A tale of two TSDZ2B

[Mike_Kelly]

I am converting two bikes and bought one TSDZ2B kit with OSF pre-flashed and the included 860c pre-flashed and one kit stock...by mistake.
So I finish installing the OSF kit on my bike and it is fantastic. In comparision to my M820 bike I find it applies assist more naturally. With the M82o if you are going up a step incline you have to up your cadence to get assistance. It you are pedaling relatively slowly it does not give you much assistance. But the TSDZ2B-OSF does a great job. If I kind of get out of the saddle without gearing down, still pedaling slowly with more torque, it adds assistance very naturally. I really like it better than my M820 bike.
I then finished my wife's bike with the stock firmware and it was awful. She hated it. She had to set assist way up to get any help at all.
I had read how much of an improvement the OSF firmware was for the TSDZ2 series. But have a hard time believing it could be this different.
So I went about trying to flash OSF on her bike. I had a really difficult time with the available documentation. Which is not surprising in my experience with open source projects. For those in the future trying to do this a few notes while it is fresh in my mind.

First the same firmware from emmbrusa works with both the TSDZ2 and the TSDZ2B. There is firmware for the motor, that will be using a specific display, and separate firmware for the display. The original display the V5LCD is different that most newer displays. The V5LCD can not change the parameters of the motor via the display. Hence you have to compile a version of firmware with all the settings you need pre-set. A set is like the motor voltage. There are two basic versions of the TSDZ2B, one for 36v and one for 48v. Once you use the java based configuration utility you save a set of parameters and they are compiled into a special firmware just for you.
On the other hand the 860c display can change the motor parameters via the display menus so there is no need to go through the compiling.

You must use the same version firmware for the display and the motor. NOT the same firmware but a firmware for the display of the same generation as the firmware for the motor. For me at this moment in time it was the motor firmware labeled TSDZ2-v20.1C.5-update-1-860C.hex and display firmware 860C_v20.1C.5-1-bootloader.bin.
To install the motor firmware you use the STM programming windows application that writes to and reads from the microcomputer in the motor,

STVD-STM8 ST Visual develop IDE for developing ST7 and STM8 applications.​

You need to load usb drivers for the STM programming cable you have to buy or make, thats the CP210xx windows drivers. Plug your cable into the cadence cable coming out of the motor and the other end into your windows computer usb port. IF you don't hear a windows "chime" when you plug in your cable then something is wrong. Worng driver or bad cable. Then you use the STM application to load the TSDZ2-v20.1C.5-update-1-860C.hex file and write it to the motor. In the STM application you have to specify three things. You want to choose left panel STLink, center panel SWIM and right panel STM8S105x6 NOT STM8S105x4. I had to do this many times to get it to work. The motor battery must be on.

Next you need to connect another cable commonly called a boost box because it boosts the voltage of the computer usb. Between the display cable that normally connects to the motor not the one that connects to the assist control. They have different connectors so not hard to get it right.
BUT when you plug in your programming cable or boost box to the display I had to turn on the power button on the remote assist handlebar device to get the system to work. The boost box essentially adapts the 5v usb port on your computer to the, in my case 36v, of the ebike battery. It would not power up the display and allow me to transfer the firmware from my computer to the diaplay until I "turned it on". Even tho there was no indication of it being turned on. Then an application provided by the display manufacturer, in my case APT called the APT Burn tools. This is a poorly written app that allows you to load the 860C_v20.1C.5-1-bootloader.bin file and send it to the display.
After you program the display for OSF you must go into the menu (hold - and + and power on the remote) and make the same settings that the java configurator does in the V5LCD method. They can be bewildering. You must get the motor voltage right 36v or 48v. I copied the settings from my pre-configured OSF kit to the newly programmed kit.
It is raining hard here and I am yet to see if this really solves the problems identified by my wife. I sure hope so. As the old proverb wisely states happy wife - happly life.

God I hate windwows

 

[docw009]

Thanks for the info! Your writeup won't encourage many to program the 860 with the bootloader, but don't most of the tong sheng optioned displays, 860, EKD01, whatever, work with OSF like the VLDC5 right out of the box? It's only when you want the ability to change parameters on the fly that you do the bootloader?

Our two TSDZ2 and TSZD2B installs run OSF with the VLDC5. I've used the 860 display on a BBS02B. It's nice, but as you point out, requires more firmware work and I'd have to buy the displays. The TSDZ2B is only $270 USD shipped. Frugal ebiking is my motto, but I always spend the money for safety,

My TSDZ2 only seemed to assist in turbo with standard firmware. The TSDZ2B was better with discernible assist in Eco, but both got the OSF treatment, Running 1,C,2 update 3 on mine, and 1,C,2 update 2 on my wife's bike. Quite happy.

While I read the 1.C.6 release saves power and is more efficient. it acts very weak, so I went back to the 1.C.2, Probably a settings issue, but I don't have time to program and ride, program and ride.

 

[Mike_Kelly]

It is also a confusion that the same displays are used on Bafang and Tongsheng but they have different connectors so that needs to be remembered. The stock display will not work with OSF. You need OSF firmware on both the display and the motor.
Remember that all of the settings are programmable with the OSF 860c. This is a big advantage to the 860c so you can learn what all the settings do and change the response of the motor. You are not likely to do that with the V5LCD, because you have to re-flash the firmware, so you might not realize that there is a set of parameters that make the motor more suited to you. Each assist level can be set to any power level you like. Each assist level can have a different assist type i.e. hybrid, power, torque. So you can change the feel of your motor and of course the settings may be different right out of the box if you bought one pre-programmed. The settings in 1.C.5.1 were different on my pre-programmed 860c vs the fresh install of the firmware. It is tedious for an end-user to have to go through all the settings but it can make a big difference on how the motor feels to you.

It is not really difficult to flash the firmware. The difficulty is in the prep. Getting/making the right cables for the display and motor , knowing that the remote power button must be pushed on, finding the correct firmware for motor and display and configuring the flashing tools for the right micro-controllers. Once the stars align it is just a matter of pushing go.
But there are a few retail shops that will do the programming for you or supply kits that are pre-programmed. I got a lot of help from www.ebikestuff.eu and flycutycat.com