FRX Pro was designed to increase the performance of Freefly's family of gimbal controllers by allowing users to achieve increased range and better connections in even the harshest RF environments. FRX Pro is perfect for professionals who are looking to push their Freefly gear further to get shots that were previously unattainable.

This manual covers the setup, use, and troubleshooting information needed to successfully use FRX Pro with your other Freefly gear. We advise reading and understanding this manual before using FRX Pro with other products in the Freefly Ecosystem!

Throughout the manual, warnings, cautions and notes are used to highlight various important procedures. These are defined as follows:

FRX Pro Kit Contents

Additional Optional Accessories

*Note: These items are not available in the Freefly online store but can be ordered by special request.

Use the following troubleshooting tree to resolve common issues with FRX Pro!

For additional troubleshooting help please contact Freefly Support or visit the FRX Pro Support page.

FRX Pro Binding

• Turn on the gimbal and MōVI Controller that the FRX Pro's are going to link.

  • The FRX Pro's status light will turn white during boot and standby.

  • If the FRX Pro modules are already bound and connected to a gimbal and controller which are running, the status lights will turn green after a few seconds.

• If the status light remains white, press the bind button of the FRX Pro connected to the controller, wait one second, then press the bind button of the other FRX Pro.

  • Both FRX Pro's status lights will begin flashing white and the modules will initiate the binding procedure.

• Once a data connection is established both the status lights on the FRX Pro modules will turn green.

• If the FRX Pro modules cannot establish a connection the status lights will turn red and then return to their standby state.

  • Repeat the binding steps above if a binding attempt fails.

MoVI Controller Setup

• To use the MōVI Controller with FRX Pro you must change the MōVI Controller's Radio Type setting to 'USB'

  • To access this setting navigate to the MōVI Controller's Radio Config menu and use the Menu Set knob to change the Radio Type to 'USB'

• Once the setting has been changed, 'Write' it to the MōVI Controller's memory by selecting the 'Write' field on the next line and pressing the Menu Set knob.

  • To use the old MC-RX with this MōVI Controller, you must set the Radio Type back to 'Internal'

Use of FRX Pro requires a MoVI Controller that is updated to v4.1.X or newer.

Use of FRX Pro requires a MoVI gimbal that is updated to v2.0.X Blackjack or newer.

Running dual MōVI Controllers using FRX Pro is not possible, due to the FRX Pro's large power draw it consumes the power from both COM ports on the GCU. Please use the MōVI Controller Receivers when attempting to use two MōVI Controllers.

FRX Pro Mounting

• Install a FRX Pro module to your gimbal using the Pop-n-Lock dovetail and a Pop-n-Lock mounted to the pan axis of your gimbal. See the diagram below for suggested mounting areas on your gimbal.

  • If necessary you can update the orientation of the Pop-n-Lock dovetail to make adjust the orientation of the FRX Pro module.

  • Alternatively you can utilize the zip-tie features machined into the front face of FRX Pro to secure it to the mounting surface.

• Mount the other FRX Pro module to your MōVI Controller setup.

  • We suggest using a Screw Mount Pop-n-Lock kit to utilize one of the many 1/4-20" mounting location on the MōVI Controller and most monitors.

FRX Pro Wiring

Gimbal Side

• Unplug any devices from COM1 of the gimbal's GCU.

  • When using FRX Pro you will no longer need the older MC-RX's. These can be removed from the gimbal.

• Use one of the COM Cables provided in the kit to connect the FRX Pro's UART port to the COM1 port of your gimbal.

Controller Side

• For power, connect the other FRX Pro module to an external power supply, such as a V-Lock battery using the FRX Pro D-Tap Power cable.

• For signal, connect the FRX Pro to the MōVI Controller using the USB Cable provided in the kit.

  • Ensure you have plugged the USB Cable into the bottom USB port on the MōVI Controller.

v1.1.0 Release Package

• Summary: Added support for ALTA X.

• Release Date: September 2019

• Versions in this package:

  • FRX Pro firmware version 1.0.12

  • Configurator (Max + Windows) version v1.1.0

• Notes:

  • Firmware:

    • New: FRX Pro can now be plugged into Mac or PC, and be used as the long range radio for ALTA X with QGroundControl

  • Configurator:

    • New: Added separate configuration defaults for use with Movi and ALTA

    • Bugfix: Some text fields were hidden in Mac when Dark Mode is enabled

v1.0.0 Release Package

• Summary: This is the initial release of FRX Pro

• Release Date: June 2019

• Versions in this package:

  • FRX Pro firmware version 1.0.9

  • Configurator (Max + Windows) version v1.1.0

• Notes:

  • Initial release!

FRX Pro Overview

Setup Overview

Status Light Overview

Connectors and Pinouts

Configurator

Latest FW + Configurator

Updating FRX Pro

FRX Pro's ship with the latest stable FW preloaded onto each module so no updating is necessary before use!

• To update the FRX Pro module you will need to download the latest FRX Pro FW to a PC.

  • You can find the latest FW packages on the FRX Pro's support page.

  • For the latest MōVI Controller FW, please visit the MōVI Controller Support page.

• Connect the USB A-C cable to your computer then plug in the FRX Pro module while holding down its Bind button.

  • The status light will turn blue indicating it is in FW Update Mode.

• Open the configurator bundled with the FRX Pro FW and connect to the correct COM port using the drop down menu at the top of the configurator.

  • If you are using a Mac select the port named 'tty.ubsbmodemXXXXXX'.

• With the correct COM port selected, choose the new firmware file using the Browse button.

  • The name of the file will be FRX_Pro_x-x-x_xxxxxxxx.enc.

• Click the Load button to begin the FW load process. After a few seconds, the new firmware file will be sent to the FRX Pro module. Wait for the progress to reach 100%.

  • If FW load fails make sure you are in the FW Update Mode.

• FRX Pro modules are updated individually; this means each module must be updated when a FW update is released.

Configuring FRX Pro

FRX Pro's power and baud rate can be adjusted when necessary, for instruction review the steps detailed out below.

• To enter Configuration mode simply connect an FRX to a PC using a USB A-C cable.

  • Do not press the bind button to enter the Configuration mode.

• Open the configurator bundled with the FRX Pro FW and connect to the correct COM port using the drop down menu at the top of the configurator.

• With the COM port selected, press the Start Configuration Mode button.

• The Power Level and Aux Baud Rate can now be adjusted and written to the FRX Pro module using the Write Configuration button.

  • Always use an Aux baud Rate of '111111' when using FRX Pro with the MōVI family of gimbals.

  • To reset the FRX Pro module to defaults select the Default Configuration button in the configurator.

Limiting Frequency Use of FRX Pro

Users may configure the FRX Pro to use a subset of its available frequency range. This setting is not exposed within the configurator application but may be changed through serial commands on the radio. The following procedure explains how to connect to the FRX Pro with a serial connection and change the frequencies used by the radio.

1. Download and install a terminal client like Putty or CoolTerm.

2. Connect your FRX Pro to your PC using a USB-C cable.

5. Type +++ in the blank terminal window, press enter, then wait five seconds. The radio should reply "NO CARRIER".

7. Enter ATS180=<Zone#> where <Zone#> is the zone ID noted in Step 6. For example, to use Zone 5, type ATS180=5.

8. The last digit in ATS180 is the segment number. If you are choosing a Zone with Segment 0, you will not need to change the segment number. If you want to choose a Zone with Segment 1, type ATS181=<Zone#>.

9. Enter AT&W.

10. Unplug the radio and repeat for the second FRX Pro.

Dimensions + Mounting Patterns

Specifications

*FRX Pro's alternative frequencies to be released in the near future

**Range is dependent on Signal power settings, RF environment, and line of sight