uSplit - UART Splitter for VESC-based ESCs

Soflo · September 1, 2020, 3:22am

What do I need to do to get the driver updated?

Ricco · September 1, 2020, 3:24am

Damn, sorry that lesson was learned using your uSplit. We can trade uSplits and get you going again. I’ll follow up in PM.

The issue is that the BOSSA tool corrupted the uSplits bootloader, so there is nothing that can be done except reprogramming it over JTAG, which requires a special tool.

Soflo · September 1, 2020, 3:35am

Thanks man! That’s great customer service right there

stan · September 5, 2020, 4:44pm

The new Davega firmware isn’t compatible with usplit I have the same issue with it freezing after 10-15 seconds. You will need to downgrade to a v2.0 davega.

Ricco · September 5, 2020, 4:55pm

Oh thank you for pointing this out. Hopefully this is the issue, so that I can recreate it and fix it. I don’t think my DAVEga X is up to date so it makes sense.

stan · September 5, 2020, 5:10pm

That’s what janpom told me.l

Ricco · December 4, 2020, 6:07am

I just released v0.10 of the uSplit FW. The changes made in this FW are:

Compatibility with DAVEga X FW v3.x.x
Numerous stability improvements
Freeze detection
- The uSplit will now detect conditions where communication has halted, and reset itself as an attempt to correct the issue

This FW was tested with a DAVEga X, Metr Pro, and VX2 Pro remote connected to the uSplit for over 2 hours. The DAVEga X and Metr Pro are both running the latest FWs.

Anyone who has purchased a uSplit in the past will receive an email notification of this FW update. If you did not receive one and would like to receive notifications in the future, send me a PM.

Skyart · January 14, 2021, 9:14pm

I didn’t read the whole thread, but just have a question about UART remotes and usplit, is it safe to use UART remotes? Like vx2? And vx1. My stormcore only have 1 uart post and I want to use metr, gavega and VX1 remote

Ricco · January 14, 2021, 10:30pm

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the use of UART remotes that pass throttle data through UART since I cannot guarantee that the uSplit will continue operating in scenarios you may put it through. There is always the possibility that the uSplit could freeze (stop communicating) and leave you without control of the board until you restart it. This could be very dangerous in certain situations and at the very least very frustrating.

I do my best to squash all bugs that I can find with the ESCs and devices that I have, but I am limited to the bugs that I can get to show back up repeatedly. That is why there is always the possibility of a freeze.

With that said, for your build. You could still use the VX1 safely, as long as you used it in the PWM (PPM) mode. The VX1 uses a wire connected to the battery positive lead to measure the battery voltage so there is actually no need to send the throttle commands over UART. The VX2 however only uses UART so that could not work in your build. In the end you setup would be Metr and DAVEga connected to the uSplit, then the VX1 connected to your battery and the PWM (PPM) port of the Stormcore.

Redeye · January 15, 2021, 11:00am

Hi @Ricco, do you see any issue using the uSplit on a Unity running 5.1 uart port with DavegaX and the Robogotchi data logger?

Ricco · January 15, 2021, 5:45pm

From reading the docs, I do not see any issue using the DAVEga X and Robogotchi with the uSplit. I do not have a Robogotchi to test with yet, but if you did run this setup and found that there are issues, I could purchase one to replicate the setup and debug.

enzymlefax · January 27, 2021, 9:02pm

Hi @Ricco. Usplit is still struggling with my two devices:

Metr Pro (latest FW 5.27)
Maytech Remote

After updating the Metr Pro from 5.23 to 5.27 it shows that there is an “unkown error” while pairing. If I directly connect Metr to my UART port of my FSESC 200 (AS200S clone) everything is just fine. Unfortunatly Usplit never work flawlessly… Please update it to make it more stable.

ps:

Usplit is updated to v0.1
the data stream of the Maytech remote is working via Usplit
sometimes it’s possible to connect to BLE Vesc Android app

Ricco · January 27, 2021, 10:33pm

Sorry to hear your setup is not working properly. Thanks for providing all the info you did. I will make sure my Metr is updated and check if I experience the same issue.

Since I dont have a Maytech remote, I will only get visibility to the bug if it occurs when the Metr is combined with the DAVEga X, VX2 Pro, or TTL system.

If I cannot recreate the issue, I will have to get a Maytech remote to test with.

To be sure of the remote you are using, is it the v1 Maytech waterproof remote, or the v2?

Skyart · January 28, 2021, 12:22am

Question, does the usplit come preloaded with most current firmware? Is it plug and play pretty much? Or do I need to download something to it to make it work.

enzymlefax · January 28, 2021, 9:55am

Thanks for your fast response. Metr is also not working if the Maytech V2 (waterproof, Esurf edition) is not connected to Usplit. Any news about your updated Metr and your Usplit device?

Ricco · January 28, 2021, 8:49pm

The uSplit handles any packet that is in the standard VESC message format so the ESC FW does not matter, unless the overall message structure in a new FW changes. It also detects the baud rate and rx/tx pin assignment of the ESC. Because of this it should be plug and play.

There is always the possibility of a bug showing up like in @enzymlefax’s situation, where the devices connected or the FW of those devices has not been tested with the uSplit. At that point I do what I can to find the bug and eliminate it. With each bug fixed, the uSplit FW becomes generally more stable. Ideally I could test for all situations a bug could arise and eliminate all of them, but I am limited to the devices I have to test with.

Ricco · January 28, 2021, 9:01pm

I didn’t get the chance to test it last night but plan to tonight. I see that the new Metr FW adds support for the FlexiBMS Lite, which leads me to believe the issue lies with the uSplit’s handling of CAN forwarded packets.

CAN forwarded packets have always been difficult for the uSplit due to the responses lacking any indication it was forwarded from a device connected over CAN. I have been able to get them working reliably for ESCs connected over CAN, but I have not been able to test the handling of any BMS messages since I do not have a smart BMS yet. I have a FLexiBMS on the way so that I can finally change that.

Ricco · January 29, 2021, 3:32am

The issue is caused by the COMM_PING_CAN message that the Metr sends at start up. Since this message takes a while to receive a response and the Metr continues to communicate periodically before receiving the response, the uSplit loses track of the ping message by the time it receives a response from the ESC. The Metr appears to rely on this response to continue updating, so no data shows up on the app after that even thought the comms have not actually stopped.

I will look into a fix for this situation this weekend. The uSplit currently operates on a FIFO basis, so if a long time goes by without a response to one request and then the same device sends a new request, the uSplit forgets about the first packet and moves onto the new one. It is assumed that the device has timed out and moved onto the next request, but in this case it hasn’t so my approach needs to change.

enzymlefax · February 1, 2021, 5:36am

Any news about it? I’m really looking forward to that fix

Ricco · February 1, 2021, 2:00pm

I started on it yesterday but wasn’t able to finish it up. I’m expecting to complete the changes and test them before the end of the week.

I’ll send you the FW before releasing it to verify that the updates fix your issues and no others are seen.