Devo F7 Install Help

I just got a tiny whoop running DSM and would love to use my wicked Devo F7 to fly it. I'm glad you folks have made some firmware that may work with my radio, but unfortunately there is essentially no real info on the Tx itself to get Deviation running. I had to search and search through several threads. Most were not even labeled for the Devo F7, they were labels for the F12E and the F4. Which is not in the least helpful for folks who are told to use the search function. So enough of the silly intro and lets get down to what I ahve done so far and what's not at all working. Maybe we can get it figured out.

So I started by downloading and installing the Dfuse USB Upgrade Tool available from the google drive. I got the current version 2.31 and attempted to install deviation-devof7-v5.0.0-372a9e7 as that was stated to be the currently "nightly build" for my radio. It would update the firmware but I would only see Deviation USB and there would be no functionality at all. I tried reinstalling the original Walkera firmware(which worked) and then reinstall the Deviation firmware and nothing. Same Deviation USB screen with nothing else.

So I started my info hunt on the forums. I found info that directed me to using the Deviation Uploader 0.8.0 and stated I needed to use this tool instead of the Dfuse. So when I found it and used it it didn't even recognize my radio. Said it was a 7e or unknown depending on the mode the radio was in. So after some more searching I came across the DFU USBDrv Installer-1.1. I used the installer and now the Uploader recognized me F7! SUCCESS!! I was getting somewhere! So no I went to install the Nightly Build deviation-devof7-v5.0.0-372a9e7 it wouldn't even get recognized by the Uploader. I thought maybe a different nightly build would work and sure enough deviation-devof7-v5.0.0-d8a67e3 was recognized. So I checked off every one of the boxes from format to replacing libraries. It went through it's paces and this time my radio booted up and didn't have the silly Deviation USB screen!!!!!!! I thought I was good!

Now comes the new problem. It has no GUI interface at all. Just portions of menu names and no way to navigate them really without guessing. Well the guessing gets me nowhere fast and I am unable to use the transmitter at all. I tried redownloading the firmware and going that route. Nothing but the gobbly gook menus and no real functionality.

So is there anyone with ideas to get it running? I'm at a loss now. I run Windows 7. Also adding some pics of what the menus look like. So you all have an idea of what I'm seeing. Any help is appreciated and thank you in advance.

SWRaptor wrote: ... So is there anyone with ideas to get it running? I'm at a loss now...

I believe the file system library is missing. The deviation file system library for the F series controllers is entirely contained in a file named,"devo.fs" which belongs in the root directory of the controller of the F series.

For you, I think the simplest fix is to completely reinstall the firmware using the DeviationUpload Tool 0.8.0.jar and the .zip file of the firmware for your controller. Do not unzip the firmware .zip file. Use it as is without unzipping it. The Upload Tool recognizes the .zip file and will take care of unpacking and putting everything in the appropriate location on the controller. Basically, it just installs the firmware and the devo.fs file - that's it. After doing that, you should be good to go when you restart the controller.

After that, if you want to add models or protocols or change anything about the file system, you need to create and install a revised version of the devo.fs file - but that's an issue for another post...

Thank you for responding so fast. I appreciate that a ton.

Arnold wrote: For you, I think the simplest fix is to completely reinstall the firmware using the DeviationUpload Tool 0.8.0.jar and the .zip file of the firmware for your controller.

Even thought your advice is spot on with using the Uploader 0.8.0 and not the Dfuse. This is exactly what I did two times and the same broken GUI was a result. Only thing you left out is installing DFU USBDrv Installer-1.1 before trying the Uploader. It made my F7 recognizable to the Uploader. Before I installed it, it said "Unknown" in USB mode and "7e" in normal mode in the 0.8.0 Uploader. I even used a different Nightly Build on the second attempt and still the same thing with the GUI happened.

Sigh, my tiny whoop is all shiny and needing to be wrecked in to things.

Oh and side note to all of this insanity lol. When I reinstalled the Stock 0.6A firmware, I still had my original F210 model on there. I thought I would be deleted like the User Manual stated it would. Nope, it was still there

SWRaptor wrote: ... I even used a different Nightly Build on the second attempt and still the same thing with the GUI happened ...

OK, so I take it that there IS a devo.fs file present on your Devo. Am I right?

Did you try to install Deviation previously when your Devo was not properly recognized by the installer?

Arnold wrote: OK, so I take it that there IS a devo.fs file present on your Devo. Am I right?

Did you try to install Deviation previously when your Devo was not properly recognized by the installer?

There is the devo.fs file on there after the install. An no I didn't install Deviation without the program recognizing the controller. I'm not one to mess with things half cocked. I actually got frustrated at that exact point when it didn't see the Tx and went back to scouring the forums. That's where I found the info on the DFU USBDrv Installer-1.1 and that it would make the F7 visible. It did and then I was able to install it. After that it just had the messed up GUI.

So I figured it would be easier to just share a video. I tried again tonight with the latest "Nightly Build" and it was the same thing. Have a look

Thanks for that. Unfortunately, the video is not sharp enough to make out details like text.

The last suggestion I'll make is to try installing the 5.0.0 release version instead of a nightly. If that doesn't help, then I'm out of bullets.

Arnold wrote: Thanks for that. Unfortunately, the video is not sharp enough to make out details like text.

The last suggestion I'll make is to try installing the 5.0.0 release version instead of a nightly. If that doesn't help, then I'm out of bullets.

On the video sharpness I would say go full screen instead of the thumbnail video. It's in 1080HD lol.

On the using a standard Deviation. I haven't tried the 5.0.0 cause it doesn't have my Tx listed as compatible. An they are all different files. So it's like a crap shoot in the dark.
As it stands my whoop is unused lol and I'm back on stock 0.6A for the time being.

Would be nice if the Tiny Whoop folks made Walkera compatible boards. Probably wishing on a prayer there though lol.

SWRaptor wrote: ... I would say go full screen instead of the thumbnail video. It's in 1080HD lol...

None the less, when you upload your 1080 video to YouTube, sharpness is lost. it is not sharp. But, I looked as closely as I could and it looks to me like the name of the transmitter is "Devo 7E" and not "Devo F7". Maybe it's the wrong video?

On the using a standard Deviation. I haven't tried the 5.0.0 cause it doesn't have my Tx listed as compatible.

In my opinion, that should not stop you from trying.

Good spot!! It does state 7e after the install. Strange. No that's the totally right video.

I had this same problem when I first installed deviation on my Devo F4. The reason for me was that the devo.fs file was not installed. After I put the devo.fs file on the F4, all was well. Possibly, the devo.fs file on your F7 is corrupt & won't work. I'm pretty sure the devo.fs file is your problem.

SWRaptor wrote: Good spot!! It does state 7e after the install. Strange. No that's the totally right video.

Ok, so, that devo.fs file may be ok for a Devo 7E, but not for a Devo F7. Reinstall everything again after you have the correct controller recognized. Also, double-triple check that you have the correct firmware .zip file for the F7.

Crazy how Deviation Uploader recognizes your F7 as 7E? F-series has been quite the 'buggy' struggle!!! When I first flashed my F12E w/ nightly I got the EXACT SAME corrupt screen display as the vid in the thread & I was unable to extract devo.fs using buildfs.exe in command prompt simply because the devo.fs nightly was corrupt... Luckily someone(M8A4X) stepped-up and sent me a zip of a working F12E devo.fs file already built for the 4in1 module I installed...friggin brotherhood right there ... Anyway, as Arnold suggested it definitely appears the fs file IS CORRUPT and worthless... I recommend re-flashing with newest nightly or maybe an older one... I downloaded the most recent "F7 nightly" to a folder(F7A)... I was able to use buildfs in command prompt to extract the unzipped devo.fs file to a second folder(F7B)... Not certain BUT is a good sign the recent nightly from 3-9-17 is working because my original corrupt fs file with SAME menu corruptions would NOT extract... just sayin' ... If install goes well: F-Series Tx requires an extraction method of the fs file for building/enabling/etc... different than the standard deviation FAT method... need to use buildfs as a tool in command prompt for this... just mentioning because a ton of reading is required if you are new to deviation?(as i am)... I created a C:Temp folder with 3 sub folders- buildfs(which only contains buildfs.exe tool) -Target & -Source to help simplify commands in command prompt... hope this helps

ummm...i could be completely wrong as i was also able to extract F7 devo.fs file from 3-4-2017 ...

Hello, I am in need of some help. I am working with an F7 and need to get dsmx on it. So far it has walkera protocol and dsm2. I set up a quad where the owner bought a redcon sat with the bind button and it is dropping signal.

I am wondering if the issue is dsm2 or the receiver and would like to add dsmx to see but I cant get buildfs to do it. It keeps say access denied after the commands are entered. I am admin and using cmd as so but cant seem to get it. I am doing some test later today with the radio and other builds to see if I can determine if thebredcon is shit but still need dsmx on the f7.

Can someone help me out here or maybe if someone has a deviation 5.0.0 devo.fs with dsmx dsm2 and the walkera protocol fo the devo f7 that would help too.

Thanks for you time.

I added the .fs file in the zip attached. It has DSMX DSM2 already enabled. This was working in my F7 prior to me doing the memory mod. Although working with .fs isn't very hard but you'll have to understand the command and remember your file system paths to correctly extract and build your .fs file.

Hopefully somebody can help me. It is about the same topic.
I am at the point where all the files need to be copied onto the, in my case E: drive, to the Devo F7 but it only has 36Kb of memory.
Now I have exactly the same screen as where this post started with (???)
Thanks!

I successfully installed Deviation on my F7 but when I go to change the protocol from Devo to something else it resets the remote. Any clue on why it would do that?

I used the Deviation Uploader and not dfuse. I also got 4.0.1. What I did was used deviation Uploader 9.0 and plugged in Devo f7 and held ext while powering on. This brings you to software update screen. Then I uploaded the version 4.0.1 to deviation Uploader and installed it in my remote. THIS IS NOT THE LAST STEP! Now you hold ent while powering on to bring you into USB mode. When you look at the Devo F7 drive there should be a file called Devo fs. What you need to do is delete that file from the drive. After doing this go back to the zip folder for 4.0.1 and copy the file devo Fs. Lastly go back to The Devo F7 drive and paste it in. Now you can unplug the remote and start using deviation. Good Luck