Config Tool Guide

Config Tool Guide

Everything is configured from the browser — no IDE, no app, no server. The config tool talks to the board over the Web Serial API.

Browser: Chrome or Edge (desktop). Firefox and Safari don't support Web Serial.

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Connecting

Open config_tool/index.html (locally, or the hosted GitHub Pages link), then click Connect. A modal offers three transports:

• 🔌 Connect via USB — plug straight into a NaviCore over USB and pick its serial port. The normal path.
• 📡 Via a WCB — plug into a USB‑tethered WCB; commands relay over ESP‑NOW to the NaviCore, which always claims WCB device ID 20. Use this when you can't tether the controller directly.
• 🔗 Shared port (across tabs) — reuse a WCB port already open in another same‑origin browser tab (e.g. your WCB Wizard) — no second cable. The tabs share the port through serial-hub.js, relayed via that WCB.

On connect, the tool pings the board (reads its firmware version), pulls the current config (GET_CONFIG), and starts the live monitor. The board's version shows in the footer.

Working over a WCB bridge

Both Via a WCB and Shared port relay through a USB‑connected WCB over ESP‑NOW:

• Large SET_CONFIG/GET_CONFIG payloads are automatically fragmented to fit ESP‑NOW's ~250‑byte packets, so saving over the bridge is slower than USB but works.
• Bootloader/esptool flashing and ⚡ Update over USB (OTA) are USB‑only, but 📡 Update over WCB (OTA) performs a brick‑safe OTA firmware update to the remote RC across the bridge — it's enabled only while connected Via WCB. See Flashing the Firmware and Remote Management over WCB.
• Some settings can't travel over the bridge (WCB Network fields, calibration) — see the notes below.

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The live monitor

While connected, the board streams a PWM_UPDATE ~20×/second. The tool uses it to:

• show every SBUS channel's live value,
• highlight the active transmitter control on the SVG,
• display SBUS health — frames/sec, lost‑frame and failsafe flags, detected channel count (16 or 24),
• light up the matrix button currently being pressed and the current mode.

If SBUS isn't healthy (no frames, lost frames, or stale data), the monitor flags it — see Troubleshooting.

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Mapping controls

Open Config (gear) to reach the tabs: General, Channels, Logical Buttons, Transmitter, WCB Network, Audio, Maestro, WLED, Smoothing, Baud Rates, and Firmware. Audio holds all three sound destinations — HCR vocalizer, MP3 Trigger, and DFPlayer Mini.

A few tabs beyond the transmitter mapping:

• General — board/PCB type, the multi‑tap tap window, and SBUS‑output options.
• WLED — up to 4 WLED slots, each addressed by id and routed to a local aux‑serial port or a remote WCB over ESP‑NOW (see WLED and HCR Audio).
• Smoothing — per‑Maestro/per‑channel easing profiles (servo speed + acceleration); a knob or a Maestro switch action can load one on demand (see Maestro Setup).
• Firmware — flashing and OTA updates (see Flashing the Firmware).

Buttons

• Click a button on the transmitter graphic to open its mapping editor.
• Each button has three tap tiers: single, double, and triple tap. Add up to 5 actions per tier — build them in the action editor (see Actions Reference and Action Editor and Command Library).
• Exclusive vs cumulative:
  • Exclusive — only the matched tier fires (a double‑tap fires the double‑tap actions alone).
  • Cumulative — every tier up to the match fires (a double‑tap fires single then double).
• Mappings are per mode — switch the mode tab (1/2/3) to map the same button differently in each mode.
• The tap window (how long the board waits to see if more taps are coming) defaults to 500 ms and is adjustable.

You can also fire a button from the tool to test its mapping without touching the radio:

• Shift+Click = single tap · Shift+Ctrl+Click = double · Shift+Alt+Click = triple.

Switches

• Most switches (SA–SJ) are 2‑ or 3‑position; assign each one's SBUS channel and per‑position actions.
• A few inputs are momentary push buttons rather than levers — SI/SJ (and SE/SF on some TX models) — so they behave like a button you hold.
• Switch actions are edited on Down / Mid / Up position tabs (a 2‑position switch shows just Down / Up), mirroring the knob mode tabs. A switch fires its actions when it changes to a position.

Knobs, sliders & joystick axes

Analog sources — knobs S1/S2, sliders LS/RS/S3, gimbal axes J1–J6 — continuously map their position to an output. Two functions:

• Maestro Pass‑Through — drive a servo: pick a Maestro (1–8), its servo channel (0–31), and the target positions (in quarter‑µs, e.g. 4000–8000) at the stick's min/max. One source can drive up to 10 outputs at once.
• HCR Volume — map position to an HCR audio channel's volume (0–99).
• A Reverse toggle inverts the source around centre.

⚠️ Analog sources dispatch continuously. With many outputs active at the SBUS frame rate, you can generate a lot of traffic — keep active outputs reasonable.

Per‑button matrix value

Each matrix button matches a PWM band on the matrix channel (default CH7) — a min/max window stored around the band's center. The defaults sit about ±12 counts apart, leaving a narrow neutral gap between adjacent buttons (SBUS noise is only ±1–2). Edit a band in Config → Channels → Buttons, or via the button's hardware card — both edit the same table. Calibration (below) sets these for you.

Logical buttons

The Logical Buttons tab adds up to 15 extra buttons on the matrix channel that aren't on the transmitter graphic. Mix a transmitter switch (or any spare source) onto the matrix channel, then set the value that source outputs. When the matrix channel reaches that value (±10), the logical button fires — with the same per‑mode, multi‑tap actions as a physical matrix button. Switch the mode tabs to map different actions per mode; Configure actions opens the standard editor. Leave a slot's trigger blank to disable it.

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Calibration

Config → 🎯 Calibrate RC walks you through each control on your model:

1. The wizard highlights one control and shows the live SBUS value.
2. Move/press that control; it captures the value (with optional auto‑advance), or use Force Capture.
3. For switches/knobs you can also type the channel manually.
4. Next/Previous to step through; the step counter shows progress.

While the wizard is open, all action dispatch is muted (so nothing fires while you wiggle controls). Closing the wizard — or stopping the monitor — restores normal dispatch.

Calibration requires a direct USB connection. The tool blocks the wizard in Via WCB mode and asks you to reconnect over USB — auto‑detecting a quick stick/switch move is reliable only on the direct link.

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Saving & loading

• Refresh re‑reads the config from the board (GET_CONFIG).
• Save to Board writes it (SET_CONFIG) and persists it as /config.json on the board's LittleFS partition. The board replies with an ACK; the tool waits for it and warns if no ACK arrives (see Troubleshooting).
• Baud changes apply live on save — no reboot. WCB Network changes need a reboot to take effect, and can only be written over a direct USB connection — over Via WCB the tool strips those transport fields from the save and shows a terminal warning (changing them would break the very bridge you're on).
• Restore Defaults reloads factory defaults on the board.
• Config is also import/exportable for backup and sharing.

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Next: Actions Reference · WCB Network · Troubleshooting

See also: Connecting · Remote Management over WCB · Flashing the Firmware · Action Editor and Command Library · Record and Replay