KKMulticopter Flashtool
KKmulticopter Flash Tool is a software tool to easily upload new firmware to your KKmulticopter board or ATmega8 based brushless ESC. It is designed to support users that have never flashed firmware to a micro-controller. The KKmulticopter Flash Tool is very simple to set up and use.
Once the software is installed you select your programmer and your board or controller type you want to flash. You can then flash a firmware file from your PC, or from the Internet, by selecting from a list of the latest available firmware. The software will save your settings when you exit, so you will not need to set up everything again when you next launch the software.
The list of firmware files are maintained by me, so if I miss a new version, please let me know using the form below and I will update the repository.
The software is written in Java under the GPL V3 license. To run the software you need at least Java 6 or greater.
Currently Windows, Mac OS X and Linux are supported.
Available languages are: Brazilian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Faroese, French, German, Italian, Swedish, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Slovakian, Czech, Korean, Hebrew, Croatian, Greek, Japanese, Romanian, Hungarian, Bosnian, Serbian and Norwegian.
Supported boards:
- all kk-boards with one of ATmega 48/P/PA, 88, 168/P/PA, 328P/PA.
The Flycam Blackboard is also supported by the tool. Please be careful when you select which board you wish to flash with new firmware. The board must have the capacity to store the new firmware selected.
SimonK BL-ESC firmware and Wii-ESC can be flashed to any by the firmware supported ATmega8 based BL-ESC. If you updated your ESC to SimonK firmware version 01.06.2012 or newer and enabled the bootlader you can later reflash the ESC with the ArduinoUSBLinker, Afro USB Programming Tool or the Turnigy USB Linker simply via the Servo plug. I already use successfully HobbyKing 10A with bs.hex, F-20 (HobbyKing 20A)EU Warehouse and F-30 (HobbyKing 30A)EU Warehouse both with bs_nfet.hex.To get more informations on how to flash BL-ESC see also the Flashing ATmega8 based BL-ESC manual. And the How to make a ArduinoUSBLinker.
Helpful for first time flashing BL-ESC with Simonk firmware is also the Atmel Atmega Socket Firmware Flashing Tool that can be put directly on most ESC without the need to solder any cable to the processor or pads.
The OrangeRX RX3S 3-Axis Flight Stabilizer V2 and OrangeRX RX3S 3-Axis Flight Stabilizer w/DSM2 can be flashed with the Open Flight Stabilizer firmware from noobee.
An ISP programmer interface is required to connect your PC to your controller board. If you do not have an ISP programmer already, take a look at this USBasp with 10pin and 6pin, 10pin 5V and 3.3V Version or this one with 10 pin header. For boards with a 6pin header you may require a 10→6pin adapter like this one. I also have tested many different styles of USBasp's from eBay and other sources. They generally work very well however, you should always confirm if they work with avrdude.
When installing the drivers for your USBasp programmer dongle, it's recommend to install the original drivers from fischl.de. The drivers supplied with eBay auctions often don't work very well.
The tool also supports xwopen USBasp, please use the driver provided by xwopen not the fischl driver.
It is recommended to read the manual first. If you have a problem during the flashing process please read the FAQ.
There is also the possibility to work on the manual and other documents in the wiki there.
Last but not least you can file bug-reports and feature requests in the issue tracker.
Download
Latest beta software version:
- Windows/Linux KKmulticopter Flash Tool V0.90 beta 1
Latest stable software versions:
- Windows/Linux KKmulticopter Flash Tool V0.77
- Mac OS X KKmulticopter Flash Tool V0.77
Old versions can be found here.
Manual Download a firmware can be found here.
Before running KKmulticopter Flash Tool on Windows with an USB programming dongle please make sure you install a driver based on libusb on your computer. On Linux and Mac OS X, you normally do not need to install additional drivers.
If you have already installed AVRStudio, you have to remove the Jungo-Driver for your AVRisp mkII.
Please report if your programmer is not working correctly with this software by using the form at the end of the page. There is a FAQ that may solve some of your questions.
If you have a USBtiny the flashtool newer than 0.33 and older than 0.63 beta 11 will not work with until you replace the avrdude.exe and avrdude.conf in the folder /lib/avrdude/windows/ with the one in this download. Since 0.63 beta 11 the usbtiny part of the flashtool is fixed.
10 to 6 pole ISP Adapter
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=18594907&postcount=108
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Pinout of image 1 is the look onto the pins on the kkboard. If you build your own adapter, make sure that the programmer you use coresponds to the pinout shown above. Some programmers out there have not ground (GND) connected to pin 4, 6 and 8.
Pinout of KK2.x Boards
Drivers
If you have already installed AVRStudio, you have to remove the Jungo-Driver for your AVRisp mkII.
For the most USB programming dongles you need a Windows driver. (Windows 8 doesn't allow to install unsigned drivers by default. see the FAQ for more informations)
If you find other drivers to make your USB programmer dongle work with avrdude and Windows, please send me a note.
Screenshots
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License and Warranty
This software is under the GNU GPL V3. To read the full license read the license.txt file in the download or use the license menu entry.
THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
How can I contribute to this project?
- If you like to contribute code or HowTos to the kkflashtool, visit the project on github.
- For broad acceptance, I would like the translate the software and these instructions into as many languages as possible. If you would like to assist me in this big effort, please don't hesitate to contact me.
- More advanced users of the kk-Board are welcome to beta-test the software. I will also need you to test if your programming dongle is working on your OS with my software tool.
Acknowledgement
- To Niall for testing and support.
- manuLRK for his contribution to the French translation and testing.
- rossi for all the bug reports.
- Marco for his contribution to the Italian translation and testing.
- John for his contribution to the Dutch translation and testing.
- Yanan for his contribution to the Chinese translation.
- Artur for his help to get the xwopen USBasp working.
- Wolfes for testing it as first person ever on Win7
Contact
If you have found a bug or you have an idea for an interesting feature, then use the Issue tracker on github