frsky taranis supplemental

mark II

24 July 2014
Disclaimers

This document should not be treated as a full manual for the FrSky Taranis radio. It is provided only as a FireFLY6-specific 

supplement to the official Taranis User Manual, which can be downloaded directly from the manufacturer at http://frsky-rc.com

with additional information available at http://www.open-tx.org/. Please review the official Taranis/OpenTX User Manuals in 

their entirety before proceeding. 
Revision History

Date Rev Comments Approval

04 July 2014 mkI Initial release ARS

24 July 2014 mkII Updated guidance for pre-2.0 OpenTX firmware loads ARS
FrSky Taranis Configuration

1. Download the Taranis Configuration zip file from our 

Downloads page and unzip the folder in a 

convenient location on your hard drive.

2. Before proceeding, you will need to know what 

firmware is loaded on your Taranis. Power on the 

radio.

3. Press and hold the MENU button to access the 

"RADIO SETUP" screen.

4. Press the PAGE button three times to access the 

"VERSION" screen.

5. Your firmware version will be listed next to "SVN :" 

or "VERS :" as either 2.0 (or higher) or something like 

“opentx-rXXXX”. Take note of which, as it will 

impact your actions later.

6. Power off the radio.

7. The Taranis has multiple options for accessing its 

onboard memory, dependent on the OpenTX 

firmware build that is loaded on your radio. The 

easiest and most reliable method for configuring 

your Taranis is to remove the microSD card and 

access it directly via your computer. If you are 

familiar with accessing your Taranis’ onboard 

memory via USB cable, skip to Step 10. Otherwise, 

remove the radio’s battery cover to gain access to 

the microSD card.
8. Remove the microSD card from the radio by 

pressing in on the card to release it from the radio. 

Place it in a SD adapter and connect it to your 

computer via a built-in SD card reader or an 

appropriate USB adapter.

9. If you are prompted with an AutoPlay window, click 

“Open folder to view files.” Otherwise, navigate to 

Computer and open the Removable Disk.

10.You should see a window like the following:

11. If your Taranis firmware version (from Step 5 

above) was 2.0 or higher, copy FireFLY6.bin from 

the Taranis Configuration folder (from Step 1) to 

the MODELS folder on the SD card and skip to Step 

13. 

12. If your Taranis firmware version (from Step 5 

above) was something like “opentx-rXXXX,” copy 

FF6_r2940.bin from the Taranis Configuration 

folder (from Step 1) to the MODELS folder on the 

SD card.

WARNING: Do not load the FF6_r2940.bin file on a 

radio with 2.0 or higher firmware!

13. Copy FF.wav and hover.wav from the Taranis 

Configuration folder to the SOUNDS/en folder.

14. Copy tada.wav from the Taranis Configuration 

folder to the SOUNDS/en/system folder. When you 

are presented with a message indicating that there 

is already a file with the same name in that location, 

select “Copy and Replace.”

15. Copy FireFLY6.bmp from the Taranis Configuration 

folder to the BMP folder.

TIP: If you’re familiar with flashing firmware to your 

radio and are looking for the full FireFLY6-Taranis 

experience, the splash.bmp file is provided for 

your use as your splash screen image during your 

next firmware update.

16.Remove the microSD card from your computer and 

place it back in the radio’s card slot. Don’t forget to 

press in to lock it into place.

17. Place the radio battery back in its slot below the 

microSD card and replace the battery cover.

18.Power on the radio.

19.Press the MENU button.

20. Use the (–) button to select an open model slot.

21. Hold down the ENT button. This should bring up a 

selection menu with two options.
22. Use the (–) button to highlight “Restore Model.” 

Press the ENT button to confirm.

23. You should see a selection menu with either 

“FireFLY6” only or multiple models, depending on 

your usage of your Taranis. If multiple models are 

shown, use the (–) button to highlight “FireFLY6.” 

Press the ENT button to confirm.

24. The model number before “FireFLY6” should now 

be highlighted. If not, use the (+) and (-) keys to 

navigate to the FireFLY6’s model number. Once 

highlighted, hold down the ENT key. This should 

bring up a menu with several options, shown here:

25. Use (+) and (-) keys to navigate to “Select Model” if 

it is not already highlighted, then press the ENT 

button to select the FireFLY6.

26. Press the EXIT button to return to the radio home 

page. Your Taranis is now configured for use with 

the FireFLY6.
FireFLY6 Control Scheme

1. The Taranis is programmed as follows:

a. Mode 2 Control (throttle/yaw on left stick, 

pitch/roll on right stick)

b. Left Slider: Flight Mode (and Motor Tilt)

• Down = Hover Mode

• Up = Forward Flight Mode

c. Right Slider: Retractable Gear

• Down = Gear Down

• Up = Gear Up

d. Switch F: Hover Controller Mode (M Lite)

• Away = Attitude Mode

• Towards = GPS Mode if GPS equipped, 

Attitude Mode otherwise

e. Switch G: Forward Flight Controller Mode 

(APM, if equipped)

• Away = Manual Mode

• Center = Training Mode

• Towards = FBWA Mode
Special Considerations

1. Because the Taranis is an 8+ channel system, when 

equipping an APM 2.6 for forward flight control we 

recommend that you use Ch8 for your forward 

flight controller mode switch, leaving your hover 

controller mode independent on Ch7.

2. To change the Ch5 travel in order to make fine 

adjustments of motor tilt angles during FireFLY6 

Bench Checks, navigate to the SERVOS screen by 

pressing MENU, then PAGE six times. Use the (-) 

button to select CH5. Press ENT, then (-) twice to 

select the CH5 Min (which controls the hover mode 

tilt angle). Press ENT and this value should begin 

blinking and allow you to adjust the travel value via 

the (+) and (-) buttons. When you are satisfied with 

the motor angle in hover, press the ENT button, 

slide the left slider all the way forward to forward 

flight mode, and press the (-) button to select the 

CH5 Max (which controls the forward flight mode tilt 

angle). Press ENT and this value should begin 

blinking and allow you to adjust the travel value via 

the (+) and (-) buttons. When you are satisfied with 

the motor angle in forward flight, press the ENT 

button to end editing, then press the EXIT button a 

few times to take you back to the radio home page.

3. When using the Taranis with the APM 2.6, you 

should find the Radio Calibration process (described 

in detail in the APM 2.6 Supplemental available on 

our Manuals page) to produce values similar to this:

TIP: When performing an APM 2.6 radio calibration, 

make sure that your flight controller mode switch 

is towards you and that Mission Planner confirms 

that you are in FBWA mode. This will ensure that 

your control throws are correct in Manual and 

Training modes.