FrSky 2.4Ghz conversions - a how to

[janus_77]

Originally Posted by Kusal

I have a 3VC with a FrySky module (not the hack) in and will be next Saturday at the GP; you can try if it fits if you want to (but I think it will)?

I'm pretty sure it will fit, but will it work or will it fizz

[Kusal]

Well, after the GP, we switch module, we bind with one my cars and you try.
If it works, good, if not, no money spent.
C u then.
Kurt

[spennyy2k]

is there a guide for doing a super exzes yet?

[Kusal]

+1. I would also like to convert my Super Exzes.
Thx

[Kusal]

Question: after finding the pos and neg on the module pins from the TX, would testfitting the signal lead to one of the pins and then binding it to a rx lead to damage? (To find out what the signal lead is for a super Exzes)
Thx.

[Ema]

Yesterday evening I made a similar conversion for a friend of mine on a Sanwa Super Exzes Plus.

My assignment was only to discover the electrical connection between the "hack module" and the standard Sanwa module connector.
We used an external plug connected to the module pins because we prefer to make something that it is possible to use without modifications to the radio.

Looking at the backward of the radio the pinout of the module from left to right is:

1 PPM
2 POSITIVE
3 NOT USED
4 NEGATIVE
5 ANTENNA
6 NOT USED
7 NOT USED
8 NOT USED

We tested the radio only on the bench, however seems to work flawlessy.

Here's some pictures .





Bye
Ema

[Kusal]

Hi Ema,
Thx you very much for this info, much appreciated!

[tonydevon]

hi sorry to be a pain, but need some advice, I bought 2nd hand a ko esprit II with frsky conversion, the receiver appears useless as the aerial on it has fallen off, upon inspection I see that it was held in place with blutak

anyway what spec of receiver do I need to look for? had a FRsky V8 series Rx with it, but would prefer something a little more robust

would one of the orange gr300 ones fit?

dont worry I now know that only the FRsky V8 series will work, will buy a new one, but does anyone have a decent pic of the connection to the PCB for the aerial? will try to solder it back on.

[DrPaul]

Hi Tony,

I've been doing the KO conversions event since they first came out. I personally use V8R4 and V8R4-11 receivers without any problems. On the early versions some of the aerials are poorly soldered. Next time your at the track I will either re-solder it for you or solder on a new one. I actually tuck the aerial back in the receiver and i have never had any signal issues. You do need a fine point iron to solder the aerials. they only need that 25mm long aerial to work correctly, that the beauty of 2.4

You can use the V8FR-11 hard case receiver but it does take up a lot of space.

The V8R4-11 receivers are fine and work trouble free and cheap to buy as well.

Happy to talk you through it all if you PM me.

Cheers Paul

[tonydevon]

ok thanks, think I found where its detatched from.

just ordered lipos, charger, wire, all sorts LOL, should be ready to go, minus a transponder not sure funds will allow that in time, but for the 2nd meeting in Feb.

thanks for advice I thought that little wire was not only broken off but cut short LOL

[DrPaul]

No Problem,
We have a few club/loan transponders at the club until you get around to buying your own,
Paul

[BiGs]

Has anyone fitted the hack module to a Ko Propo Helios EX10 as my 40MHz module seems to have developed a fault. Can't find any relevant help using the search to identify the right module pins. I can probably figure it out eventually but if someone else has already done it please could you detail how you did the conversion.
Cheers,
Fraze

[RCAshers]

Thanks to EMA I have just converted my friends Super Exzes using EMAs conections and it works great. The only comment I will make is to solder the wires to the transmitter you need to use the smal board at the rear of the module pins and if you want to use the module to blank off the hole in the back of the transmitter you must remove the 40meg guts from the module box.

[V6Jim]

Just did this conversion to a Futaba 3GR tonight. Works an absolute treat and relatively easy to do. Took about an hour.

PM me if you have any questions glad to help.

Jimmy

[grimidol]

I got a second hand ko esprit 2 what has had the frsky hack fitted works great but it says the batterys are at 10v all the time ? Any ideas why it is not giving a true reading

[andy110m]

I've managed to convert the older Sanwa Exzes. I found one I had from years ago in the loft so gave it ago and success. The pin format was the same as given above.

I've got a couple of questions if anyone can help.

1. This is more of an observation really. The led doesn't stay a solid colour, it seems to flicker. This doesn't affect the control of the car or anything but I just wondered why.
2. Using a Turnigy trackstar speedo, I can't get its one touch set up to work with the FrSky receiver. I can set an LRP and Novak up to it perfectly but the Trackstar doesn't want to know. Again I can't see why.

If anyone knows or could speculate the answer, mainly to question 2 I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

[Northy]

Originally Posted by andy110m

[*]Using a Turnigy trackstar speedo, I can't get its one touch set up to work with the FrSky receiver. I can set an LRP and Novak up to it perfectly but the Trackstar doesn't want to know. Again I can't see why.[/LIST] If anyone knows or could speculate the answer, mainly to question 2 I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

I've had the same problem! I thought the RX was faulty and was going to look into it this week!

G

[gerbil]

Hi sorry to ask but can someone post a link up for the module and receiver as I can't seem to find teeming stock
It's for a ko esprit type r
Thanks

[gerbil]

http://www.giantshark.co.uk/product/...ication-system
Right think I found it but I do have a question the switch that comes off the bind button bit ,do I just discard it
Sorry I'm a bit lost here

[szymanski2oo1]

Just a note to say thanks for the info... And the other feller on oople that did a sanwa conversion,.... I managed to do mine and it works a treat... I'm back into racing after 20 yrs and it's nice to have my trusty sanwa working !

Originally Posted by Cardnim

Hey all,

The FrSky hack module and receivers are now getting alot of attention - and rightly so - they are awesome!
I've converted a few transmitters using them now and, like others, have had no problems.

** before I begin, some people have asked why not just use a plugin module from Corona, Spektrum,etc **
Good question. The answer is that Corona's build quality is questionable and there are enough bad reports out there that I wouldnt touch them. Spektrum are great, but you are paying for all the "module" plastic casing and electronics. At the cost of £60 upwards for a good module, vs £15 for the FrSky Hack module, its an easy decision.
Also, any module that sticks your aerial out the back of the transmitter has got to be bad design - if the transmitter falls over, it falls on the aerial housing snapping it off. Ive seen loads of these unfortunately.
And lastly, why would you want two aerials?! Even the old 40Mhz aerial is going to suck in just a bit of your new 2.4Ghz signal; and I think its better to have every little Hz of power used in controlling my car, not in bouncing off my old superflous aerial.

So, here is my KO Esprit II FrSky in all its glory:


So, first thing to do with your old 40Hz radio is unplug the existing module, unscrew the old aerial then carefully open up the transmitter and fully remove the aerial.
N.B. watch for the battery connection cable as it will most likely be attached to the back panel of your transmitter, so when you take it off, unplug the battery connector from the daughter board it to avoid damage.


So, assuming you have got all the 40Mhz gubbins out of there, you now have a clean transmitter waiting for the new module.

First thing I do is to use my Dremel with 10mm rotary sanding drum to ream out the existing aerial hole to just over 10mm.
EDIT -- 6th March 2012 -- just fitted another 2 of these systems, and I found that there seems to be a difference in tolerances on these 2.4Ghz aerials, so actually you get a safer build if you drill out the aerial hole to 9.5mm first, then using your sanding drum and/or circular hand file, carefully ream out the hole to the required diameter. Remember, keep offering up the new aerial to ensure a nice tight fit. It may actually end up being just shy of the 10mm as one of mine was tonight.


Offer up the new 2.4Ghz aerial into this reamed out hole. It should push in with a bit of force at the knurled end point. If done right, this will simply be a resistance fit and should be very secure; requiring no additional glues or adhesives.
Ensure the new aerial can bend and rotate as designed.



Now, to install the actual module, first choose where you want to place it.
For this KO, I cant think of anywhere better than in the old 40Mhz module casing, so im going to choose there.

I have seen alot of people squeeze them into the top part of the transmitter where there is some empty space, but that leaves you no room for the BIND button and LED daughter board - and you'll see why I think this should go here later on.
It also is a pretty tight fit and at very best, awkward. If a component or button fails in your transmitter, fixing it is going to be much harder when you have to work around or temporarily remove your FrSky module board; or if you want to expand your new FrSky system to include telemetry or other nice things like that, you wont have the space up here to do so.

So, im sticking with it in the 40Mhz module casing.
First thing to do here is to remove the existing 40Mhz board.
Simply unscrew the 3 screws that hold it in place and gently lift away - in some cases there might be glue that needs carefully cut with a craft knife.
Stick the 40Mhz board and crystals on a classified site and make some money back

Because I wanted some flexibility to upgrade at a later date, I didnt want to use hot glue to mount the FrSky module inside the case, so instead I actually went for Lee Martins excellent servo tape. Its as sticky as Sticky the stick insect on a sticky........ you get the idea
Holds it firmly, but can be removed later with no cutting if required.


Now, thats the aerial in, and the module in place.
Next, before you solder up the connections, I think its a good idea to mount the daughter board for the BIND button and LED.

This is where loads of people disagree, but I stronlgy recommend that you drill your transmitter housing. Its a much more professional, tidy finish; and I disagree with those who say that you dont need to BIND more than once or look at the LED. Both are there for a reason.
- the BIND LED actually serves three functions.
yellow/orange = normal use, and shows that your FrSky module is 100% working
flashing red = BIND mode
solid green = "Range Check" mode

If you cant see this LED because you have buried it in the old 40Mhz casing as Ive seen some people do, then its alot more difficult to be sure whats happening - eg. are you in BIND mode or not?

Also, the BIND button is so straight forward to use that its great. Burying it inside the transmitter means this becomes much more of a task.
I dont know about you, but Ive had interference at races before, even 2.4Ghz, and 99% of the time, re-binding solves these as the TX/RX jump onto a new portion of the 2.4Ghz spectrum.
If the BIND button is hidden, this 5 second job becomes a bit more of a nuisance.

Some people have also drilled the front of their transmitters, but this puts the LED right through the nice KO Esprit name plate. Yuk! Not a nice solution.
Its just my opinion, but better to take the time and do it right.

You can see from the photos where I have placed the button. There is just a perfect amount of space in front of the aerial, and it all looks very nice and is immediately visible when needed.



To do this, measure the distance between the button and the LED centres, then translate this onto the desired location on your transmitter.

The button is a 3.5mm hole
The LED is a 3mm hole
Get the Dremel out and drill them nice with a smooth action to prevent chipping of the plastic.

Once drilled, offer the daughter board up to make sure they sit correctly.
Its a good idea at this point to jsut try the button. If the fit is too tight, or your hand was a bit Shakin' Stevens when drilling then the button may foul on the edge and not give a nice "click" feel.

If all is well, then we want to mount the daughter board...
Again, I used the LMR servo tape for this one. It really is that good!
But maybe you would prefer a more secure hot glue solution.


With that in place, its time to solder up the main module board and we are done!
For this, you need to find the negative, the positive and the PPM rail.
On my KO Esprit II, its all very nicely provided on the left hand part of my board.
In order, from left to right, we have PPM, Positive, Negative.

I cut the wires on my FrSky module to expose about 5mm of bare wire, then tin them as normal.
Just before applying them to the board, I freshen up the solder on the board (simply heating up the PPM, +, - pins and adding a touch of new solder). Then offer up the FrSky wires and solder them on.
You shouldnt need any new solder at this point, just the heat from your iron should melt the solder that is already there and that should be plenty.


After soldering these on, make sure the joints are mechanically sound (ie. give 'em a yank and if they dont come off, should be good!)

Here is our example KO, ready to go:


Ensure the grey aerial wire is then screwed securely to the aerial itself; and you are done.

Good idea at this stage to power everything on and give it a test!
Bind it to your reciever and connect up a servo to test the controls.

If all is well, screw the transmitter back together, admire handiwork, stick on a brew and eat well earned digestive.
Proper job.

Hope it helps.
Andrew.