Can anyone tell me the available parameters viewable on the screen, for instance does it have a voltage readout like the KT lcd3 ?
Tongsheng vlcd5
- Thread starter Nealh
- Start date
No volts on the standard firmware and it is not close to accurate
the 850c option is a possibility and open source Eco Cycles - Electric Bicycles, Parts, & Batteries + Service & Repair (eco-ebike.com)
the 850c option is a possibility and open source Eco Cycles - Electric Bicycles, Parts, & Batteries + Service & Repair (eco-ebike.com)
Standard firmware displays assist level, speed, voltage in the form of 6 bars, and Cumulative distance (odometer, ODO); Trip distance (TRIP); Average speed (AVG); Single trip time (TIME).
I've only read the manual, not installed it (yet), but there is a branch of the Open Source Firmware for the VLCD5 which flashes the motor firmware, and if I've read it right, can be configured to display any 6 of the following parameters :-
0 – motor temperature, only with sensor installed (° C)
1 - remaining battery charge (%)
2 - battery voltage (Volt)
3 - battery current (Amp)
4 - power absorbed by the motor (Watt / 10)
5 - throttle adc value (8 bit)
6 - torque sensor adc value (10 bit)
7 - pedal cadence (rpm)
8 - human power (Watt / 10)
9 - torque sensor range (10 bit)
10- consumed Wh
I've only read the manual, not installed it (yet), but there is a branch of the Open Source Firmware for the VLCD5 which flashes the motor firmware, and if I've read it right, can be configured to display any 6 of the following parameters :-
0 – motor temperature, only with sensor installed (° C)
1 - remaining battery charge (%)
2 - battery voltage (Volt)
3 - battery current (Amp)
4 - power absorbed by the motor (Watt / 10)
5 - throttle adc value (8 bit)
6 - torque sensor adc value (10 bit)
7 - pedal cadence (rpm)
8 - human power (Watt / 10)
9 - torque sensor range (10 bit)
10- consumed Wh
Blocks representing 25% voltage seems utterly useless, unless you know what what max and min voltages are being represented. I don't know about this display, but open source/non-original or non-approved firmware can:
1. "Brick" devices if a firmware write goes badly (complete replacement of firmware).
2. Somewhat "Brick" the device if the open source code (or compiled using open source or third party code) is updating configuration of firmware (or "patching" some specific parts of firmware) with values it doesn't accept, triggering a crash or programmed shutdown.
In the second case(s), it may be possible to reset it (seller or manufacturer). For the first case, the manufacturer may have tools to rewrite with the original firmware, if a firmware write using third party code has gone badly. It's fine if whatever device you are trying to write to is cheap to replace, or you enjoy experimentation, or know there's a good chance that it'll work.
For instance, the seller of my BBS01b controller which I killed (controller, not the seller), has offered to reset the firmware using a software tool he has, because he's convinced that I have bricked the controller by changing it's configuration using a programming cable. The horrible burning smell makes me suspect he's angling for a warranty exception, but I'd have to post it to China to find out for sure. I'm debating whether boiling or steaming off the silicone which covers the controller board, to attempt removal of mosfets to keep as spares, would be a better option.
1. "Brick" devices if a firmware write goes badly (complete replacement of firmware).
2. Somewhat "Brick" the device if the open source code (or compiled using open source or third party code) is updating configuration of firmware (or "patching" some specific parts of firmware) with values it doesn't accept, triggering a crash or programmed shutdown.
In the second case(s), it may be possible to reset it (seller or manufacturer). For the first case, the manufacturer may have tools to rewrite with the original firmware, if a firmware write using third party code has gone badly. It's fine if whatever device you are trying to write to is cheap to replace, or you enjoy experimentation, or know there's a good chance that it'll work.
For instance, the seller of my BBS01b controller which I killed (controller, not the seller), has offered to reset the firmware using a software tool he has, because he's convinced that I have bricked the controller by changing it's configuration using a programming cable. The horrible burning smell makes me suspect he's angling for a warranty exception, but I'd have to post it to China to find out for sure. I'm debating whether boiling or steaming off the silicone which covers the controller board, to attempt removal of mosfets to keep as spares, would be a better option.
Last edited:
That seems quite reasonable to me - I think pretty much any product, if you flash it with 3rd party firmware, that would void the warranty. Re the vlcd05, yes the display is pretty basic, just speed, trip, odo etc, and a basic idea of battery charge. But that's been all I've really needed to use the bike. The additional info listed above doesn't look that useful unless you want to play with the parameters with the open source firmware. If you want a better idea of battery voltage, power etc. then I think you can get separate meters to measure those vales I think?
The simple to use java Configurator that works alongside the OSF (open Source Firmware) offers the ability to display certain parameters (as mentioned by @JohnE above). I've only lightly tinkered with this function for my VLCD6 display but haven't as yet got it to work - but I'm not bothered anyway.
Whilst flashing firmware on microcontrollers (and mobile phones etc) can be fraught and leading to the 'bricking' (making useless) the device in question, I read long and hard about OSF on the TSDZ2 (which uses the VLCD5, VLCD6 and XH18 displays) and never once did I read of the microcontroller being bricked using the well rehearsed procedures given in the thread on this forum by @Swizz here and many other people/places.
Flashing the TSDZ2 firmware whilst not for complete technophobes, is not difficult either.
Whilst flashing firmware on microcontrollers (and mobile phones etc) can be fraught and leading to the 'bricking' (making useless) the device in question, I read long and hard about OSF on the TSDZ2 (which uses the VLCD5, VLCD6 and XH18 displays) and never once did I read of the microcontroller being bricked using the well rehearsed procedures given in the thread on this forum by @Swizz here and many other people/places.
Flashing the TSDZ2 firmware whilst not for complete technophobes, is not difficult either.
wWell - I've sent my controller to China, at a cost of £20... in transit... I've got to know. If bricked, it'll likely be due to the trash "Retrofit" for lights kit I tried to install, shortly before the controller stopped working. Prior to that, my last update via USB was in April, although that still doesn't discount bricking by third party code. The burning smell could have been the controller or the retrofit kit. We shall see.... (if the seller actually bothers to inspect it).
Re the lights: Out of interest were these 6v lights being powered from the 'lights' 'Y' connector shared with the speed sensor? I've read several times that this power source is only good for around 0.5 amps which gives a total lighting power of just 3 watts. Thus if your lights were more than 3w, then the controller has likely been damaged.
Hey that's good to know! Here is an account of the whole sorry saga (it's a little long, but has a happy ending).
Would wiring three 5W LED lights to the 6V wire on the BBS01b be too much for the controller?
Because so many drivers have bicycle-blindness, I'd like to wire two of these 6V headlamps to my handlebar: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Junstar-Electric-Headlamp-Waterproof-Headlight/dp/B07DJCT5G7/ ...and one of these tail lights, to the 6V connector for lights from the controller on the Bafang...
www.pedelecs.co.uk
device used:
Would wiring three 5W LED lights to the 6V wire on the BBS01b be too much for the controller?
You don't need anything - just wires. The lights already can run off any voltage up to 80v. It's not very efficient to run them off the 6v supply because there are too many conversion losses. Running from the battery, there is only one conversion, and that's inside the light. Thank you, that's...
www.pedelecs.co.uk
Last edited:
I fear it might have been a complete waste of £20 posting the controller to the seller in China - he's playing for time, having had it for over a week. Keeps saying things like "The Bafang engineers are very busy"... I very much wanted to know what the specific issue was: Was it hardware failure? Or was the fault due to the installation of third party firmware? I haven't written a full review of the kit I bought on Amazon yet, but based on how this plays out... this final part of my review will be mentioned with significant emphasis. It's within the warranty perid, the controller should be repaired or replaced. The speed limit wasn't changed, so he can't complain about that - still a legal 15mph, when it died emitting a burning smell. 15A as originally.
Last edited:
The seller is now promising to send me a new controller next week, when they receive one (lol, what are the chances that they can't get new controllers because of "Supply" problems?), bacause the controller I returned to them for repair has "Serious damage to the programming and wiring". If a mosfet or some other component has failed (I did smell something burning, and there was a small brown area of the silicone which looked like something had burned underneath, possibly a mosfet?), they can't check the pogramming without repairing that anyway, which I doubt that they'd bother doing, because it'd mean excavating the electronic components from the silicone somehow (possibly by dissolving it). So I'll never know for sure if third party firmware caused the problem. It's a waste of £20 postage, unless they ever send me a new controller. It'd be nice to have a spare.
Last edited:
Alas, I shall never know if it was firmware which borked my controller - after sending the seller a very long series of extremely angry looking emails threatening truly epic negative feedback on Amazon for both product and seller, he emailed me a tracking number for a brand new controller (free). Just hope I don't get stung by customs, if it appears. I should have kept the dead controller and attempted to answer the question for myself.
Last edited:
I've received a brand new replacement controller from China, free, no tax or duty charges (also no gasket). I'm surprised that a seller based in China honoured their guarantee. I did have to threaten to write highly negative reviews on Amazon in both product and seller sections (Amazon don't allow any mention of the seller in the product section), before he brought forward the dispatch date from a vague "Next week", to "The warehouse has already dispatched it". Now that I have the security of a spare controller, I can experiment freely with the one I bought from greenbikekit.com... but I'll never know if firmware config bricked the first controller. I was really hoping they'd do a full diagnostic test, but I suppose it wasn't worth their while. The 12 month guarantee runs out next week.
Last edited:
Related Articles
-
Swytch announce new conversion kit with ‘pocket-sized’ battery- Started by: Pedelecs
-
New Swytch launches on Indiegogo, raises £100k in first hour- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Swytch to unveil 70% smaller, 50% lighter conversion kit- Started by: Pedelecs