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so...
what do you think (know) about this $22 guy...?
Amazon.com: Hobbypower Ublox NEO-M8N GPS Module with Compass + GPS Folding Antenna Mount Holder for APM2.8 APM 2.6 Pixhawk PX4 Flight Controller + 1 Hobbypower strap: Toys & Games
what do you think (know) about this $22 guy...?
Amazon.com: Hobbypower Ublox NEO-M8N GPS Module with Compass + GPS Folding Antenna Mount Holder for APM2.8 APM 2.6 Pixhawk PX4 Flight Controller + 1 Hobbypower strap: Toys & Games
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No. It's a hacked and stolen piece of crap. And it will not plug-and-play up to the solo at all.
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this one works great, M8N, the cheapest way possible...
3DR Solo GPS/GNSS NEO M8N upgrade – Madhacker.org
3DR Solo GPS/GNSS NEO M8N upgrade – Madhacker.org
I have no doubts that it probably works quite well. After starting this thread and another week of flying with the $18.00 BN-800 from Banggood, I'm becoming more impressed. Today it really performed well. It locked onto 23 satellites and I saw an HDOP of 0.5. This easily outperforms my REV B units. Very locked-in during hover- none of the glitching that some are claiming it would have. I don't think the home position drifted more than 2-3 feet over the length of a 16 minute flight.
No it wasn't plug n play - but it's not that hard to splice 4 wires. No matter which GPS you upgrade to, you still have some disassembly to do to install it.
Quite frankly, I don't see the sense of paying $80, or even $50 for a GPS to install on a parts Solo that I bought on eBay for $60. Especially when I have not yet seen real evidence that they perform better than this $18 one.
No it won't. You'd have to splice the wires to use it on the Solo. Actually that GPS module is designed to be plug and play compatible with the APM and Pixhawk 2.4.6, 2.4.8, etc. I have bought that exact same module (paid only $16) and used it on an old 8 bit APM autopilot and it worked great. I have another one that I'm planning to use with a Pixhawk 2.4.8 in a quad that I'm currently designing/building. This style of GPS typically comes with an spare connector that you swap out to make it plug directly into a Pixhawk. The Solo GPS connector is very different from the APM and standard Pixhawk.
You are really on to something. I just put almost a square foot of copper tape shielding around a REV B. Grounded each separate piece, about 7 wires. Battery, GPS cable, power block, etc.. In two days now the most satellites I can get is 10.
A shield connected to the GPS ground is not the best solution for keeping EMI out of the receiver circuitry. The ground is not stiff enough electrically at these frequencies. That's why the EMI energy needs to be absorbed with material like this...
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I did a mini version of this on several CX-20s and they all went from 5 to 15. And yes they shipped with really cheap GPS units.
KDan,
So you don't need to program the GPS module right? just wires need to be done.
Thanks,
I did this BN-800 GPS mod on my Solo and posted a link to my video in this forum. I have been using these GPS units for a long time in my long range FPV fixed wing fleet with out issue. On my Solo it locks 19-20 Sat's every flight with an HDOP of 0.5 to 0.6, my Solo has that locked in feel whilst position holding. I also have these units in two CX-20's that I have again 20 Sat's with a very low HDOP.
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I did this BN-800 GPS mod from Bangood, it locks on 18-20 sats with hdop of 0.6 along with the 3dr v2 shield and it wanders around 8-10 feet just hovering.. i will test again tomorrow.. then i will swap a rev-b unit in and compare.. none of my others with v1 orv2 or mro wander like this? i also have a 2nd BN-800 comming from bangood to compare..
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Ok, swapped a rev-B gps with a new v-2 sheild into Solo that previously had the BN-800 from Bangood, locked up with 12 sats and 0.8 HDOP and very little wander, 2-3 feet max.. I looked at the BN-200 with u-center and it reports its on the latest firmware v3.01.. so why would it cause this wandering with a better dilution of precision (hdop)?? I have another cheapo gps coming from bangood I will try in same Solo just for comparison..
I would do a temp install of the Bangood GPS on a small piece of foam just to rule out vibration.
Put 3- 2"x2" pads around a REV B. So far not getting above 9 satellites. If it slowly gains a few over the next few days of flying I will edit this. Since I have a REV A getting 14 with copper shielding this pad thing is not that great so far.
That is interesting. It seems like people are getting mixed results with the REV B units. I usually see 12-14 satellites with mine and once saw 15. I think that a lot depends on the position of the satellites at the time you are flying. It can change some over the length of a flight, but can change a lot more over hours or days.
Did you cut the EMI absorbing material in a shape to duplicate the size and position of the original shield? Be sure you are not blocking parts of the GPS antenna's view of the sky. How did the REV B work with the original copper shielding?
It will work without reprogramming. I haven't bothered to dig out my FTDI adapter and connect it to u-center to check the settings. It's possible it could be improved or updated. I was actually wondering that myself and was hoping that someone else might be able to share their experiences if they've connected theirs to u-center.
