Looking to upgrade some stuff

noobmaker

tl; dr: looking to upgrade to SKR 1.4 and tmc 2209s, what should I be looking out for?

Hi everyone. Lately I was thinking of getting some better stepper drivers for my JGA5, mainly to turn down the noise.

I've seen the guides to install the tmc2208s, and started researching a bit, however I often see people advise to go straight to the newer 2209s if upgrading from the bottom.

The issue I have with that is that it seems it would need a bit of extra wiring / soldering on the mks gen l board, so I was thinking to also upgrade to a skr 1.4 (I was already considering this upgrade somewhere in the future, but the fact that it would make installing 2209s easier made me think to do both together).

So, I have a couple of questions: do you think it's a worthwile upgrade, and what would I need to compile the new firmware?

michalko99

going to 2208 couldnt be easier... It is strightforward exchange, if you follow guide posted on forum.No need fo soldering, just replace drivers, set current and reflash firmware. You will gain babystepping and silent printer

noobmaker

I'm pretty sure it's the easies route, for sure, but doing a bit of research it seems that nobody would advise to buy 2208 today, when 2209 are available and the offer more functionality with less heat (if I'm correct).

So, do you think that buying "old" stuff just for simplicity of installation would be better?

michalko99

Yes, there is 2209, but honestly. For A5 it does not make any sense. If you follow Da Hai's guide, including setting motor Vref, you will get same result with 2209. If you do not plan to use sensorless homing, I do not see any benefit. Also 2209 will need additional cooling fan. 
Purchase some from Ali and you are good to go. I ordered 20pcs in total, an never had problem with them. They are around 2,5Eur each.
It is real improvement of printer-much less noise