MobiFlight Community Support

Hi everyone.
thank you very much the creator of MOBIFLIGHT.
it is a fantastic software !!
without any difficulty I completed the MIP settings with 2 MEGA2560 cards
but I have some questions:
to complete my homecockpit I'll have to use about 15 or 20 MEGA2560 cards ..
1) Will this cause problems with my RAM?
2) Can MOBIFLIGHT support 15-20 MEGA2560 boards?
3) do I run the risk of a system slowdown or crash?
I also have another question:
When you connect a new MEGA2560, a name is automatically assigned to this card.
I can not change the name of the MEGA2560. it seems that the MOBIFLIGHT system does not want it to be changed. Is that it?
many, many, many thanks for everything

Hi auransbey,

to your questions:

1. the RAM should not affect the number of MEGA boards

2. Mobiflight can support as many boards as your computer has USB ports. The number of maximum USB ports depends on the quality of the motherboard and the operating system.
Basically, 20 boards should not be a problem. Windows 7 can theoretically manage up to 127 USB ports.

3. If all is installed in the right way I do not see a system crash or a slow down

When uploading the firmware, Mobiflight assigns a default name for the board.
If you want to use your own name, you should leave Mobiflight once after uploading and restart. Then it is possible to assign a new board name. You probably did not do that and therefore got an error message with every input. The above procedure avoids that.

Note: do not choose the module name too long (16 characters should suffice).
The devicenames should be as short as possible (not more than 12 - 16 characters) and contain no special characters (! "§ $% & / () = {} []) - best only standard ASCII characters. Avoid spaces if possible. Then it should run smoothly.
Please remember to save both the devices (.mfmc) and the configuration file (.mcc) and make a backup before any changes.
With a device file (.mfmc) you can load a new module in case of a defect, without having to reenter everything.
Mobiflight always automatically loads the most recently edited (and saved) .mcc file the next time it starts up.
After modifying the devices and uploading them to the module, manually reset the module directly on the board after the upload. This ensures that Mobiflight also reads these changes.

thanks Stephan, you are really very kind and comprehensive in your answers.
you calmed me for the work I have to do.
I understood your explanation perfectly to change the name of the MEGA2560 card.
if I have other difficulties will disturb you again.
Many thanks

Hi Stephan,
unfortunately, despite your explanations, I still can't change the name of a new MEGA card!
Every new card is always called in the same way and every test I do to change my name fails.
surely there is something I did not understand.
unfortunately they are already on the third card and the problem becomes important.
thanks for a new explanation.

Hi auransbey,

if you connect a new MEGA to the USB and then start Mobiflight, this new board will be displayed as DEFAULT.
Default means, it is a MEGA module without Mobiflight firmware.

If you now load the firmware on the MEGA (right mouse button "Upload Firmware"), then you have in this module the name "Mobiflight module". Please do not insert a new Modul name in this phase before uploading the Firmware!!

Right next to it is the field with the prompt "NAME" and below it a field in which stands "Mobiflight Modul". Here you can change the name by deleting the existing name and entering the name you want.

After doing this, a yellow triangle with an exclamation point appears in the list of connected modules in front of the module whose name you changed. Click this module again with the left mouse button, then the right mouse button and click on "Upload Config". If this was terminated with OK, the new module name should appear now. If not, simply define a device for the module (for example, a switch) and select "Upload Config" again. By now, the module name you have given should appear. You may have to leave Mobiflight once and restart.

If you are not sure which module you have selected (if you have connected several modules of the same name), then just connect this one module to which you want to give a new name.
However, if you then connect a new module to USB, Mobiflight MUST reboot to rescan the USB ports to recognize the attached modules.

If you have entered devices to your module(s) do not forget to save the devices on disk. As name assign the module name, so you will always find the file with the associated devices to this module. Before changing anything with the devices do not forget to make a copy of the old file. This also applies to the file with the configs! If you assign configs note that your configs have to be completed otherwise you will get an error when loading your config file.

It should work with this guide. Please state the result.