TTGO T Beam Firmware for Stratux
There are two major firmwares that are useful to use in combination with Stratux, which offer different advantages: SoftRF and OGN-Tracker.
| SoftRF | OGN-Tracker | GxAirCom (Experimental) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RX Capabilities | Choose one of Legacy, FANET, PilotAware, OGNTP | OGNTP | FLARM, Fanet | This assists the 868Mhz SDR. Range of the T-Beam is quite limited, so this is not an important factor for Stratux |
| TX Capabilities | Choose one of Legacy, FANET, PilotAware, OGNTP | ADS-L, OGNTP, FANET and PilotAware in parallel | FLARM, Fanet | |
| GPS Capabilities | 1 Hz, static configuration | 5 Hz, free configuration | 5 Hz, free configuration | This is especially important for AHRS. Using 1Hz SoftRF will drastically decrease AHRS performance in Stratux. Additionally, Stratux can configure the OGN-Tracker/GxAirCom to use all major satellite systems if the hardware supports it (GPS+Glonass+Galileo including SBAS). |
| Stratux support | Limited, Stratux uses GPS Data and received traffic | Extendend, Stratux web interface allows configuration of OGN Tracker (device address, transmitted pilot name, aircraft type, ...), Stratux will automatically exclude your ID from traffic reports, etc. | Extendend, Stratux web interface allows configuration of OGN Tracker (device address, transmitted pilot name, aircraft type, ...) |
For use with Stratux, we recommend OGN-Tracker firmware, as it is well integrated and doesn't break the AHRS functionality (Note: You CAN NOT verify this on the ground. The GPS is mainly a factor for AHRS when airborne. On the ground, all looks good, but in the air, the 1Hz GPS configuration of SoftRF will not be enough).
Additionally, OGN-Tracker gives you the advantage that it will always transmit PilotAware on the side, which makes PilotAware base stations potentially uplink Mlatted Mode-S traffic positions to your Stratux.
SoftRF usually comes preinstalled on your T-Beam, but you might still want to consider updating the firmware - see below.
As of Stratux Europe Edition version eu022, we provide pre-built OGN-Tracker firmware binaries with each Stratux release. Before proceeding, please check which version of the T-Beam you have. On the front side of the PCB, there should be a small text, e.g. TT22_V1.1 or TT22_V07. Verify which version you have before flashing any firmware. Also you have to check the RF chip on the T-Beam if it says "SX1262" or not, as the SX1262 requires a different firmware.
Important: This process only works if you have installed Stratux EU version eu025 or later.
- Plug the T-Beam into one of your Stratux USB Ports via a Micro-USB cable
- Download
puttyto your PC and connect it to the Stratux WiFi - Use putty to connect to your Stratux (by default, connect to 192.168.10.1 in putty)
- When promted for login data, enter "pi" as a login name and "raspberry" as the password
- You should now see a promt like
pi@raspberrypi:~$. Depending on your specific T-Beam variant, run one of these commands (Note: The T-Beam 1.1 requires the tbeam10 firmware variant):
sudo /opt/stratux/ogn/install-ogntracker-firmware-pi.sh ogn-tracker-bin-tbeam07-sx1276
sudo /opt/stratux/ogn/install-ogntracker-firmware-pi.sh ogn-tracker-bin-tbeam10-sx1262
sudo /opt/stratux/ogn/install-ogntracker-firmware-pi.sh ogn-tracker-bin-tbeam10-sx1276
sudo /opt/stratux/ogn/install-ogntracker-firmware-pi.sh ogn-tracker-bin-tbeam12-sx1276
sudo /opt/stratux/ogn/install-ogntracker-firmware-pi.sh ogn-tracker-bin-tbeams3-sx1262-mtk
sudo /opt/stratux/ogn/install-ogntracker-firmware-pi.sh ogn-tracker-bin-tbeams3-sx1262-ubx
- Once the process has finished, unplug the T-Beam and plug it back in (or unplug the Stratux and plug it back in. But the T-Beam should lose power once to ensure correct initialization)
- Download the respective firmware from here
- Make sure your T-Beam is plugged in via USB
- You have to be root to flash the firmware, run
sudo -s - Extract the zip package
unzip esp32-ogn-tracker-bin*.zip - run
source flash_USB0.shto flash the firmware
- Download the firmware from here if you have a T-Beam 1.0 or later, or here if it is older than 1.0
- Go to https://www.silabs.com/developers/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers to download the CP210x USB to UART bridge driver and install it ("Universal Windows Driver")
- Go to https://www.espressif.com/en/support/download/other-tools and download the "Flash Download Tools" and extract the package
- Extract the esp32-ogn-tracker-bin*.zip file
- Make sure your T-Beam is plugged in via USB
- Run the flash download tool. When asked, select "Developer mode" and "ESP32 DownloadTool"
- Fill in the fields as shown in the screenshot. Make sure to select the correct COM port in the bottom right
- Now click "ERASE" to clear the T-Beam's firmware and wait for the status indicator to show "FINISH"
- Hit the "START" button to flash the firmware and wait until the progress bar is filled up.
You can now unplug your T-Beam and connect it to your Stratux.
Refer to here and here for downloads and flashing instructions (section ESP32 is relevant for the T-Beam).
We provide pre-built GxAirCom-Tracker firmware binaries with each Stratux release. Before proceeding, please check which version of the T-Beam you have. We only support the T-Beam hardware that is also supported b GxAirCom, see Hardware-supported
Important: This process only works if you have installed Stratux EU version eu029 or later.
- Plug the T-Beam into one of your Stratux USB Ports via a Micro-USB cable
- Download
puttyto your PC and connect it to the Stratux WiFi - Use putty to connect to your Stratux (by default, connect to 192.168.10.1 in putty)
- When promted for login data, enter "pi" as a login name and "raspberry" as the password
- You should now see a promt like
pi@raspberrypi:~$. If you have a T-Beam 1.0 or newer, type in this command:
sudo /opt/stratux/GxAirCom/install-GxAirCom-Stratux-firmware.sh\ - Once the process has finished, the script should have restarted stratux again.