With the latest release of the Alta Multitool by member 416c7461, I created a tutorial on installing and using the Alta Multitool software on your own computer.
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========Required Hardware========
You'll need this cable from the store:
Alta Data Port Cable
And you'll also need this CAN-USB adapter:
https://canusb-shop.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=20&product_id=51
========How to Install Alta Multitool via Oracle VirtualBox Virtual Machine========
I have built a barebones virtual machine for everyone to use. This is the simplest method for getting Alta Multitool running on your device.
This prebuilt VM includes:
- Alta Multitool version 3.37.11.ET
- Shortcut for easy launching
- 3 firmware packages, the last released packages for MX/MXR, EX/EXR, and SM
- Instructions
1. Download and install Oracle VirtualBox:
Oracle VM VirtualBox
2. Download the prebuilt Alta Multitool VirtualBox VM (5.61GB):
Alta Multitool Virtual Machine
3. Extract the zip file to a directory of your choice.
4. In VirtualBox, go to File > Import Appliance.
5, Select the extracted Alta Multitool.ova and click next.
6. Now in Appliance settings, you may need to define a few settings like RAM size, number of CPU cores to use, and a "base folder" where the virtual storage will be saved.
7. Click Import.
8. In VirtualBox, click Start to start the VM.
Login credentials if you are ever prompted:
Username: alta
Password: redshift1
========How To Use the Alta Multitool Software========
Note: Disregard the whole section in this video about the json file and the alta directory. Follow the firmware loading instructions in the section below.
Watch at the highest quality.
========Connecting to the Bike========
Here is where the bike side plugs in. Remove the seat, then there's a little black plug that you just pull off to expose the female end on the bike.
Here's my bike plugged in showing the Dashboard view:
Here you can see the Battery module which displays voltages of each P group. Each of the 4 colors represents a single module. Each bar (21 per module) represents 6 18650 cells connected in parallel. (6 batteries per P group) * (21 P groups per module) * (4 modules) = 504 individual 18650 cells.
Here is the Raw Signal tab, showing each individual data point on the bike in real time. There are 453 data points .
========How to Update Firmware Using Multitool========
The "Open" button inside the Loader tab is way easier (and actually more powerful) to use than the "Update Firmware" button in the Versions tab. When using the function inside the Loader tab, there's no need to mess with the JSON file, and no need to place files in a specific directory. You simply select the directory where the firmware file (.zip extension) is located (from the download). Furthermore, for advanced use cases, lets say you're replacing a display on the bike, you may only want to load the firmware for the display, instead of "reflashing" the whole bike again. To do this, first unzip the [firmwarename].zip file so that each of the individual .aebin files are extracted. Then, use the "Open" button within the Loader tab and select the specific .aebin file for the display.
Note: If "Waiting for Target" is displayed for more than about 10 seconds inside the progress bar for any component, simply turn the key off on the bike until the blinking blue light on top of the battery pack (look through left side shroud gills) stops blinking, and then turn the key back to On. The update process should start after that.
I also want to give a PSA:
If you intend to try to "mix and match" .aebin files from different firmware pack versions for whatever reason, do so at your own risk. In some cases this will work (a few of us have done this), however you may run into compatibility issues between the individual components.
