Anyone else thinking about returning Solo?

Earldgrayjr · Aug 31, 2015

JonW said:
Anyone who is billing themselves as an aerial videographer absolutely should have backups of everything

I can't imagine going out without backups of every last thing down to memory and chords. Once out, it has to work. No ifs ands or buts

Ralph E. Johnson · Aug 31, 2015

JonW said:
As much as I had hoped that Solo would be a game changer in the drone world and would be the perfect craft for my intended purposes, I am at the point where I am thinking about packing it all up and returning to B&H. Every 2 weeks for the last 2 months I have checked on the status of the gimbal, and every time it has been pushed back another 2 weeks. So here I am, 4 months after ordering, 2 months after having my solo delivered, and I'm still being told 3 weeks on the gimbal. And as cool and fun as Solo is to fly, it is still unusable for video without the gimbal. So I spent my money 4 months ago and still don't have the product that I need and paid for. It's just too much money to have tied up in something that is still incomplete. I would certainly consider re purchasing if and when 3DR gets their act together and can deliver a completed product. But that time is not now.

Thoughts anyone? Anyone else about to give up? Or are you all going to wait it out?

I'm on the fence.

I'm new to Solo. Its my first Drone and I love having the ability to do aerial photography. I am now past the initial excitement, and have done a few videos and used the GoPro Studio. I am now going to put it away and wait for the gimbal unless I have a specific reason to take it out and film something. I was very close to buying the Phantom 3 because there would be no wait for a complete package, but i am very pleased with its performance and am just going to wait. My business is not photography though and I understand for some this is a tool for their business..
What I would like to work on while I wait is getting some more distance out of my solo. I get out about a 8-900' and no signal and the Return Home command comes on.
I bought my gimbal through B&H camera. Has anyone out there got theirs yet?

Earldgrayjr · Aug 31, 2015

Ralph E. Johnson said:
I'm new to Solo. Its my first Drone and I love having the ability to do aerial photography. I am now past the initial excitement, and have done a few videos and used the GoPro Studio. I am now going to put it away and wait for the gimbal unless I have a specific reason to take it out and film something. I was very close to buying the Phantom 3 because there would be no wait for a complete package, but i am very pleased with its performance and am just going to wait. My business is not photography though and I understand for some this is a tool for their business..
What I would like to work on while I wait is getting some more distance out of my solo. I get out about a 8-900' and no signal and the Return Home command comes on.
I bought my gimbal through B&H camera. Has anyone out there got theirs yet?

Try Ian's host.apd file mod first. It's free and doesn't require changing/adding any hardware. After that, I recommend the FPVLR antenna.

Don't really need it for what I do, but I have been out a mile with this setup just to test performance. With WiFi card swap you could get more than 3 miles.

Adimuzio513 · Aug 31, 2015

Have the fpvlr and did the mod Earl mentioned and both are extremely good options to increase your range. Can't say how the mod is without the fpvlr upgrade, I've not got to test yet, but my range is well beyond what I could possibly need now.

If I was just getting started again I'd proly try the mod first since it's free and you most likley won't need to spend more on an antenna unless you plan to do long range fpv flights.

Don't worry if your not the greatest at the whole mod thing yet I hesitated cause I didn't want to screw up but it's easy with the video and software recommended. It's a huge improvement I'd say everybody should try it out. I fly line of sight mostly and my range was fine but now my signal stays at 4 bars and rssi looks great all flight long.

artamanji · Aug 31, 2015

ChrisM101 said:
Umm it was slated to come out at the same time... that changed

That changed, but the date when we pre-ordered didn't.

Brannon Hagenson · Aug 31, 2015

JonW said:
As much as I had hoped that Solo would be a game changer in the drone world and would be the perfect craft for my intended purposes, I am at the point where I am thinking about packing it all up and returning to B&H. Every 2 weeks for the last 2 months I have checked on the status of the gimbal, and every time it has been pushed back another 2 weeks. So here I am, 4 months after ordering, 2 months after having my solo delivered, and I'm still being told 3 weeks on the gimbal. And as cool and fun as Solo is to fly, it is still unusable for video without the gimbal. So I spent my money 4 months ago and still don't have the product that I need and paid for. It's just too much money to have tied up in something that is still incomplete. I would certainly consider re purchasing if and when 3DR gets their act together and can deliver a completed product. But that time is not now.

Thoughts anyone? Anyone else about to give up? Or are you all going to wait it out?

I'm on the fence.

I ordered my Gimbal from 3DR about a month ago, I just received an E-Mail today saying that my gimbal has been shipped. Im not sure why yours took so long?

Adimuzio513 · Aug 31, 2015

Nice

Brannon Hagenson said:
I ordered my Gimbal from 3DR about a month ago, I just received an E-Mail today saying that my gimbal has been shipped. Im not sure why yours took so long?

They're catching up then for sure hope to see mine soon. Every time I see the word gimbal I want to kick myself for canceling my pre order and going to best buy to save a little wait time. Where's a crystal ball when ya need one?

Raybro · Aug 31, 2015

JonW said:
As much as I had hoped that Solo would be a game changer in the drone world and would be the perfect craft for my intended purposes, I am at the point where I am thinking about packing it all up and returning to B&H. Every 2 weeks for the last 2 months I have checked on the status of the gimbal, and every time it has been pushed back another 2 weeks. So here I am, 4 months after ordering, 2 months after having my solo delivered, and I'm still being told 3 weeks on the gimbal. And as cool and fun as Solo is to fly, it is still unusable for video without the gimbal. So I spent my money 4 months ago and still don't have the product that I need and paid for. It's just too much money to have tied up in something that is still incomplete. I would certainly consider re purchasing if and when 3DR gets their act together and can deliver a completed product. But that time is not now.

Thoughts anyone? Anyone else about to give up? Or are you all going to wait it out?

I'm on the fence.

No.

Steven Ackerman · Aug 31, 2015

Brannon Hagenson said:
I ordered my Gimbal from 3DR about a month ago, I just received an E-Mail today saying that my gimbal has been shipped. Im not sure why yours took so long?

Sweet. I ordered mine June 4th, they can't tell me when or if it will ship...

z3r01 · Aug 31, 2015

Earldgrayjr said:
Do what you want, but if you ordered 1st of June (or any time around then) you knew you weren't getting the gimbal with it. From that point there has been one 3 week delay.

As far as the gimbal goes as a tool, it works well. As for Solo, it is the most flexible platform out there, and the PixHawk2 is new, so support will exist for a long time. There are already numerous people adding to it with various gimbals, lidar, loggers, etc. and that has just begun.

The Solo however is also new, and so anyone wanting a tightly integrated (and closed) system with everything released on day one, simply has the wrong thing.

There are trade offs to everything though, and with a closed system you get what you get. For the most part, if the manufacturer doesn't make or support an add on, you don't get it.

As for me, I also do video exclusively and have two, one with gimbal, and one impatiently waiting for one. I also have a P3P (purchased previously) that has been down for 8 weeks getting repaired (stress cracks) and will come back this week.

I see value in both, and am happy to have a usable unit and a backup on the way. Now that I see what the gimbal can do (I actually had little doubt before) I am placing new bets on Solo.

Again, do what makes you happy. In the end it is your choice. But rest assured, the Solo and 3DR will do very well, and their biggest problems right now are incredible demand. I seriously doubt that will change.

wait...why did you quote me lol?

z3r01 · Aug 31, 2015

ChrisM101 said:
Umm it was slated to come out at the same time... that changed

things happen....theres obviously bound to be problems with things.....its a huge order..supply is down so , they are getting it worked out....its not like they stole your money or are going anywhere

ChrisM101 · Aug 31, 2015

z3r01 said:
things happen....theres obviously bound to be problems with things.....its a huge order..supply is down so , they are getting it worked out....its not like they stole your money or are going anywhere

I paid directly to 3DR via paypal, so technically its as close as you can get to stealing it, since the money came out and the paypal guarantee expired months ago....

JonW · Aug 31, 2015

z3r01 said:
things happen....theres obviously bound to be problems with things.....its a huge order..supply is down so , they are getting it worked out....its not like they stole your money or are going anywhere

I was actually a little worried about whether or not they are going anywhere. I'm guessing that the launch fiasco has cost them a lot of money. At first it seemed inexplicable that they would fill all of the direct 3DR orders before sending any to fill pre-orders from retailers months ago. Then the thought crossed my mind that possibly it could be to finish up all the work that involves their labor so that they could lay off personnel. But if Branson is still committed to them, they'll be OK. He has pretty deep pockets. We can only wait and see.

JonW · Aug 31, 2015

Oh, and as long as I get my gimbal before they go out of business it's all good

ChrisM101 · Aug 31, 2015

JonW said:
I was actually a little worried about whether or not they are going anywhere. I'm guessing that the launch fiasco has cost them a lot of money. At first it seemed inexplicable that they would fill all of the direct 3DR orders before sending any to fill pre-orders from retailers months ago. Then the thought crossed my mind that possibly it could be to finish up all the work that involves their labor so that they could lay off personnel. But if Branson is still committed to them, they'll be OK. He has pretty deep pockets. We can only wait and see.

Just imagine the expense of having to drop ship 3day air from china... its got to be ridiculous...
That is a huge cost related to not having the product available at launch. Investors are going to kick them in the pants for doing this... Have they never watched Shark Tank...?

Eric Sheehan · Aug 31, 2015

By phone this week I was confirmed, locked in, "shipping for sure, today, latest tomorrow". Called in to double check tonight, oh, a staff made a mistake, kicked back another wave, re: two weeks. I have verified 6 times over the months since ordering May 15 direct from 3DR.

JonW · Aug 31, 2015

Eric Sheehan said:
By phone this week I was confirmed, locked in, "shipping for sure, today, latest tomorrow". Called in to double check tonight, oh, a staff made a mistake, kicked back another wave, re: two weeks. I have verified 6 times over the months since ordering May 15 direct from 3DR.

Wait, what? You ordered direct from 3DR in May and it's just shipping now? I think 3DR orders from early August are already shipping. What happened?

Adimuzio513 · Aug 31, 2015

The whole credit card auth expiration screwed everything up it seems, even if you replied it seems like some slipped through the cracks. If you didn't reconfirm good god I feel for you, guess they weren't expecting that fiasco on top of all the other issues. Sounds like they're finally getting caught up and I think they sent two batches last week, so we should all have ours soon I'd hope.