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This is untested. Hopefully I can get out in the next day or two to give it a try.
Disclaimer: My underlying assumption for all this is that the 2.4ghz transmission from the controller to the Solo won't be blocked or even degraded much passing through the foam of the Solo back pack.
Based on past experience (with previous 3DR drones like the Iris), the best place to put an antenna for following a skier, mountain biker, motor cross or quad driver, and many other action sports, is between the shoulder blades. On the old systems with the mavlink antennas connected to a smart phone, this was easy. Just strap it on and send them on their way. But with the Solo, you need to keep the bulky controller with the athlete (unless they will stay within 100 to 500 feet of the controller).
So this is my quick idea for how you might rig that up. I imagine it could be modified to work with a smaller backpack, but all I have handy is the Solo backpack.
Step one. take a piece of foam and cut it down to fit in the backpack vertically. I used the foam that the Solo props ship in:
Step two. Put the foam in the backpack like this:
Step three. Put your controller in the bag. Assuming the foam was thick enough, the controller should be propped up high enough that the antennas have space to extend into the top gap. (This is important to allow antennas to be angled the best way). Like this:
Thats it. When you close it all up, and wear it on your back, you want the antennas angled this way:
Note that when you close up the pack, it seems to be pretty secure, with the accessory pouch helping wedge it in (assuming you have some stuff in the pouch). If this works when I test it, I'll probably get an extension for the velcro strap thats already in the bag.
Disclaimer: My underlying assumption for all this is that the 2.4ghz transmission from the controller to the Solo won't be blocked or even degraded much passing through the foam of the Solo back pack.
Based on past experience (with previous 3DR drones like the Iris), the best place to put an antenna for following a skier, mountain biker, motor cross or quad driver, and many other action sports, is between the shoulder blades. On the old systems with the mavlink antennas connected to a smart phone, this was easy. Just strap it on and send them on their way. But with the Solo, you need to keep the bulky controller with the athlete (unless they will stay within 100 to 500 feet of the controller).
So this is my quick idea for how you might rig that up. I imagine it could be modified to work with a smaller backpack, but all I have handy is the Solo backpack.
Step one. take a piece of foam and cut it down to fit in the backpack vertically. I used the foam that the Solo props ship in:
Step two. Put the foam in the backpack like this:
Step three. Put your controller in the bag. Assuming the foam was thick enough, the controller should be propped up high enough that the antennas have space to extend into the top gap. (This is important to allow antennas to be angled the best way). Like this:
Thats it. When you close it all up, and wear it on your back, you want the antennas angled this way:
Note that when you close up the pack, it seems to be pretty secure, with the accessory pouch helping wedge it in (assuming you have some stuff in the pouch). If this works when I test it, I'll probably get an extension for the velcro strap thats already in the bag.
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