Changing the firmware on a HobbyKing KK board
This guide is made for the Hobbyking KK board V1 but will work just the same for the Hobbyking KK board V2, the only difference is that you have to select the correct board in the flash tool (The V2 uses a different processor). The V2 board is capable of running more advanced firmwares like the XX, where as the V1 is limited to the ”standard” firmwares.The HK KK boards comes pre-flashed with the ”+” Quad KK firmware. In this guide we will change it to the Tricopter V1.6 firmware.
You need two things to change the firmware of the HK KK board:
First thing is an AVR programmer. I use this AVR programmer from Flytron. But you can get one really cheap from Hobbyking or ebay. Search for ”usbasp” or ”AVR Programmer” and you’ll find loads.
Second thing you need is an adaptor. Normally the AVR programmers comes with the standard 10 pin output, but the HK KK is 6 pins. Luckily the adapter is so easy to make that anyone can do it.
(Picture by arch001)
On the left you see the output from the 10 pin AVR programmer and on the left the 6 pin port of the HK KK board. All you need to do is connect the correct pins to each other. 1 to 9, 2 to 2, 3 to 7, 4 to 1, 5 to 5 and 6 to 10.
(Picture by arch001)
I soldered my own adapter but there is a simpler way that doesn’t require any soldering
That way is to use two servo extensions. Simply remove the protective plastic and pull the pins out.
Plug the pins into the connector in the right order and you’re done. Just make sure that the pins doesn’t touch each other. If you like to make the adapter reusable you can add some hotglue on the pins so that you don’t have to plug each pin in separately next time.
(Pin position in the picture is only for illustrative purposes)
Now that you have you’re KK board hooked up to the AVR programmer you need an AVR flashing software. There are a number of different options to choose from but I higly recommend using the KKmulticopter Flash tool. This software is specifically made to flash KK boards and is extremely simple to use. You don’t have to know about fuses or anything. The software even fetches the firmware file for you. And one of the best things, it works on both PC and MAC.
Download and install the software from this page.
Install the proper drivers for your AVR programmer. If your on a mac and use a usbasp you don’t need to install any drivers.
Launch the software
This is how it looks when you start it up. First thing you’re going to do is change the ”controller”
Choose the ”HobbyKing Quadcontroller” board from the list.
Choose the firmware you wish to use from the firmware drop-down list. The software automatically only shows softwares compatible with the controller you chose.
Change the port to ”usb” and make sure that the correct programmer is chosen in the top drop-down list. ”usbasp” is the default one.
Push the green ”go” symbol and sit back and relax while the software does the work for you. It takes about a minute to flash the board. Once it’s done the software will tell you: ”avrdude done. Thank you”
Thats it! You’re done. Unplug the programmer and go out and fly. Good luck!
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