For more than a year we had no firmware updates for the On-Board Computer and Controller. We've even been asked if we've lost our firmware developers. No, and today we present your big firmware and hardware update.
The 24F controllers got significantly improved protection. We told you about it earlier. This update has been implemented on all 24F controllers manufactured since August 2021.
Improved the design of cap the microSD card plug in the On-board Computer. Now there is less chance that it will come off and get lost.
This is the end of the hardware update, let's move on to the description of our efforts to update the firmware.
The first good news is that with the new controllers the firmware update speed is 6 times faster. Please note that when updating, it is very important to follow the sequence and update the Controller and ulight first and the On-board Computer last.
And now more about updates. Go!
On-Board Computer
We have updated the On-board Computer firmware to version 0.7B. The most important innovation is the long-awaited import/export of the On-board Computer settings. In addition, there are new functions and menu sections.
The design of the menu has changed, now the selected menu item is highlighted by a bar, which is more noticeable and convenient. Thanks to the optimization of the screen graphics, nine menu lines are now displayed simultaneously, instead of the eight previously. In menu items with long names, an automatic scrolling of the text appeared when this item was selected.
Important note!
The On-board Computer must be updated last! First, update all devices, except the On-board Computer, since the menu protocol has been updated, and it is not compatible with the old menu and will not be displayed. After updating the device, hold the left button for a couple of seconds to exit the menu. Finally, update the On-board Computer. We recommend re-detecting the motor in the Controller. After the update, you need to reset the settings. Brake and throttle connected to the On-board Computer must be detected in the screen menu.
A shortlist of updates:
- Menu redesigned.
- All display settings moved to a separate menu.
- Added port input state in port settings.
- Added port functions: disable backlight, lock screen.
- Added separate hotkeys while charging.
- Added option to use hotkeys with a short click.
- Added throttle/brake settings which are connected to display.
- Added global odometer setting.
- Global stats reset will not reset the odometer now.
- Added parameters import/export.
- Added icons on the main screen (brake, brake limit, turtle mode, motor/controller fault, battery fault).
- With new controllers, update speed is 6 times faster now.
- Logger speed should work faster too.
- Added text scroll in the menu.
- Logo updated.
- Added more informative messages for resets with password requests.
- Added parameters that could be requested from display on the CAN-bus.
For a description of the new menu, see our Wiki in the On-board computer section.
And now more about updates.
New icons appeared on the main screen:
Turtle — battery voltage limit.
B! — braking limit.
B — braking.
Motor icon — motor/controller error.
Battery Icon — battery failure.
In the menu section Onboard computer > Information, the names of the menu items have changed Input 1 func. - Input8 func. на IO1 state - IO8 state, which fully corresponds to the connection diagram.
A new menu item, On-board computer settings, has appeared, where the settings for the color and brightness of the buttons, backlight, contrast and screen heating have been transferred.
Big update in the Buttons setup section of the menu:
For convenience, the menu items IO1 state - IO8 state have appeared where you can see which port the wire is connected to; when a signal is applied, the values in these menu items will change from 0 to 1. These items are similar to those in the On-board computer > Information menu.
Menu items Input 1 type - Input 8 type replaced by IO1 type - IO8 type, which is more logical and corresponds to the wiring diagram.
Menu items Input 1 func. - Input 8 func. replaced by IO1 func. - IO8 func. Also, these items have two new features:
Security block — enabling a password during charging, so that you cannot change any settings while the battery is charging through the motor.
Turn off screen backlight — turn off the screen backlight with one button, for example, when charging.
Holy war continues between the types of settings Button and Switch. The names of these functions have been changed:
Item Button is now Latching.
Item Switch is now Normal.
Item Switch_inv is now Inverted.
The names of the CAN input numbers have changed from CAN button 1 - CAN button 16 to CAN_1 - CAN_16.
The new Hot key charge mode menu item allows you to customize the functionality of the On-board computer buttons in charging mode, which allows you to use the same button to activate different functions while driving and while charging.
The new Short press hot key menu item allows you to configure the activation of the function by short pressing the On-board computer buttons, without holding it for 2 seconds.
A new section of the Control setup menu, in which the parameters of the throttle and brake levers, connected directly to the On-board computer, are configured. Automatic tuning is also available. Previously, all settings had to be done in the menu section Controller > Control.
New menu item On-board computer > Data sources > Odometer, which displays the total mileage of the controller in kilometers.
The long-awaited function of import and export of On-board computer settings has been implemented. In the menu items On-board computer > Export parameters and On-board computer > Import parameters you can export and import previously made On-board computer settings to the microSD card.
Let's move on to the description of the Controller updates.
Controller
We have updated the Controller firmware to version 0.8. An important innovation is the experimental function of configuring the controller via USB; to use it, you need a USB cable connected to the PWM port of the controller. We'll test this function, we will announce the results additionally. There is also an MTPA function that allows negative d-axis current to be added to increase torque on IPM motors. In the Logger, we have added the ability to record logs for the PAS system. A new menu section with controller statistics has appeared. Added settings for hall filters to debug jerking and stuttering.
Important note!
The On-board Computer must be updated last! First, update all devices, except the On-board Computer, since the menu protocol has been updated, and it is not compatible with the old menu and will not be displayed. After updating the device, hold the left button for a couple of seconds to exit the menu. Finally, update the on-board computer. We recommend re-detecting the motor in the Controller. After the update, you need to reset the settings. Brake and throttle connected to the On-board Computer must be detected in the screen menu.
A shortlist of updates:
- Added glitchy USB to the controller (needs a USB cable connected to PWM port).
- Completely new LEVCAN parameters protocol with more possibilities.
- Added trip statistics menu to the controller:
- Ah regen/used/total.
- Estimated motor efficiency in real time and average.
- Calculated motor torque (on the shaft).
- Temperature measurement now calculates t-sensor resistance.
- Improved kV detection.
- Fixed 'bug' with long brake response on slow current change speed for acceleration limit.
- Defaults for all ports are now OFF.
- Added brake button % (percentage of brake phase current for button-brake).
- Added brake on the released throttle (brake phase current).
- Motor inductance and resistance detection for MTPA.
- MTPA logic (works well only with IPM motors).
- Fixed FOC FW to be triggered at a stop when braking.
- Added more control CAN commands.
- Added more parameters that could be requested from the controller on the CAN-bus.
- Added more logger parameters.
- Added hall filter settings to debug stuttering.
- Added prefix selection for controller name.
For a description of the new menu, see our Wiki in the Controller section.
And now more about updates.
A new item Motor LR has appeared in the Auto-setup menu section, in which the inductance and resistance of the electric motor is determined. You can see the measurement results in the menu section Controller > Motor setup, items Phase resistance, Inductance d and Inductance q.
The menu item Control modes now has the item Braking ph. at 0% throttle — phase braking current with the throttle handle released, in Amperes (A). This function allows regenerative braking to be initiated when the throttle is released.
This function will be active if additional modes are disabled in the Controller > Advanced modes menu section or if, with activated additional modes, in one of the menu sections Mode S1, Mode S2 or Mode S3 in menu item Braking ph. at 0% throttle was setup is 0A.
A similar item Braking ph. at 0% throttle appeared in all advanced modes in the Advanced modes section for setting different recuperation levels in each of the modes. Also, in all advanced modes, the Braking phase item has appeared, which is similar to the same item in the Controller > Control modes > Braking ph. at 0% throttle
In the Control menu section, the item Brake button power has appeared, which allows you to adjust the level of braking force with the brake levers with integrated brake buttons in percent, relative to the phase braking level.
In the menu section Controller > Motor setup > Motor t°-sensor the #°t R (+ -10%) # menu item appeared where the resistance of the electric motor temperature sensor is displayed, with an accuracy of +/- 10%.
All settings related to the Hall sensors have been moved to the menu section Controller > Motor settings > Position sensor.
Added new menu items:
Sensor type — currently, by default, only one type of Hall sensor is available. Additional types of supported sensors will be added in future updates.
Hall filter — enable or disable the filter in the direction of rotation.
State filter — select the delay time, in seconds (sec). All indicators that are less than the set value will be filtered out.
Direction filter — select the delay time for changing the direction of rotation of the electric motor (forward/backward), in seconds (sec).
Changed the Sensor mode item, now you can select the following operating modes Sensorless, Combined, Sensors, Freq.
Sensorless — motor control using BEMF integration, parameter Integration threshold is used. It is rather insensitive to tuning, but more accurate tuning may be required for high-speed motors (such as RC). At the moment, the sensorless does not have a start-up algorithm, it works stably only at some speed. Hall setups start with sensorless mode.
Combined — start the motor on Hall sensors, then switch to sensorless mode, the threshold is determined by the parameter radians per second (rad/s) in the From hall to s-less menu item.
Sensors — electric motor control only by signals from Hall sensors.
Freq — frequency control. Do not use this mode for driving!
The motor tuning setup has also changed.
Removed the item Current control mode. The control modes now have four modes:
Off — control mode is disabled.
Square — outdated control method used only for motor detection.
FOC — field-oriented control of the motor.
DC-DC — charging mode when you use the controller in motor charging mode.
The control mode selected in this menu is the priority setting for the controller. If the Hall sensor mode is selected in the Controller > Motor setup > Position sensor menu, which does not correspond to the set operating mode of the electric motor, then this Hall sensor mode will be automatically replaced with a more suitable one.
There are new menu items that allow you to configure MTPA. This function allows negative d-axis current to be added to increase torque on IPM motors.
Phase resistance — the result of measuring the phase resistance of the electric motor during auto-setup (menu item Motor LR), in Ohms (Ohm).
Inductance d — the result of measuring the inductance of the electric motor along the d axis during auto-setup (menu item Motor LR), in microHenry (µH). The d-axis (“straight”) refers to the component of the stator magnetic field that is in phase with the rotor magnetic field.
Inductance q — the result of measuring the inductance of the electric motor along the q axis during auto-setup (menu item Motor LR), in microHenry (µH). The q-axis (“quadrature”) refers to the component of the stator magnetic field that is 90 ° out of phase with the rotor magnetic field.
Flux linkage — is the total magnetic flux permeating the electrical circuit, in Weber (Wb).
New items for recording PAS logs, speed and torque requests have appeared in the Controller > Logger menu section.
PAS frequency RPM — PAS frequency data logging.
PAS torque Nm — PAS torque data logging.
PAS power W — PAS power data logging.
Speed request — speed request data logging.
Torque request — torque request data logging.
We've added a controller location setting for multi-motor configurations. Now in the menu section Controller > Extra parameters appeared prefixes for the controller.
Prefix 1 and Prefix 2 — controller name setting for multi-motor configurations. Using the prefixes together or separately, you can specify where the electric motor that the Controller controls is located. The selectable values for each prefix are None, Front, Rear, Left, Right. To save the setting, go to the Controller > Save settings menu item and select On, then restart the controller. The prefix will now appear in front of the controller name in the Devices menu.
For example, you have a 2WD scooter and two 12F controllers, you need to distinguish them somehow in the Devices menu for easy setup. A controller for a front motor can be prefixed with Front, in which case the controller will be named Front Nucular controller in the Devices menu.
If you are using a 3WD drive or more, then both prefixes must be used for the controller name. For example, if the controller is driving a rear right motor, the setting will look like this: Prefix 1 — Rear, Prefix 2 — Right.
New section Statistics.
In the menu section Controller > Statistics you can view the data on the Controller. These are trip statistics that will be automatically reset when the controller is powered off. If you have several Controllers in the system, then you can see the summary data for all controllers in the general statistics in the On-board computer.
Wh used total — total energy consumption (used plus regen), in Watt-hours (Wh).
Wh used — energy consumption, in Watt-hours (Wh).
Wh regen. — energy gained during the recuperation process, in Watt-hours (Wh).
Regen. % — the percentage of energy recovered during recuperation (%).
Ah used total — total energy consumption (used plus regen), in Ampere hours (Ah).
Ah used — energy consumption, in Ampere hours (Ah).
Ah regen. — energy gained during the recuperation process, in Ampere hours (Ah).
The values below are approximate!
Motor efficiency — efficiency of the electric motor, in percent (%).
Eff. average — average efficiency of the electric motor, in percent (%).
Torque — current torque of the electric motor, in Newton-meters (Nm).
Power out — the power that the electric motor delivers, in Watts (W).
Power in — power supplied to the electric motor, in Watts (W).
uLight
The lighting controller also got updates v0.6.1.
A shortlist of updates:
- A new LEVCAN parameters protocol.
- Fixed PWM IO settings, now they do work.
- Added temperature sensor thresholds, they work as virtual buttons for functions.
- Added ability to send button inputs to the CAN-bus.
- Main program source code published on GitHub:
Here is such a big update. We hope you enjoy it!
You can download all updates here.
To news about other products.
6F and 12F controllers
We are receiving a lot of questions about the timing of the production of the 6F and 12F. This year, unfortunately, we will not be able to produce them. There is a large deficit in the microelectronics market, the rise in prices for components and processors. At the moment, we are focused on launching mass production of 24F controllers, and once all processes are adjusted, we will move on to launch other types of controllers. We really hope you can wait! The 6F and 12F controllers will also receive significant updates.
BMS16S and BMS24S
BMS16S is still in development. The first batch is planned with 6F controllers. Until this moment, we will actively test this BMS, this is a very responsible component. BMS24S on prototyping, we plan to start testing in winter.
Thanks for your attention! Follow the news.
Nucular Team