Review or Mini-Review Smartiepants add-on Board (for 9X tx) w/HK Backlight

I recently installed a second upgrade in my Turnigy 9x TX, the first having been a rechargeable battery to power it. The purpose of this upgrade is to install "open source" (free and more advanced) control software into the TX as well as to add a backlight to the LCD.

The stock 9X has a very difficult to read LCD screen - green and black as shown in the photo below.

Adding the backlight, blue in my case, makes it much easier to read - a sample of the main screen is below:

(note - this pic shows the splash screen after the 9x is upgraded to ER 9X open source software)

Installation

The backlight is only about $5 and is available from Hobbyking:
https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__16720__Turnigy_9X_LCD_Backlight_Kit_Blue_DIY_.html

It can be installed just by itself, but in my case I opted to install the Smartiepants add-on (programmable) circuit board which also happens to come with a plug for this particular LCD. The board and instructions are available here:
http://www.smartieparts.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=331

Being as full instructions and pics are available at that site, I won't duplicate them. Rather, I will report the ease of installation, the results and discuss whether or not hobbyists should consider such an upgrade.

Installation was relatively easy - the Smartiepants board installs with no soldering, although experience with small screws and connectors is helpful. A slight (optional) modification of the Hobbyking LCD board is shown in the Smartiepants instructions - if you do this you will need to cut and solder (very easy soldering) a couple wires on the $5 HK backlight cable, although I suppose those with an aversion to soldering could twist them together and use a small crimp connector.

Once installation is completed, you will have a USB connector in the battery compartment thought which software can be accessed.


Software Upgrading

The Smartiepants does not come with any installed software, so after installation your radio will work the same as before (stock). Upgrading the software requires connection to a PC or Mac and downloading of the new files. There are a couple programs which attempt to simplify the upgrading - notably:
OpenTX companion: http://www.open-tx.org/
eepe: https://code.google.com/p/eepe/

Many users, myself included, find it difficult to make our computers recognize the USB connection to the 9x. I had to try two different macs as well as both of the programs above - in my case, eepe worked on my macbook air and I was able to install an upgraded system into my radio.

Results

My upgraded radio is working fine. I was able to easily bind it to two of my micro and mini quads and experiment with some of the new settings screens. It certainly is easier to read the LCD with the new backlight!

But Why?

Perhaps a larger question is why many hobbyists, especially beginners, may have interest in such an upgrade? My initial answer is that they probably should not! In fact, many of the settings screens are actually more difficult than the ancient stock 9X firmware. The advanced software is, frankly, mostly for more advanced users....of which I can not claim to be one. It takes a lot of time and learning to be able to program numerous switches, dual-rates, mixes, etc. and many of these features apply more to other aircraft (plants, helis, gliders, etc.) than they do to simple quadcopters.

In my case I did it simply as a learning experience. It's my opinion that the days of the overly complicated R/C TXs - which are designed to be able to fit thousands of different models and scenarios - is fast approaching. The future will bring friendlier devices on which settings are more obvious and understandable...therefore bringing the magic of flight to the rest of us in the same way that Macs, ipads and iphones did for basic computing.

 

Reserved