Deviation firmware F12E

I saw in the list of supported transmitters that the F12E should be compatible but only with something called "Nightly build", so what exactly is this Nightly build and how does it differ from the general Deviation firmware for the other compatible transmitters?

What does the Deviation firmware have that this Nightly build does not have? Or is it the same thing with the same functions and RX compatibility and the same GUI ?

And if one has uploaded the Nightly build to the transmitter and wants to revert back to the stock firmware can that be done at all times, or can it happen that the stock firmware fails to install to the transmitter and one is left with a bricked unit or at least with a unit that doesn't install the stock firmware?

Nightly-build was talking about "developer release" vs 4.0.1 release previously.
Now from the nightly build default/master/trunk a 5.0. Deviation release was created.

You can check the source repositories or the other "Load F12E..." threads to see what build version / day you would need for a full F12E support.

I am not sure if this is 5.0 or you need the later nightly builds (commits after 5.0 tag)

Thanks so what is the difference between a Nightly build and the Deviation firmware?

The nightly build is just that - it's built every night. There have been some major changes added since 5.0 - like support for the F series of transmitters, a GUI rewrite for the AT9/AT10 (I think that's it) transmitters, new protocols, and I'm not sure what else. As you might expect, things tend to break fairly regularly.

The only way to get a complete list is to look at the commit logs.

A developer release (on the default/trunk/master) is just the recently developer source commits working on new features on a non-stable (well-tested) branch.
As Mike pointed out it is built once every new commit over the night.

There is no difference to "the Deviation firmware", but there is a difference to a well known frozen release (aka branch / tag).

One correction - the "developer" releases can be based on anything. These days, I prefer to base them on the 5.0 release to avoid issues from other peoples changes. But they can also be done based on code as new as the latest nightly, or that predates the release.

If you're going to run a developer release, you really want to find the thread where it's being discussed to find out what it is and how to use it. For that matter, since developers tend to release them for testing, that's the place to report back on your results, which they will appreciate.

Okay thanks, well it sounds it can be a pretty unstable firmware.

In case something goes wrong will i always be able to load the original Walkera F12E firmware back to the transmitter after having loaded the Nightly build, or are there times when the transmitter can get totally bricked?

My only reason to use this nightly build (since there is no support for the F12E in the Deviation firmware) would be to get support for more protocols which i have understood is possibly?

Is somebody working on support for the F12E on the Deviation firmware?

You should be able to put the original firmware back, assuming you can find a copy of it.

While it is possible to brick the µ-controllers in the devo transmitters, it isn't easy. I'm not sure it's possible without physically breaking a component. The worst case I've seen is that you remove the battery for about 15 minutes, then reboot into the walkera bootloader and use Walkera's dfuse to load new firmware. I think someone managed to fry the bootloader, which means you need to open the thing and short some jumpers to get it to boot into the serial bootloader that's on the chip (which is different from Walkera's code) and then reflashing the walkera bootloader before reinstalling the Tx firmware. They may have replaced the µ-controller, though.

The nightly builds include support for other transmitters, and a new UI to support them. At times new features have shown up in them as well. But the main reason for running them is to get new protocols.

It looks like the last commit f12E specific commit was from April, though some of the changes since then may have affected it.

I see, well isn't the original Firmware the one that can be find on the Walkera website? I downloaded a folder from their website that contained the Dfuse software but also different firmware versions like for example the 1.5A, 1.5B, 1.6A and 1.6B. I think these are the original firmwares?

Is there a thread about the Nightly build for the F12E were people have reported their problems with the build, i didn't find such a thread when i searched very quickly, maybe i missed it though?

I think i will try it, i just wanted to make sure i can load the original firmware back in case of problems, which seem to be possible according to your answer.

I have a DEvo 10 with possible fried bootloader. Which jumpers should I short to boot into the serial bootloader?