Requirements
The requirements for smart audio are very simple. Your VTX needs to support smart audio and you need an unused UART TX pad. You will also need BetaFlight to configure the UART in ports. You can read more about UARTS here.
What Is Smart Audio
Smart audio is the ability navigate through your VTX settings using OSD and your radio. Smart audio has nothing to do with audio, like hearing with your ears.
In order to be able to use Smart audio your VTX needs support it. Read your user manual to confirm its support for smart audio.
Wiring Smart Audio
Outside of wiring your VTX the normal way you have always done it, smart audio is one extra wire from your VTX to an open TX UART port. In the below example, the purple wire is our smart audio cable. It comes out of the VTX and into TX1 or UART1.
Configuring Smart Audio In BetaFlight
We have wired our smart audio cable, now we need to tell BetaFlight that TX1 is going to be used for smart audio.
In BetaFlight click the ports tab. In our example, we wired smart audio to TX1 or UART1. Look for UART1 in the ports tab. Under Peripherals change the value to TBS Smart Audio or IRC Tramp. Once you are done, save and reboot. Now you have smart audio on your quad.
How Do I Change Channels With Smart Audio
Once you power on your quad and put on your goggles, use your transmitter to open the BetaFlight OSD menu by full left yaw stick while pitching full forward.
You will see the Main menu. Go to features.
Depending on what periphials you selected in the ports tab. Choose VTX SA for TBS Smart Audio or VTX TR for IRC Tramp. Our example uses TBS smart audio.
Go into VTX SA. This is the configuration for your VTX. Starting at the top.
Band – This is the band selection.
Chan – This is where you select your channel
(Freq) – Is just the display of the channel you have selected.
Power – VTX’s that support multiple power outputs can be configured with this option.
Set – Going into set will prompt you to confirm you want to change to the settings on the OSD. This tells the Flight Controller to send the channel and power change to the VTX.
Config – Leave alone
After saying yes to confirm your VTX should change channels. If it dos not, use the left yaw stick to go back to the main menu. Save and reboot.
Smart Audio Still Isnt Working
Some video transmitters have disabled channels. This is due to FCC regulations and HAM licensing. This means that you might be trying to change to a channel on your VTX that is disabled. Most VTX’s have a way to unlock all channels. Refer to your VTX documentation. When testing smart audio, change to several channels, to confirm your issues is a locked channel and not a misconfiguration or bad wiring.
