I downloaded Castle Link V3.1, uninstalled my old V3.05 and installed V3.1...

I started Castle Link 3.1, then hooked up my Castle Link to the USB port, then connected it to my Phoenix 80 ESC. Clicking on the "Software" tab, the latest firmware version available is STILL only 1.56 (Beta)?

How do I update to the new firmware? I've also clicked on "Update", "Check for Updates", but get the message "There are currently no updates available".

What's wrong?

I don't mean to insult your intelligence, but what version of the software is shown when you click help -> about?

Originally Posted by SteveM732

I don't mean to insult your intelligence, but what version of the software is shown when you click help -> about?

3.1

Unfortunately, the new Castle Link software will not work with the F221 processor controllers. Only F310 and F330. The F221's simply can't handle the code.

Just received a reply to my email to Support at Castle Creations:

"Unfortunately, I've just found out from the engineers that the F221 processors cannot handle the new firmware. There is simply too much code. We can trade you out to a new controller for the flat rate repair fee of $55, and that will allow you to use the new software.

Joe Ford
Product Specialist
Castle Creations"

I guess I'm out of luck..

Just sell it on eBay and purchase a new ESC.

Wow, I know that these things happen, but that really puts a dent in the CC claim of firmware upgrades. I wonder if they'll bother to release a version for older controllers to fix known issues with the old code?

If you do sell it on eBay at least have the decency to say it is an older model that cannot be updated with the newer firmware. But you'll probably lose more than $55 on eBay.

EDIT: Or how about splitting up the new code into and airplane and a helicopter version so they are small enough to fit onto the older ESCs? If that is not enough start dropping less commonly used features till the code fits. That seems to me better than maintaining the old code base or leaving long time users out in the cold.

Originally Posted by SteveM732

Wow, I know that these things happen, but that really puts a dent in the CC claim of firmware upgrades. I wonder if they'll bother to release a version for older controllers to fix known issues with the old code?

If you do sell it on eBay at least have the decency to say it is an older model that cannot be updated with the newer firmware. But you'll probably lose more than $55 on eBay.

EDIT: Or how about splitting up the new code into and airplane and a helicopter version so they are small enough to fit onto the older ESCs? If that is not enough start dropping less commonly used features till the code fits. That seems to me better than maintaining the old code base or leaving long time users out in the cold.

Wow guys. You want new, more and cooler. That takes computing horsepower. The older controllers don't have that.

You want quick and frequent updates. Multiple code trees are horribly difficult to support and are one of the PRIMARY reasons we take so long to make a change. Pruning that back a little will go a long way to improving our ability to support this stuff.

There's no way we can support these things forever. It's not like the old ones DON'T function, they simply can't run the software that is written something like 4 or 5 years later.

I don't look forward to the flaming PMs on this one. We've already been told that we are far worse than MICROSOFT, so let's see what this will bring.

Lee

Originally Posted by lestingoy

We've already been told that we are far worse than MICROSOFT, so let's see what this will bring.

Lee

Impossible, no one writes worse code than MS. You guys make hardware and the firmware to make it run, additional firmware updates are just icing on the cake as far as I am concerned.

I have yet to install the new Castle Link software or flash any of my ESCs as they all work fine as is and I am happy letting others do your beta testing. I just thought maybe if you took the latest code and recompiled without helicopter functions/modules (and vice versa) that it would fit into the older controllers without requiring much additional effort.

If dumping old controllers from the update list means adding more and better features to the new ones, sign me up. I think I'm gonna sell off all my castle stuff and replace it with the ICE series when they become available

Originally Posted by lestingoy

Wow guys. You want new, more and cooler. That takes computing horsepower. The older controllers don't have that.

You want quick and frequent updates. Multiple code trees are horribly difficult to support and are one of the PRIMARY reasons we take so long to make a change. Pruning that back a little will go a long way to improving our ability to support this stuff.

There's no way we can support these things forever. It's not like the old ones DON'T function, they simply can't run the software that is written something like 4 or 5 years later.

I don't look forward to the flaming PMs on this one. We've already been told that we are far worse than MICROSOFT, so let's see what this will bring.

Lee

I've been thinking about trading in my Phoenix 80 ESC for a newer version for $55 as offered from Castle Creations Support, so I can run the latest firmware...

However, what riles me is that I have a perfectly functioning ESC, except that it won't work in Governor mode on my helicopter without surging and the tail twitching, and I can't install the latest firmware because the ESC won't support the latest firmware.

When I bought the Phoenix 80, I expected it to work on Governor mode with all the brushless motors that I want to run, not only be restricted to "some" motors. Now, Castle is basically asking me to pay $55 for a bug fix so I can use it the way I want to..

How long ago did you purchase it? Are we talking a few years or several years?

Your best option may be to sell or trade with someone having a fixing wing as the lack of updates may not be an issue for them.

Originally Posted by SteveM732

How long ago did you purchase it? Are we talking a few years or several years?

Your best option may be to sell or trade with someone having a fixing wing as the lack of updates may not be an issue for them.

I bought it used about a year ago.

However, that's really beside the point since this is a BUG that Castle Creations has promised to fix for the longest time, and I was depending on updating the ESC with the latest firmware so I can actually use the ESC in Governor mode without the surging RPM and tail twitching.

Besides, I don't know anyone else who uses a Phoenix 80 in a fixed wing and even if I do, why would they want to go through the trouble of trading their newer version Phoenix 80 with me?

Originally Posted by gregw

I bought it used about a year ago.

However, that's really beside the point since this is a BUG that Castle Creations has promised to fix for the longest time, and I was depending on updating the ESC with the latest firmware so I can actually use the ESC in Governor mode without the surging RPM and tail twitching.

Besides, I don't know anyone else who uses a Phoenix 80 in a fixed wing and even if I do, why would they want to go through the trouble of trading their newer version Phoenix 80 with me?

You bought it used, and it was probably four to five years old when you bought it. We haven't built an F221 based controller since 2002.

The F221 only has 8K of memory, and won't support the newest software -- it's just too big. The F310 has 16K of memory. We didn't make very many F221 based controllers, and we haven't built them in a long time.

We decided it was time to stop spending hundreds of man-hours cramming the code into 8K of code space, and to give some new features that were impossible with the small amount of memory on the F221.

If you would like, you can upgrade to a brand new Phx-80 with an F310 processor for only $55.00 -- that's only about 1/3 the cost of a new Phx-80.

It's too bad that it is no longer feasible to provide bug fixes for the older controllers. CC probably won't like this idea, but what if the old source code was released so that knowledgeable and motivated F221 owners could work on the bugs?

I had a thought that maybe the F221 and F310 were pin compatible, but even if you used the LQFP-32 for both, they are not.

Gregw, have you tried older firmware versions to see if they have a better performing governor in your heli? People with small outrunner problems often reported version 1.23b or earlier worked fine. Since CC would have to replace the whole controller board on the ESC I don't think $55 is unreasonable for them to charge. You just have to decide if that is a reasonable option for you to choose.