I just bought a new Cinebot30 6S DJI 03 with ELRS.  When it arrived, I was too eager to get it flying, that I didn't take my time, and made what I realize now is a mistake.  Short version is, I flashed the latest version of Betaflight on it, which erased all the settings.  I went to look for the CLI file and noticed the filename references 4.3.1.  So I need to re-flash the firmware and downgrade to version 4.3.1 before I run the CLI.  I tried to do that, last night, and was getting connection errors.  I had no problems flashing it when I mistakenly upgraded the firmware, so I don't know what's causing it to not connect and flash the firmware.  

Unless there's a setting off on Betaflight that's keeping me from flashing 4.3.1, I assume I need to try to get it into boot load mode.  Is this correct?  And I'm assuming I'll need to open the top of the drone to find the boot button.  

Thoughts?  Advice?

Thank you!

Walter

Thats unfortunate. I also have a Cinebot (home made on that frame ) and its a nightmare to work on or even find the boot button. (even with some extra "air" holes i cut in the plastic center piece.
Regarding your cli settings, they will always be wiped when you flash, so going back to load your cli and then upgrading will get you to the same place you are now.
Your cli of 4.3.1 you can just load in the later releases. Stuff that is not compatible will just not be applied (show up in red, before you have to type an extra save command). Never had major issues with that, but of course always be safe with a first flight after flashing.

Of course if you cant connect at all , then you still need to dig for the boot button.
Not auto switching to DFU and connecting can be a problem with any flight controller if certain uarts have connected a device that intecepts or disturbs the boot process. Like a gps chip or bluetooth on uart 3 . But can be anything.
In that case boot button is the only option.
I have several quads that only boot button based upgrades work. And one of my 10 quads i can only do in DFU mode under windows (only one that my macbook does not recognise)
Depending on where it is located and orientation you can maybe wiggle a toothpick in there and press it. Check the schematics for your FC board. I can do it on my custom build but still a nightmare.

(07-Sep-2023, 03:15 PM)fpvapnea Wrote: Thats unfortunate. I also have a Cinebot (home made on that frame ) and its a nightmare to work on or even find the boot button. (even with some extra "air" holes i cut in the plastic center piece.
Regarding your cli settings, they will always be wiped when you flash, so going back to load your cli and then upgrading will get you to the same place you are now.
Your cli of 4.3.1 you can just load in the later releases. Stuff that is not compatible will just not be applied (show up in red, before you have to type an extra save command). Never had major issues with that, but of course always be safe with a first flight after flashing.

Of course if you cant connect at all , then you still need to dig for the boot button.
Not auto switching to DFU and connecting can be a problem with any flight controller if certain uarts have connected a device that intecepts or disturbs the boot process. Like a gps chip or bluetooth on uart 3 . But can be anything.
In that case boot button is the only option.
I have several quads that only boot button based  upgrades work. And one of my 10 quads i can only do in DFU mode under windows (only one that my macbook does not recognise)
Depending on where it is located and orientation you can maybe wiggle a toothpick in there and press it.  Check the schematics for your FC board. I can do it on my custom build but still a nightmare.

Thank you.  Yes.  I can still connect with Betaflight.  So you're suggesting leaving it on the newest Betaflight, but running the 4.3.1 CLI?  I can try that tonight when I get home.
The reason I upgraded was because I was trying to connect my RadioMaster Boxer ELRS radio.  I went into BetaFlight and could not find the spot where I would enter my pass phrase.  Previously when I had this problem on another FC and the solution was to upgrade the firmware.  When it didn't solve the problem, I tried the wi-fi approach, and was able to save my pass phrase.  My radio connects, but on the Radio Tab in Betaflight, I see no activity from the radio.  I'm hoping when I run the CLI that might fix it??

Running your cli should fix that as those are your basic settings that for sure have not changed due to a firmware flash.
Testing a cinebot for first flight after flash is also not that scary as long as you dont stick your fingers in the props when arming ;-)
You should be fine with your cli.
Can't remember anything scary that changed that would endanger your quad between these releases 4.3 to 4.4 . You are still in the same major 4.x range.
Good luck and let us know if it woks out.

p.s. and like i said when you load your cli , you will see in red text all lines that are not valid anymore so you can even review these. Then you type save and it applies and reboots (it will just ignore these red items).

(07-Sep-2023, 03:36 PM)fpvapnea Wrote: Running your cli should fix that as those are your basic settings that for sure have not changed due to a firmware flash.
Testing a cinebot for first flight after flash is also not that scary as long as you dont stick your fingers in the props when arming ;-)
You should be fine with your cli.
Can't remember anything scary that changed that would endanger your quad between these releases 4.3 to 4.4 . You are still in the same major 4.x range.
Good luck and let us know if it woks out.

p.s. and like i said when you load your cli , you will see in red text all lines that are not valid anymore so you can even review these. Then you type save and it applies and reboots (it will just ignore these red items).

Thanks.  I'll let you know how it goes!

I almost sent this thing back when I realized I'd have to open the bottom of it and pull out the DJI 03 unit anytime I wanted access to the microSD card!  But lots of folks are saying it's such a good drone, it's worth that hassel.

(07-Sep-2023, 03:43 PM)thatguywhojuggles Wrote: Thanks.  I'll let you know how it goes!

I almost sent this thing back when I realized I'd have to open the bottom of it and pull out the DJI 03 unit anytime I wanted access to the microSD card!  But lots of folks are saying it's such a good drone, it's worth that hassel.

Its an amazing drone and you will surely have lots of fun with it.

p.s. I am assuming , but correct me if i am wrong, that the cli you have you ceated yourselve from before this flashing you did ? Or did you just download one from Geprc ? 
Because if you made the dump yourself its the best and exact setup of your quad , while a download from the net , may or may not completely match your version. BUt if its a BNF you can of course contact GepRc to ask which is the exact cli you need.
Just try what you have see what you get.
The most important part is the uart connections definitions (ports tab) has to match you actual physical connections.
Also always make a "diff all" which is better to use on upgrades than a "dump all".
"diff all" is the way to go going forward.

(07-Sep-2023, 03:47 PM)fpvapnea Wrote: Its an amazing drone and you will surely have lots of fun with it.

p.s. I am assuming , but correct me if i am wrong, that the cli you have you ceated yourselve from before this flashing you did ? Or did you just download one from Geprc ? 
Because if you made the dump yourself its the best and exact setup of your quad , while a download from the net , may or may not completely match your version. BUt if its a BNF you can of course contact GepRc to ask which is the exact cli you need.
Just try what you have see what you get.
The most important part is the uart connections definitions (ports tab) has to match you actual physical connections.
Also always make a "diff all" which is better to use on upgrades than a "dump all".
"diff all" is the way to go going forward.

I'm still very new at this.  I've been flying camera drones for 3 years, but only just getting into FPV, a little racing, and I've built my first 5 inch quad.  I bought the cinebot30 because I have a paid gig coming up for a company that does "glamping" and they have these large domes on top of a mountain that are each on a platform and inside have a king size bed, bathroom and kitchen.  Below that platform is another platform with a hot-tub over looking the Smokey Mountains.  I wanted to throw some broken horizon (fpv) footage into my video, and be able to fly through the domes.

I sadly made the mistake of not making a copy before I flashed.  So I'm planning to use the CLI from their website.  There were several options.  I've picked what I believe is the best option.   https://geprc.com/wp-content/uploads/202....3.1-1.txt

I don't know what diff all/dump all is.  I'm assuming it's a setting when running the CLI?

Pardon my ignorance.

Dump all outputs all of the CLI, which you can save to a file, and reload if you want. Diff all outputs the differences from BF defaults. So I loading the diff all output on top of BF defaults should get back to where it was before additional changes.

I enjoyed my bot30, but got tired of reassembling it. So I put all the parts on a Volador freestyle frame. It flies much better, and is much quieter.

(07-Sep-2023, 05:05 PM)aerokam Wrote: Dump all outputs all of the CLI, which you can save to a file, and reload if you want. Diff all outputs the differences from BF defaults. So I loading the diff all output on top of BF defaults should get back to where it was before additional changes.

Which are the outputs?  In the CLI I only see the word output twice.

set motor_output_reordering = 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7
set motor_output_limit = 100

Pardon my lack of knowledge.  But I want to understand.

if you type in the command "diff all" into the cli and then press the save to file button, thats all you need to always be able to restore your quad after a flash etc.
Its outputs all diffrences between the default setting aplied when flashing, to the actual setting of your quad.
This is vital as it contains mappings of the actual physical connections of devices to your flight controller towards the logical ports used in the software. And of course any other setting you or the manufacturer changed to make this quad fly good.

So standard practice is you do a diff all at least just before you want to flash any firmware updates, which wipes all settings. But i do it regularly and whenever i changed a lot of settings in betaflight configurator.
So if i change something that makes the quad fly worse , i can just apply that diff all dump to get back to where i was before.

A "dump all" command also includes all defaults of that firmware version , but is very specific to that exact version of firmware and typiclay not used for upgrades as can lead to issues when these defaults have changed. All you need are the diffs.

For socalled BNF bind and fly quads the hardware connections and settings like tuning etc are always known and the same so the manufacturer provides a diff all dump in case users want to get back to the actual state the quad was when they bought it. So this works fine as well as long as you have not made any physical changes to the connections etc and pick the exact version for your quad and configuration you bought.

(07-Sep-2023, 06:34 PM)fpvapnea Wrote: if you type in the command "diff all" into the cli and then press the save to file button, thats all you need to always be able to restore your quad after a flash etc.
Its outputs all diffrences between the default setting aplied when flashing, to the actual setting of your quad.
This is vital as it contains mappings of the actual physical connections of devices to your flight controller towards the logical ports used in the software. And of course any other setting you or the manufacturer changed to make this quad fly good.

So standard practice is you do a diff all at least just before you want to flash any firmware updates, which wipes all settings. But i do it regularly and whenever i changed a lot of settings in betaflight configurator.
So if i change something that makes the quad fly worse , i can just apply that diff all dump to get back to where i was before.

A "dump all" command also includes all defaults of that firmware version , but is very specific to that exact version of firmware and typiclay not used for upgrades as can lead to issues when these defaults have changed. All you need are the diffs.

For socalled BNF bind and fly quads  the hardware connections and settings like tuning etc are always known and the same so the manufacturer provides a diff all dump in case users want to get back to the actual state the quad was when they bought it. So this works fine as well as long as you have not made any physical changes to the connections etc and pick the exact version for your quad and configuration you bought.

So when I flashed the newest version of the firmware, I lost all my settings, correct?  So running a diff all command would show nothing?

(07-Sep-2023, 07:21 PM)thatguywhojuggles Wrote: So when I flashed the newest version of the firmware, I lost all my settings, correct?  So running a diff all command would show nothing?

Correct and not as defaults are compared to the flight controller default. Then on top of that you have manufacturer defaults which are automaticaly loaded after you flashed and connect for the first time in bf 4.4 releases.
Like the same chip can and wil be connected differently on different manufacturer flight controller boards.
So you see these diffs as well

Update: I entered the Diff all command into the CLI and saved the result as a file. Then I ran the 4.3.1 version of the CLI. As you said would happen, there were a number of entries that showed up as red, and presumably ignored.
After the execution of the CLI script, Betaflight disconnected. I reconnected and saw that the radio was now communicating. I assigned the modes. Then disconnecting from Betaflight I connected a battery and successfully armed the quad. Those motors sound so soft and smooth!

That's good enough for tonight. Tomorrow I bind the goggles V2 and the O3 Air Unit.

Thanks again for your help!