Fundamentally the problem is I have an older flight controller (F3 Seriously Dodo - RMDO target), and trying to pair it with a modern 4-in-1 ESC (Skystars K060).

Trying to connect to it in Blheli_32 Suite I get an error:

"Found outdated 4way-interface revision v20.0.0.3
Please update "Betaflight" firmware to the most recent revision.
(4way-interface v20.0.0.5 or higher).

I was running Betaflight 3.5.7 on this board before, and tried updating to the last supported version, 4.0.6, and get the same exact error message. No more firmware updates available.

What options do I have? Can I flash and write to the ESC another method? Or is there something easier I can try with software or updates?

Not sure if it is important or not, but I only soldered up the ESC neutral and motor wires to the FC and skipped the current, vbat, and TX wires. It's just unneccesary for this build at this time.

Thank you for your help!

Your ESCs will be using a type of MCU that aren't supported by the v20.0.0.3 4way-interface driver code that is baked into the version of Betaflight you are using. Newer versions of Betaflight has newer 4way-interface driver code baked into it which has support for more types of ESC MCU's.

Your only options are one of the following:

1. Temporarily hook the ESC board up to a more modern flight controller so you can then flash / configure it using that FC.
   
   
2. Use an Arduino to flash / configure the ESC board. The BLHeliSuite32 software will flash the newest compatible version of the 4way-interface code to the Arduino so you aren't then constrained by the version that is baked into Betaflight. The video below demonstrates how to do that.
   

(24-Feb-2023, 06:59 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: Your ESCs will be using a type of MCU that aren't supported by the v20.0.0.3 4way-interface driver code that is baked into the version of Betaflight you are using. Newer versions of Betaflight has newer 4way-interface driver code baked into it which has support for more types of ESC MCU's.

Your only options are one of the following:

1. Temporarily hook the ESC board up to a more modern flight controller so you can then flash / configure it using that FC.
   
   
2. Use an Arduino to flash / configure the ESC board. The BLHeliSuite32 software will flash the newest compatible version of the 4way-interface code to the Arduino so you aren't then constrained by the version that is baked into Betaflight. The video below demonstrates how to do that.
   

Ok, great. This is the kind of answer I was looking for... With the arduino option, will I program it once and then be able to use FC passthrough thereafter? Or will I need to wire it to the arduino each and every time I decide to change something?

Thank you very much!

Unfortunately you are going to have to use the Arduino every time you need to refresh BLHeli firmware or configure any of the ESC settings.

You can install a newer version of Betaflight to F3 FCs if you flash the Joe Lucid 4.1.1 EA3 Performance Edition from the link below but I think the v20.0.0.5 version of the 4-way interface wasn't implemented until Betaflight 4.2. It might be worth trying anyway to see if that version will allow BLHeli passthrough.

https://github.com/joelucid/betaflight/r...v4.1.1-EA3

(24-Feb-2023, 11:37 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: Unfortunately you are going to have to use the Arduino every time you need to refresh BLHeli firmware or configure any of the ESC settings.

You can install a newer version of Betaflight to F3 FCs if you flash the Joe Lucid 4.1.1 EA3 Performance Edition from the link below but I think the v20.0.0.5 version of the 4-way interface wasn't implemented until Betaflight 4.2. It might be worth trying anyway to see if that version will allow BLHeli passthrough.

https://github.com/joelucid/betaflight/r...v4.1.1-EA3

I tried the Joe Lucid Performance Edition. It flashed and seems to work (I have to flash everything through STM32 Cube Programmer to make anything work nicely with the F3 and Naze32 boards). It's exciting to use/implement a few more modern features with an F3 FC. Thanks for that suggestion. Potentially a big upgrade....

I set gyro frequency and pid loop at 2.67k/2.67k, and with esc's running DSHOT600 it appears CPU is below 50% on the bench, which I hope is going to be a good setup. 8k/4k was instantly 100%, and lower combos with DHSOT1200 were high but less than 100%. Hopefully it will fly well with these settings. I can always back off to DSHOT300 if need be.

I don't know how I feel about cpu overclocking as of this time, but at least I will be able to do rpm filtering, dynamic idle, dynamic notch, etc. Very exciting....

Unfortunately you are right about the Blheli_32 4way-interface. It now says v20.0.0.4 instead of v20.0.0.3 and I am in the same situation. At least I have a work-around.

Been meaning to try an arduino for this purpose for awhile. I have a pile of individual ESC's some good, some not, some bricked by flashing gone wrong. I might be able to bring some back to life for backups....

(24-Feb-2023, 11:37 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: Unfortunately you are going to have to use the Arduino every time you need to refresh BLHeli firmware or configure any of the ESC settings.

I soldered up a pin header that easily connects the Arduino to the ESC. Works brilliantly! Got a nice startup tone, all my settings straight. Super easy. If I need to change anything I can pull the plug from the FC and plug in the Arduino instead. No problem at all.

Thank you so much for the solutions and firmware upgrades to this build!

No problem.

Happy flying