v5.0.0 Devo7E 4ch_dr.ini

Is there an error in the 4 Channel w/ Dual-Rates template that is shipped with Devination v5.0.0 ?

I used it as the starting point for a WLtoys V911 model, and the elevator the ELE and AIL stick were swapped. Loaded the Simple 4 Channel template, and things were fine.

Opening up the file, I see something very odd:

template=4Ch w/ Dual-Rates
mixermode=Advanced
automap=1
[radio]
num_channels=4

[channel1]
template=expo_dr
[mixer]
src=ELE
dest=CH1
[mixer]
src=AIL
dest=CH1
switch=AIL_DR
scalar=60

[channel2]
template=expo_dr
[mixer]
src=AIL
dest=CH2
[mixer]
src=ELE
dest=CH2
switch=ELE_DR
scalar=60
.
.
.

Why would a template be coded this way? Is it intentional ?

Looks like a bug to me. Acts like it on my Tx as well.

I've created a pull request with a fix for this. github.com/DeviationTX/deviation/pull/261

Thanks mwn,
Not all products (protocols) use the same channel order. And I also observed that in the templates, there is a line:

automap=1

This attribute does not show up in any of my model##.ini files that I populated using the button and menus on the transmitter.

I'm guessing this flag means to; setup the mixers and switches according to the template, but then make the final channel order assignments according to the standard order for the selected protocol, (Meaning: the firmware will adjust for channel order when it writes the model.ini file back to flash, regardless of what the order was when it loaded the template).

The reason I bring this up is: If this is indeed a bug. I'm not sure what the correct fix is for the 4ch_dr.ini file. Should [channel1] aways be consistently ELE in the template .ini files? or should it be consistently AIL, and [channel2] is ELE?

F-D-R commented on this too, effectively saying EATR is "standard" order for templates.

The more I look at the source code, the more I agree with FDR's comment. The "default" channel order is EATRG, so the 4ch_dr.ini template should be corrected with that order in mind. And indeed there is clearly built-in features to intelligently remap the channel order, for different protocols...

I think I discovered another reason why this template does not work (out of the box) for me. The template uses a switch assignments of ELE_DR and AIL_DR. These switches do not exist on an unmodified Devo7E transmitter. The 7E only has a HOLD and FMOD switch. ELE_DR and AIL_DR are only available on larger transmitters like Devo 8S, 10, 12S. And the Devo6 has a single DR switch, but not separate aileron and elevator dual rate switches like on 8s, 10, & 12S, etc.

I my opinion, the most user friendly way to correct the 4ch_dr.ini template would be to:
a) fix the ELE/AIL inconsistencies in the mixer sections for channels 1 and 2
b) have transmitter-specific variations of this template in source code area. Each using an appropriate dual-rate switch for each transmitter type or (transmitter group)
c) have the DFU build process select the appropriate version of the 4ch_dr.ini file to include into the templates directory, when compiling the source for for a specific transmitter platform.

I realize this may be more effort than it's worth to the developers, but it would have helped noobs like me not get "as confused". If I get deep enough into compiling the code, I might contribute that as an enhancement. But for now, I'm just an arm-chair quarterback, relying on others to do the implementation work.

I can, however, craft a new Devo7E specific 4ch_dr.ini template, test it, and post it to this thread. That doesn't require me knowing the whole compile/build process...

Enough typing, time to play with my Devo7E ...

Cheers

There are switch mappings in the source code that I think are intended to make the switches in templates work even on transmitters that don't have them. Of course, that this basic template doesn't get the output channels right makes it likely that that feature doesn't work if I'm right about that.

Which shows the real issue about fixing this. That nobody has reported this problem until now means that nobody really uses templates. Given that they are undocumented and somewhat magical, that's not surprising.