Patoruzusos said:
revher said:
We haven't so many feedbacks on this procedure, because most people here are on Windows, and we would be happy if you (or any user of this procedure) could say some words on it:
Happy if I can be of any help.
The wiki for me was very clear....
I hope this helps, come back to me anytime.
Thank you very much for answering this short questionnaire so well. As you have probably noticed, the history of this open source software is quite long and sometimes very debated.
It started with Casainho who is still developing his own branch but borrows part of the mbrusa code, for example the "overrun" which is almost nonexistent now. On my wife's Winora (Nexus 7-speed Internal Gear Hub) bike, recently fitted with a TSDZ2 coaster brake, I did not install the gear sensor and apparently she does not need to have it until present.
I am very new on this subject too (October 2019?). And I do not know most of the basics of this brushless motor. But I'm not new on Linux and OS / X (and Windows). And when Stancecoke started putting the Italian code (zip) of Marcoq, Mbrusa and others on Github, creating a fork for Casainho's work, I was very happy because I knew that the project would have an Open Source future (under GPL license).
I tried to understand the origin and the history of the tree (files and sub-directories) of the Stancecoke branch (I know most of them). Some people have already explained on this forum that Makefile.windows should be used on Linux and OS / X (?) It was strange and it is still strange for me. But like Stancecoke, I am not proposing a new branch which I will not follow.
Stancecoke didn't change the tree structure, it just added a very nice and concise Java configurator which I really liked. Then he helped mbrusa build his own branch. Unfortunately, the version numbers are defined at the beginning and not at the end of a development! Therefore and unfortunately, there is no tag yet since Casainho's tags. Things are more confusing because mbrusa directly proposed a more complete but more complex configurator.
I think there's room for an easy Stancecoke configurator branch with mbrusa's continuous motor development.
As I was able to compile on OS/X, Linux and Windows with the same procedure using the command lines, I asked Stancecoke if I could develop an "OS/X and Linux installation" wiki page and he agreed (he already opened the editing to any Github user and asked for contribution).
When Stancecoke closed his branch, the wiki was partly lost and I asked mbrusa if I could make a new one and here it is. Still open for editing by any GitHub user.
I will answer some of your questions or give some comments. Your text is in italics:
- When you said that you used the git version 17a364, was it to rapidly test the Open source firmware, with the minimum number of parameters to be set? (version 17a364 is the latest state of stancecoke's configurator)
I ignore what is the stancecoke's configurator.
I already explained above the history. I call version 17a364 the latest A version with stancecoke configurator (was it already B?).
I came to the other Open Source project, and realised I needed a new display for that, but I liked the compactness of my xh18.
I agree that the xh18 is very very nice (I can't find any equivalent on the Bafang series).
Very fast I found mbrusa's variation, and proceeded to see if I could create a binary.
The wiki said version 17a364 was recommended (are you sure?), and that it was simple (yes).
My understanding was that after 17a364 the development continued and for testing purposes 1001 config options became exposed. If 17a364 was the most stable (is it on the wiki? no) and all what I needed, I had no need for other version (me too, that is the reason why I think it is easier to promote 17a364). This was maybe the only non clear point in the wiki. Luckily it felt wrong, and I asked for an expanded explanation about here. (I would have been even more verbose by giving explanations...)
- Was it easy to get latest mbrusa's version B and to flash it.
I am not user what is version B.
I cloned it and switched it back to 17a364
When I learned it was outdated, switched it back to latest.
very easy, just git commands.
Version B is current version. As I said a tag on a stable version has to be set.
Why would I need to create a branch?
Already answered, if you want to keep a configurator very simple but including new developments on the motor.
- Was it sufficient to flash only the main.ihx firmware?
This is a crucial question that you have not answered. There is a debate as to whether the other 2 firmwares (memory, eprom) should also be flashed. One of the firmware is empty and for the other, I asked for its origin and I never received a response.
In my own experience, only the main.ihx is required. In addition, I noticed that with my ST-LINK V2, when I backup the firmware from the TSDZ2 controller just before flashing a new one, it works very well. If I do not initiate the connection (the light must change from blue to orange), I must flash the main.ihx file twice.
- Any additional comments?
Nothing linux related, I got my first firmware (17a364) within 15 minutes, and if the second took longer was because there were many more options to read about and set
For me, I really appreciate that you got the firmware within 15 minutes. Did you include the time to read the wiki...?
Maybe, going back to my comment about verbosity, it is always nice to educate the user (but not all of them need to, or want to), a concise step by step (copy and paste) list could be better, and some side notes, clearly marked as "extra informative / could be ignored" for those who want to flash the firmware as fast as possible and forget.
It is true that the current wiki is verbose and pretends to educate the user on the functioning of git, compilation and link and executable (I am myself a former CVS user but I am new to git).
Non linux related (so, not for that page) there is a lot of knowledge on this forum. Some answers I got here assumed prior knowledge (ie. version b?). Not being lazy, I went back and educated myself, trying to find some clue somewhere in the forums, and some other on google. There is definitely some "common knowledge" that could find its way into the wiki.
Thank you again for taking the time to answer this questionnaire. As already said, do not hesitate to improve the wiki, I am currently working on an old car (Citroën 5HP from 1924) and on another forum. I use my bikes in town only and I find that the "warm up" takes a long time and I don't want to have a 20% increase with version B, therefore I currently flashed the firmware (17a364) on 3 different bikes and I am very happy with the joint work done by all of you.
Revher