Replacement for the DEVO series for the future

One thing to keep in mind is what ever platform is chosen next for Deviation needs to be parts friendly. Ever try to get parts for a Devo tx ? It's near impossible...Personally i don't plan on giving up my color touch screen on my 12s for a very long time it makes setting up a new model light years ahead of the LCD screen...

Deviation " Democratic open source" and basically endless possibilities for your tx, as long as new ideas come in.
The full digital two way, SPI and no more PPM, in my opinion this also gives most flexibility lowest latency and most stable full digital link.
Use 1 tx for all many RF support many protocols is a huge pro !!

Indeed open TX, is also software featured very nice, but I think deviation has technically the best hardware setup.

Posted before:
A nice cheap contender to be deviatied would be the FS-i10, but it is doubtfull if this will be even possible...................
According this topic has a 264MHz 32 bit ARM with 8MB SD RAM.
openrcforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5...af7a&start=30#p93730

Another option what I believe could open up fully the creativity of new generation of TX, is to have, A standard ARM development board + display deviated, with loads of IO and ADC pins. Every body can than hook up this board into Tx housing of choice. (board must be compact indeed) and connect switches and pots.

Fernandez wrote: Another option what I believe could open up fully the creativity of new generation of TX, is to have, A standard ARM development board + display deviated, with loads of IO and ADC pins. Every body can than hook up this board into Tx housing of choice. (board must be compact indeed) and connect switches and pots.

I love this idea !

dc59 wrote:

Fernandez wrote: Another option what I believe could open up fully the creativity of new generation of TX, is to have, A standard ARM development board + display deviated, with loads of IO and ADC pins. Every body can than hook up this board into Tx housing of choice. (board must be compact indeed) and connect switches and pots.

I love this idea !

Yeah I like this idea far more than any other.

stevecox wrote:

dc59 wrote:

Fernandez wrote: Another option what I believe could open up fully the creativity of new generation of TX, is to have, A standard ARM development board + display deviated, with loads of IO and ADC pins. Every body can than hook up this board into Tx housing of choice. (board must be compact indeed) and connect switches and pots.

I love this idea !

Yeah I like this idea far more than any other.

Me too

PhracturedBlue wrote: The fact that all of the sticks are spring-loaded is annoying.

that shouldn't be an annoyance for long:

Woohoo! Can't wait to see what you come up with!

I do not want to relegate Deviation to being 'those guys who reverse engineered all those protocols'.

I actually wrote the OpenTX serial code for midelic's multi tx module. At for me it was never the indentation to relegate you to that. I just picked up what was best way for me to get a plenthora of additional protocols on Taranis and I really grateful for all the work Deviation has done.

The UniversalTx was designed with a serial<->SPI interface for the X9d specficaly. But as I recall the X9d doesn't actually provide a serial line to the module either. It wasn't clear you could bit-blast an interface at a rate that could handle the rx/tx traffic, and I never got around to actually trying it.

The Taranis has an inverted half-duplex serial for the Sbus telemetry on the 5pin (but that can also be used for different protocol, e.g. the TBS Crossfire protocol is using that serial interface bidrectionally at 400k)

The STM32 chip allows hardware assisted Bit banging so the PPM Out can be driven with a serial protocol.

PhracturedBlue wrote: One of the largest downsides of the Taranis, is what does Deviation bring to the table? Once you have a serial module interface, they can add support in OpenTx and Deviation really has no benefit over the native firmware.

At a minimum it brings choice. The option for a user to choose an operating system that’s dedicated to multi-protocol over an OS with that feature tacked on, and a community forum focused on a multi-protocol OS. Maybe there’s a way to build on the strengths of Deviation as related to multi-protocol and toy crafts. The OpenTX project has a lot of resources, but how much are they willing to put into multi-protocol? Perhaps the question should be asked, “What does the Taranis bring to the table for Deviation”.

With the move away from Devo radios Deviation users are going to have less choice. Buyers will no longer be able to choose from a lineup of Devo radios. Currently buyers have the choice of smaller or larger radios, a color or monochrome screen, and various prices. It appears at the moment the replacement will be the AT9. It’s a low cost radio with a color screen behind shiny plastic that’s hard to see in the sun. That in itself would be enough for me to prefer a Taranis with a multi-protocol module. The AT9 isn’t a bad radio, some people won’t mind the display, and it’s cheap enough. But what about people that want something different or higher quality? Will they be forced to leave Deviation for a Taranis or some other TX with a multi-protocol module? What is gained by not using a Taranis instead? The primary advantage I see is that an AT9 is around $100 cheaper than the Taranis (Taranis is $209 at Aloft Hobbies and AT9 is $110 at Banggood China. The upgraded AT9S is $123 at Banggood).

I’ve never been a fan of Devo radios, but Deviation firmware and module upgrades added a lot of value and made the radios worthwhile. Heck, it made them the only game in town if you wanted multi-protocol. Things are changing now with the introduction of multi-protocol JR modules. Deviation no longer has a captive audience, people will have more choices, and Deviation might be passed over if the buyer doesn’t like the TX options that are compatible with Deviation firmware.

I understand the thought in the original question about what Devation brings to the table for the Taranis. Why would someone want to replace OpenTX with Deviation when OpenTX can do what Deviation does, and possibly have more features. Opening that view up wider you could also ask the question what does Deviation bring to TXs in general, and why would someone buy an AT9 and install modules to use with Deviation instead of buying a Taranis with a multi-protocol module. Price of the TX is one reason, but what about the module upgrade. What skill level will be required to add a module to an AT9 compared to a Taranis or some other TX? Currently Deviation has the advantage of model files, but that advantage will dwindle over time if people adopt OpenTX radios with a multi-module.

I don’t think that Deviation can hide from the completion by not going head to head with OpenTX on the Taranis. I think Deviation needs to find its niche strengths and build on those to compete. Deviation doesn’t need to match OpenTX feature for feature to survive. There’s lots of features in OpenTX that toy fliers don’t need and probably don’t want. I fly my bigger quads with a Taranis and make use of battery telemetry and voice prompts. I don’t care about that stuff when flying my toys. The countdown timer in the 7E is fine for that. What I do care about is the Deviation forum and model files. It’s nice to have a community of people that are mostly flying toy quads to consult with.

I don’t know if it is technically possible, but as an end user my preference would be to have a dual boot Taranis that can run either OpenTX or Deviation. Then I would own the perfect radio.

Technically a full digital spi driven approach like deviation is still the best solution out there.
tx modules over ppm etc are oldscool...........

Also ability to control lots of models is unbeatable feature.
Indeed features as voice and telemetry etc are lacking, we just need to promote more deviation at our clubs etc get a bigger user base and therefore developers attraction.
Indeed support for some other tx as radiolink or flysky or arm development boardetcmight help

When I show my devation tx at the club people look at me like what a toy radio you got there but they are amazed when they see the capabilities!

Using ppm might be old school, but the OpenTx firmware is going to an etc. of a proper serial line protocol for the diy multimodule. that solves a lot of the issues that using PPM has. I'm not sure if it will let you initiate a bind, but that's the only thing I can think of that might cause problems.

Fernandez wrote: When I show my devation tx at the club people look at me like what a toy radio you got there but they are amazed when they see the capabilities!

This illustrates one of the points I made earlier. Mediocre radios that would have otherwise been passed by are being used due to the multi-protocol goodness that deviation brings. It has been a necessary tradeoff for users wanting multi-protocol. This is changing with the development of a multi-protocol JR module and supporting operating systems. Buyers will soon have the option of purchasing a quality radio and adding multi-protocol with a simple plug in module. They won’t have to make due with whatever radio deviation supports, and they won’t need technical skill to install modules. The day that Banggood and HobbyKing have a plug and play module available that works without hassle is the day that deviation will get a push back in desirability within the general RC community. Will deviation die on this day? Certainly not since there’s a loyal group of followers to continue the tradition, but what about new users. Open source projects need community support and without new users then the community could shrink into its own corner of Geekdom, right next to the Blackberry OS 10 fans. Not supporting the Taranis, assuming that it’s technically possible to do well, and continuing to do business as usual with some other radio such as the AT9 doesn’t seem to me to be the best way to keep the project thriving. Finding a way to coexist with OpenTX on the Taranis, perhaps offering something different to multi-protocol users than they can get with OpenTX, might give deviation a better shot than trying to exist in its own hardware niche.

RC modeling has changed greatly over time. In the early days most airplanes were built with balsa wood which required a lot of time and skill, and you needed to be your own gas motor mechanic. It wasn’t easy to get into RC unless you had someone to help you. Now you can buy a model and pretty much take it out of the box and fly. Entry into the hobby no longer requires electronic or model building skills. I see this trend not only continuing, but accelerating with the exploding RTF quadcopter market. This isn’t just happening with the RC hobby, but other hobbies as well. At least here in the USA. The days of amateur radio and building your own electronic gadgets from kits have faded. The 2-meter and 70cm repeaters around here are pretty much silent, but at one time they were so busy that you could have a hard time getting a word in. Packet radio was killed off by the Internet and email, but HF is still somewhat alive. Hobbies that require technical skill seem to be fading

This isn’t just a walk down memory lane. It’s a trend I see that should be considered when thinking about the future of deviation. Not long ago there was a clearer division between toy grade and hobby grade crafts. Toy grade crafts came RTF, possibly with their own unique transmitter and protocol, while more capable hobby grade crafts could be equipped with the receiver of choice. This has changed recently with the introduction of expensive hobby grade RTF crafts, and buyers that want them. This is an opportunity for a multi-protocol OS to thrive, if it provides what the influx of new users want. If deviation was a commercial product then I would recommend quick adoption of new protocols, an easy user interface with a drill down to more powerful features, and model files that are as close in function to the stock transmitter as possible. But deviation is an open source project, with developers that are graciously donating their time and probably don’t want to chase these potential adopters.

So it’s up to the developers to decide what they want to provide, and where they want to be in the grand scheme of things. Whether they want to be more mainstream on the Taranis and possibly be perceived as competition with OpenTX , or if they want to try to continue occupying their own space with modified radios as they have in the past, in spite of other radios providing their own multi-protocol support. Whatever they choose, I certainly hope that deviation continues.

robpur wrote: So it’s up to the developers to decide what they want to provide, and where they want to be in the grand scheme of things. Whether they want to be more mainstream on the Taranis and possibly be perceived as competition with OpenTX , or if they want to try to continue occupying their own space with modified radios as they have in the past, in spite of other radios providing their own multi-protocol support. Whatever they choose, I certainly hope that deviation continues.

Personally, I don't want either of those things. I want to make it easy to create custom transmitters, similar to the way that people create custom aircraft by plugging in different parts in a hobby-grade aircraft. I think that's part of the issue - there just aren't that many developers, and we all have different goals.

That's part of why I set up a patreon page. I was hoping to get users to commit to what they wanted to see.

Has it been possible to communicate with anyone at Walkera to find out their intentions? If they have finished production, then at least you will have some idea of a timeframe. If they wont talk to you, maybe a company like Banggood, who are represented on R C Groups, could find out. Like everyone else on here, i can only thank you for the time and effort that is put in.

@PhracturedBlue

So you are working on the i6s?

If so, maybe its ready at the end of the year?

I know it is a dumb question

Hi!

I recently started to write a custom opensource firmware for the FS-i6s.
You can monitor my progress on fishpepper.de/projects/openground
I will modify it with an cc2500 module and use it as a FrSky TX. Should not be too hard, controlling the screen was quite easy.
The nice thing is that you can upload custom firmware through the USB port (after shorting two pads inside).
Make sure to make a backup of the original firmware if you want to revert the changes

Regards,
Simon

Hi Simon,

Interesting work, will follow your blog! and flysky looks like a nice TX, although without trims not sure if can get used to that, especially for dialing in new planes.....

I see you also made an alternative firmware for the D4R-2 with sbus interesting......
Deviation also has the X protocol reversed, I am wondering why all clones uses D protocol?
I thought X protocol has better range, lower latency, more channels better telemetry?