware Installation
0lug in the B8 watt soldering iron and let it warm u for B8 minutes or so. Co *OT! under any
circumstances! use any iron above B8 watts(( 'ou can easily ruin the main board in your 9x if you do((
0lug in the hot glue gun and let it warm u.
)emove the ? hillis screws from the back of the transmitter case and retain them for reinstallation.
There is no need to remove the transmitter module or battery ack first.
Iarefully searate the case front from the back! noting the cable that connects the front and the back of
the case. Iarefully remove the connector on the cable from the transmitter back to the main rinted
circuit board F0I1G on the front half of the transmitter. Set the back of the case aside for now.
Take the color coded cable.connector combination you got from CigiMey. #f you look 2E)' closely!
you will see that there is a small arrow on one side of the connector. #t S-O$NC be on the end that the
1rown wire is on. Iut off all but about > to 8 inches FBA to B7.8 cmG of cable attached to the
connector. Scissors work well to cut the cable. Iarefully searate the wires in the cable from each
other! using your fingernails to searate them. Searate them back about 7 inches F8 cmG or so.
Iut the following searated wires back to the searation oint. They are not re:uired for hooku to the
transmitter, Orange.'ellow.1lue.+rey. 'ou should now have the following colors left,
1rown.)ed.+reen.0urle.&hite.1lack. These will be used to connect to the main 0I1 of the 9x.
Iarefully stri the insulation no more than B.B?O FBmmG from the end of each of the remaining wires!
and tin the ends with solder.
Nook at the ictures below! and note where each of the colored wires will be soldered to the main 0I1.
*ote that # colored in the black wire to show the correct color code.
1lack
)ed
&hite
0urle
1lack
)ed
)ed
1lack
*ote, There are two versions of the main 0I1 in the 9x. The later ones have a ad where the 0urle
wire will be connected. The early ones do not. #f you have an early style board! you can still do the
mod! you Hust have to be very careful with your soldering! as you will be soldering to the end of the
0urle
+reen
&hite
1rown
0urle
0urle
0urle
1rown
&hite
surface mount resistor shown. The early style is shown in the icture below. *ote the blue circle. One
the old style! you cannot use that ad. The IO))EIT ad is connected to the @
th
resistor from the left
on the late style boards,
Iarefully tin each of the round ads where the wires will attach to the 0I1. Kust a small amount of
solder is necessary! but it hels to :uickly solder the leads to the 0I1. #f you have an early board! you
don%t need to tin the connection at the resistor. Puickly solder each of the color coded wires to the
indicated sot on the 0I1. #f you have an early 9x! Hust touch the very ti of the soldering iron to the
end of the resistor and the 0urle colored wire simultaneously! and remove the iron :uickly.
Couble check that you have soldered each wire to the correct location on the 0I1. There are extra
round ads that we don%t use! so it is easy to make a mistake.
+ather the individual wires together in a bundle! and hot glue them to the to of the main rocessor.
This acts as a strain relief on the solder Hoints.
0urle
*ote attachment to end of resistor
&rong ad on early style(((
*ote the osition of the connector in the transmitter case on the ictures below.
*ote hilighted arrow. Should be on the
end that 1rown wire is on.
Measure the siEe of the oening of the BA in cable connector from the rogrammer and add about
B.B?O FBmmG to the dimensions all around. Crill and file a hole in the bottom of the case to allow the
cable from the rogrammer to ass thru the hole. *ote that the side of the connector on the cable from
the rogrammer that the cable comes out of will re:uire extra clearance. Crill two holes to
accommodate two long 7;8? screws! and mount the cable connector to the bottom of the transmitter
case with the 7;8? bolts and nuts. Ensure that the cable from the rogrammer can still be inserted.
'ou can unlug the soldering iron and hot glue gun as you are done with them.
Take the back of the transmitter case and lug the cable connector from it back into the main 0I1. Fit
the two halves of the case together! and while holding them! turn on the transmitter and make sure
everything works normally. #f they don%t! recheck your solder Hoints for shorts and bridges.
So#tware Installation
The driver for the "2) 0ocket 0rogrammer does not have an installer! so it will need to be installed
manually. $nEi the driver ackage! making sure everything in it is in a single folder. #nstallation
varies a bit for the various flavors of &indows. Some of the alternate rogrammers have installation
rograms. Follow their instructions instead.
On &indows @ and 2isa! lug in the the rogrammer with the $S1 cable to the comuter.
&indows should say that it is installing the driver firmware. "fter it churns for awhile! it should come
u and say that the driver was not successfully installed.
"t this oint! go to Start.Iontrol 0anel! and oen u QCevice ManagerO.

"bout halfway down the list you should see a Q4O and $nknown $S1 device.
)ight click on it! and select Q$date Criver Software..O. 'ou will get the &indow below,
"t the resulting window! browse for the folder that you unEied! and select ok.
Ilick *ext! and &indows should start installing the driver software. 'ou may get the following
warning,
Select as shown above. &hen it is done! close the resulting window! and the Cevice Manager window.
This concludes driver installation.
On /0! when you lug in the rogrammer! it will give you the otion of installing the drivers.
1rowse to the unEied folder! and allow it to install.
*ext! install &in"2). #t is a huge rogram! over 7AAmb installed! we don%t use most of it! but it
contains "2)dude! which is the main rogram we do use! and this is the only way to get it. Kust double
click the installer! and allow it to install! using the default buttons along the way. 'ou might get a
minor error message! but don%t worry! it will kee installing and finish.
$nfortunately! "2)dude is a command line rogram! and unless you are familiar with using the
command romt! it is a ain to use. -ere%s where "2) 1urn;O;M"T comes in. #t rovides a +$#
interface to "2)dude. #t also has an install rogram. Couble click on the install rogram! accet the
defaults! being sure to accet the license agreement. # also recommend checking the box to allow it to
install a deskto icon.
"t the end of the install! it will suggest letting it oen "2) 1urn;O;M"T. +o ahead and let it. #f
1urn;O;M"T doesn%t oen! or gives an error message! you will robably need to install the Kava
)untime on the list above. Kust click the installer! and use the defaults.
&hen "2) 1urn;O;Mat oens! go to the menu! and select SettingsR"2)C$CE.
This will oen a dialog where you locate "2)dude using the uer QFileO button. *avigate to the
avrdude.exe directory! which! if you let it install using the defaults! will be I,S&in"2);
7ABAABBASbinSavrdude.exe.
Then select the QFileO button next to Qalternative "2)C$CE configuration fileO! and navigate to the
avrdude.conf file! which should be at I,S&in"2);7ABAABBASbinSavrdude.conf.
#n the same dialog box! look at the dro down box for 0rogrammer! and select QusbtinyO. #f there is
nothing in the dro down box! select OM at the bottom! then close 1urn;O;M"T and reoen it. Select
SettingsR"2)C$CE again. *ow usbtiny should be in the dro down box for 0rogrammer. Select it.
Then select $S1 in the 0ort dro down box. Neave all other boxes on the age unchecked! and select
ok at the bottom. F*OTE, #f you are using a different rogrammer! use the name from the dro down
box that matches your rogrammer.G
On the main screen of 1$)*;O;M"T! select "tmega?> from the drodown "2) tye box. Select raw
in both dro down boxes! next to FN"S- and EE0)OM.
$acking u% Flash an" EE&'M
Since the first thing we are going to do is backu the FN"S- and EE0)OM in your 9x! we need to
secify file locations for the files we are going to download. # suggest I,S$sersSTuser
nameRSCesktoSflash.bin and I,S$sersSTuser nameRSCesktoSeerom.bin for the flash and eerom
files! resectively.
&e are almost there( *ow! lug the rogrammer cable into the transmitter noting the key of the
connector. Con%t force it in the wrong way. Nook at the 0ocket 0rogrammer. On the end next to the
cable connection to the 9x! there is a very small switch which allows the comuter to ower the 9x thru
the rogrammer. Make sure the switch is set to the Q0ower TargetO side.
*ow lug the usb cable from the rogrammer into the comuter. #f everything is connected correctly!
the main screen of the transmitter should ower u. Make sure to clear any Switch Error screens by
fliing the switches to the u.back osition. #f it doesn%t ower u! disconnect everything! and double
check the connections inside the 9x. 0lug Hust the rogrammer into the comuter! and make sure the
leds on it light u. There should be two blue ones and one red one lit. #f everything looks correct! lug
everything u again.
"ssuming you get the main screen on the 9x! hit the )ead button under FN"S- on 1urn;O;M"T. This
will read your current firmware from the 9x and save it to your comuter. More leds will light u on
the rogrammer. 'ou should see the status in the ane on the lower art of the 1$)*;O;M"T window.
"fter about =A seconds or so! it should show comlete. -ow hit the 2erify 1utton under FN"S-. This
will check the file you Hust saved to the firmware on the 9x and make sure they are identical.
*ow do the same thing for the EE0)OM ortion of 1$)*;O;M"T. That will save and verify the
EE0)OM which contains all of your models settings and other saved information.
#f all of that went well! you have now backed u everything on your 9x! and are ready to flash new
firmware.
Flashing (ew Firmware
Since you are here! you must be wanting to flash different firmware to your 9x. The latest er9x
firmware is here,
htt,..code.google.com..er9x.
The latest Thus firmware is here,
htt,..code.google.com..th9x.
"nd Turnigy 27 firmware can be found in this thread,
htt,..www.rcgrous.com.forums.showthread.h4t5BA=88@8
&ith the Turnigy firmware! you also need an eerom file! and flash it too. #t can usually be found with
the 27 firmware. 'ou can 0)O1"1N' use your backed u eerom file! but either check any saved
settings carefully after flashing! or reset the entire eerom to defaults after flashing it. 'ou do this by
ressing and holding the E/#T button on the 9x as you turn it on. #t will emit a continuous bee. "fter
BA or B8 seconds! the bee will sto! and you will be given the default screen on your 9x.
&ith either the er9x or the th9x firmware! you do not need to flash the eerom if this is your first time
flashing either firmware. The firmware will reset the eerom once you have flashed the firmware.
Ok. Fire u 1$)*;O;M"T. To flash the firmware! navigate to your new firmware on your comuter
by hitting the File button under Flash.
Find it! and click Oen. *ote that 1$)*;O;M"T assumes you are looking for a .hex file! so hit the
drodown box! and select "ny File.
The er9x and the th9x firmwares are always rovided in a .bin format. The Turnigy firmware can be
found in either .bin or .hex format. Once you have selected your firmware! make sure the dro down
box under Flash says raw for a .bin file! or #ntel -ex for a .hex file. &hen you are sure 1$)*;O;M"T
is ointed to the correct file! ress the &rite button.
'ou should see the status in the lower ane.
#t will automatically verify what you wrote! so you don%t need to do a searate verify after writing. #f
everything went well! you will get an error screen on your 9x about the eerom. For the er9x and th9x
firmware! ress any key! and the eerom will be formatted. For the Turnigy 27 firmware! you will
need to load an eerom file. Kust follow the instructions above for flashing the firmware! only use the
EE0)OM area of 1$)*;O;M"T and be sure to select the right file.
A#ter Flashing )our Firmware
"fter flashing your new firmware Fand eerom! if alicableG! you will need to calibrate the sticks on
your 9x for centers and endoints. 'ou calibrate the sticks in the er9x and th9x firmware by following
the instructions in the th9x manual! here,
htt,..th9x.googlecode.com.svn.trunk.doc.th9x;en.df
The instructions to calibrate the Turnigy firmware are below. They are a direct lift from my ost on )I
+rous here! based on instructions on a +erman site,
htt,..www.rcgrous.com.forums.showost.h45B8=76=>B<ostcount57>B8
0ush the right lower trim tab to the left Faileron on a mode 7 T/G! and the left side trim tab u FThrottle
trim on a mode 7 txG! and while holding them! turn the Tx on. 'ou will get a screen that shows the
version number of the firmware! with four Eeroes FAAAAG at the to of the screen. Ienter both sticks in
their range in all axis! and ress the menu button until it bees and release. The screen number will
change to AAAB Move the right stick to the uer right corner! and ress menu! and you should get a
bee! and the number on the screen will change to AAA7. 0ut the right stick in the lower left corner! and
ress menu! and get a bee! and the number will change to AAA=. )elease the right stick! and ut the left
stick in the uer right corner! and ress menu! get the bee! and the number will change to AAA>. 0ut
the left stick in the lower left corner! and ress menu again! get the bee and the number will change to
AAA8. Ienter both sticks! and ress menu! get the bee. 'ou are done calibrating the sticks.
&hile at the same screen! ress the U key! the screen will change! and you will get the osition of the
controls in hex code. 'ou can see the numbers change as you move the sticks or knobs. 0ress ; to go
back to the firmware version screen. Exit the firmware screen! and go to the Cislay menu item. "s
long as you haven%t turned the T/ off! you will see the hex codes for stick ositions for the > rimary
controls. Once you turn the tx off and back on! and go back to the Cislay menu item! the numbers will
disaear.
That%s it.
*onclusion
That%s all folks( #f you have :uestions about this or other firmware :uestions! visit the thread on )I
+rous! here,
htt,..www.rcgrous.com.forums.showthread.h4t5B7??B?7<age576VostB86A===@
2ersion B.B! B@ "ug 7ABA
&ritten on Oen Office =.7.B