Hello from SoCal...Convince me I need this drone...

[Sugs]

Hey guys!

Name is Mike, live in San Diego. I built an original DJI F450 a few years ago when DJI first was starting out. Just recently have seen the Bestbuy deals on the Solo, even less money on Amazon, and wondering if I should pull the trigger. Seems like too good a deal to pass up considering the features and I've been wanting a more advanced drone for a while now. I'm not afraid of any tweaking and hacking it may need, but I am a little worried about parts support. Curious if there are any proprietary parts for the Solo that are going to be difficult to source in the future, and what you guys think the future of this drone may be.

Thanks in advance, seems to be a great forum you have here!

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Hello,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the 3DRPilots forum.
I hope that you will be able to use the forum to further your safety knowledge and for the exchange of innovative ideas and as a resource for
current developments in 3DR quadcopter’s.
Enjoy!

 

[Chuck]

Hey guys!

Name is Mike, live in San Diego. I built an original DJI F450 a few years ago when DJI first was starting out. Just recently have seen the Bestbuy deals on the Solo, even less money on Amazon, and wondering if I should pull the trigger. Seems like too good a deal to pass up considering the features and I've been wanting a more advanced drone for a while now. I'm not afraid of any tweaking and hacking it may need, but I am a little worried about parts support. Curious if there are any proprietary parts for the Solo that are going to be difficult to source in the future, and what you guys think the future of this drone may be.

Thanks in advance, seems to be a great forum you have here!

Welcome, Mike. As you seem to already know, parts for Solo is the main concern for new buyers. Even though 3DR seems to have no parts to supply us, most of us are taking advantage of the low price and buying 2 or more Solo's to have parts available if needed. You can also find parts online through places like Ebay and Amazon, as well as other sites, but you may want to search thoroughly to find a decent price. I feel that with the low price for Solo, you won't find a better platform for aerial videos and pics out there. There are also 3rd party vendors who are coming up with Solo stuff, such as Kelly Schrock, who came out with Solex, which is a fantastic app to use for Solo, if you want an alternative for the stock Solo app. All in all, I don't think you can go wrong with the price what it is now. I wish you luck, and keep us posted on your decision.

 

[Bilge]

how can you go wrong with a $256 drone + $40 gimbal........especially if you already have an under-utilized GoPro ....hopefully a Hero 3+ Black or Hero 4 Silver or Black.....

Pull the trigger.....you can't go wrong.....

As a new Solo drone owner, I purchased mine from Best Buy, Drone, gimbal, & battery ...$299.....a no-brainer.....

I probably have over 50 flights by now.....it is a great platform

Here are a few places to fly in San Diego

Top 10 Places to Fly a Drone in San Diego

Do it !

 

[andrew.baker.142]

I bought 5. Does that answer your question?

 

[Gasump]

I'd buy another, but, for some reason, sellers in the USA won't despatch to the UK? Here people are still trying to sell them for the original price.............

 

[FlyXlsa]

I'd buy another, but, for some reason, sellers in the USA won't despatch to the UK? Here people are still trying to sell them for the original price.............

PM me (or start a private conversation). You can have one shipped to me in Hershey, PA and I can send it from here to you if you provide the UPS/USPS Prepaid Shipping label.

 

[Gasump]

PM me (or start a private conversation). You can have one shipped to me in Hershey, PA and I can send it from here to you if you provide the UPS/USPS Prepaid Shipping label.

Thanks, much appreciated! I'll pm you when I find the best deal.

 

[andrew.baker.142]

BestBuy has refurbished units for $200 with free (US) shipping. Get 2 and have some spare parts!

 

[Maxheadspace]

Greetings Sugs! Welcome aboard. As to convincing you to buy, I think everyone has to convince themselves based on their needs. I bought mine (2) for video performance, one of the principal design considerations of the Solo. In my opinion, no other multirotors match the Solo's photo/video capabilities. The downside is that the Solo is locked to the GoPro 4 (and 3+ Black). These are action cams and not the best for real production purposes. And this quadcopter is not a sport UAS, although it does fly pretty fast. But unless you are looking to get into FPV racing, I support your comment that at these prices the Solo is a hard deal to pass up.

 

[Maxheadspace]

BestBuy has refurbished units for $200 with free (US) shipping. Get 2 and have some spare parts!

The item description at BB says nothing about a gimbal, although it shows a gimbal attached in the photos. The one reviewer implied it does not come with gimbal. For that price I'd spend the extra $40 and buy new from Amazon.

 

[vmaniqui]

The item description at BB says nothing about a gimbal, although it shows a gimbal attached in the photos. The one reviewer implied it does not come with gimbal. For that price I'd spend the extra $40 and buy new from Amazon.

The BB deal doesn't come with free gimbal anymore and the price went up to $499 as of today. it's worth buying the solo (I got 5 )

 

[Morongobill]

If you like to tinker, this may be the drone for you.

If you want to fly way out there, this is not the drone for you.

If you want a bad ass looking drone, this is it.

If you are looking for support from the company, I would suggest going in another direction.

 

[Sugs]

Thanks for the responses guys, really appreciate the input. Still kinda in research mode, and then bestbuy raised the price back up, maybe Amazon...and I tend to hang on to stuff for a long time so that is factoring into this decision...

Few questions, and please correct anything wrong here:
The motors appear to be speed control/motor combo, is that correct?
The carrier board for the Pixhawk flight controller, proprietary 3dr piece?
GPS board sourceable from somewhere else?
Gimbal is tightly integrated into frame, I'm guessing the software code is too?

Obviously once the frames run out, the electronics could go into another frame. I'm guessing standard speed controls and motors would work. Different batteries.

Anything I'm missing?

 

[FlyXlsa]