New Pilot ..... First flight tomorrow

BlueRidgeVis · Jan 26, 2016

I've been following the 3dr Solo since about November. I've done as much research as possible. I watched as many videos of possible from all different sides. 3dr fan boys, DJI fan boys and neutral reviews. IMy heart has always been with the Solo due to the fact that it has a removable gimbal and the smart shots ( I was really into the Lily Drone last year, until I saw the Solo).
My main reason for choosing the solo is that I'm already so integrated with GoPro that it just made sense. Anyways, I was really concerned with all of the crash reports as well as a lot of bad customer service reviews. But after reading a bunch of posts on here, it seems to be the opposite. 3DR seems to be covering their drones when it is not an operaters fault.
Before I was ready to purchase a professional quality drone, I spent the past 2 months learning to fly much smaller drones manually. So I'm confident in my piloting skills. I'm just wondering... if there happens to be a GPS disconnection, will it switch over to manual mode so i can bring her back home? I've already set "FLY Manually" to my Preset A button. Can I use that in a GPS signal loss?
I just picked my drone up today, charged the batteries, set up my phone, gopro and gimbal and ran through as much as I could indoors. The fit and finish of this thing is beautiful!... My phone fits in there really well, the app is sharp and responsive. I have no complaints at all so far. I gave it a quick manual test in the driveway, just up to a 5 foot hover, because I was too exited. Anything else I should know or setup before I head out to the field in the morning?

oh yeah, lastly, I have an Alcatel Idol 3. It is not a supported Android device, but I was able to download the app through APK downloader on my PC and then transfer it to my phone and it worked just fine because it would't download through google play. Anyone seen any issues with doing it this way?

1264_Solo · Jan 26, 2016

Personally speaking I had one of my motor pod fail and my solo took a major crash, the flight data backed me up.
3dr had a new quad + gopro to me within 2 weeks. Their service was great and they followed up
with me.

As for new tips for a new flyer, take it slow. Don't fly too high just yet, get used to the controls of landing.
Shouldn't take long for the general user but still it's something best practiced. oh yeah stay away from trees and big objects
w/ lots of metal in them. Eventually get a range extender like a FPVLR and look into getting a prop balancer just to make sure
everything is good.

And I guess register your drone? lol.
Im still torn whether to do it or not myself.
Happy flying

czrlaker · Jan 26, 2016

Thing flies itself. First quad I have ever flown, only crash was my fault. Pause is really handy, its my panic button.

David Weston · Jan 26, 2016

Don't be at all concerned, power up and have fun!! I had a SOLO since Day 1 and it just keeps getting better and better. Only problem I have really had was when I was pretty sure I had a motor pod going bad and 3DR shipped one to me immediately. I have replaced the bearings but that is a maintenance item just like changing the oil in your car. As for CS and TS,,,whoever said 3DR has poor service has an axe to grind and just looking to rain on our parade. I have found our CS/TS has been excellent and also keeps getting better. So be positive and have fun as you have one of the coolest and most capable consumer flying things available.

Jubalr · Jan 26, 2016

BlueRidgeVis said:
I've been following the 3dr Solo since about November. I've done as much research as possible. I watched as many videos of possible from all different sides. 3dr fan boys, DJI fan boys and neutral reviews. IMy heart has always been with the Solo due to the fact that it has a removable gimbal and the smart shots ( I was really into the Lily Drone last year, until I saw the Solo).
My main reason for choosing the solo is that I'm already so integrated with GoPro that it just made sense. Anyways, I was really concerned with all of the crash reports as well as a lot of bad customer service reviews. But after reading a bunch of posts on here, it seems to be the opposite. 3DR seems to be covering their drones when it is not an operaters fault.
Before I was ready to purchase a professional quality drone, I spent the past 2 months learning to fly much smaller drones manually. So I'm confident in my piloting skills. I'm just wondering... if there happens to be a GPS disconnection, will it switch over to manual mode so i can bring her back home? I've already set "FLY Manually" to my Preset A button. Can I use that in a GPS signal loss?
I just picked my drone up today, charged the batteries, set up my phone, gopro and gimbal and ran through as much as I could indoors. The fit and finish of this thing is beautiful!... My phone fits in there really well, the app is sharp and responsive. I have no complaints at all so far. I gave it a quick manual test in the driveway, just up to a 5 foot hover, because I was too exited. Anything else I should know or setup before I head out to the field in the morning?

oh yeah, lastly, I have an Alcatel Idol 3. It is not a supported Android device, but I was able to download the app through APK downloader on my PC and then transfer it to my phone and it worked just fine because it would't download through google play. Anyone seen any issues with doing it this way?

Welcome Blueridge! I want to commend you on your approach to this hobby. If more people would take the time to study and learn manual flight, there would be a lot less crashes and incidents for the news to cover. I have seen many crashes that were a result of pilot error, but were blamed on equipment. With most of the pilots stating 'there was no response or it just crashed into something all by its self". Most of which could have been avoided with less reliance on GPS and more time learning manual. So congratulations.

Regarding your question on GPS, if you are flying in an area with marginal GPS and GPS lock is lost, Solo will go into manual mode. Should you see any unwanted behavior in flight, simply press the button you assigned to manual and continue flying. It is rare to lose GPS once at altitude. Most GPS losses are flying around a lot of obstructions or people flying in their back yards in neighborhoods. I always take off and land manually, and use GPS modes just for smart shots and Waypoint flying.

Have fun and welcome to the forum!

David Weston · Jan 26, 2016

I 2nd what Jubair said. Inexeperience/No Experience=Crash waiting to happen! And the ol' "it just crashed all by itself" refrain is often op error, not SOLO malfunction. I also take off in Manual and land (most of the time). Choosing a safe flying area, especially when getting comfortable with flying modes is crucial. I suggest starting in "turtle" mode and gradually increase flying speed over time. No hurry, SOLO has lots of built in tricks with more on the way.

BlueRidgeVis · Jan 26, 2016

Wow, awesome responses guys. You answered all of my questions thoroughly and promptly. Nice to know I've got a good community to go to throughout my ownership.

We had 39 inches of snow over the weekend here in Northern Virginia, so it's going to be a trek to get out into the middle of a field, but I'm going for it anyways.

About those range extenders, from what I can see, they are direction antennas right? What if I have it following me, say on my mountain bike?

And secondly I'm a tad bit confused. Does the follow me mode follow the remote or cell phone? I believe in the manual it says the cell phone but I could have sworn during all my research it was the remote. I'm just trying to think for when the time comes, how I'd have it follow me and my buddies on our bikes.

Anyways, you guys are awesome. Thanks again!

BlueRidgeVis · Jan 26, 2016

oh yeah, and I'm on the FAA site registering right now. I see that some folks haven't. Is there a reason why I wouldn't want to? I don't plan on any sketchy unauthorized flights. I'm about 40 miles outside of Washington, DC and it's literally a 10 minute drive to the countryside.

As I'm going through the registration process I see that they aren't even asking for my drone model or serial number. Just my name and personal info. What's the point of that? hmmmm

Jubalr · Jan 26, 2016

BlueRidgeVis said:
Wow, awesome responses guys. You answered all of my questions thoroughly and promptly. Nice to know I've got a good community to go to throughout my ownership.

We had 39 inches of snow over the weekend here in Northern Virginia, so it's going to be a trek to get out into the middle of a field, but I'm going for it anyways.

About those range extenders, from what I can see, they are direction antennas right? What if I have it following me, say on my mountain bike?

And secondly I'm a tad bit confused. Does the follow me mode follow the remote or cell phone? I believe in the manual it says the cell phone but I could have sworn during all my research it was the remote. I'm just trying to think for when the time comes, how I'd have it follow me and my buddies on our bikes.

Anyways, you guys are awesome. Thanks again!

It doesn't follow the controller, since the controller doesn't have GPS there is nothing to follow. It follows the tablet/phone provided it is equipped with GPS. Some Apple tablets do not.

pyrate · Jan 26, 2016

you are on a great path so far, nice job

erikgraham · Jan 26, 2016

Couple things:

If you loose GPS it does switch to FLY:Manual. When it regains GPS you will be notified on the controller, but you have to press the FLY button on the controller to actually switch back to the GPS assisted FLY mode.

The Solo does follow the phone, but the phone doesn't communicate directly with the Solo. The phone sends its position to the controller, which relays that to the Solo. So the phone and the controller need to be within 60 feet of each other - and the controller should have a clear line of site to the Solo.

The range antennas are directional. If you are doing a lot of twisting and turning I suspect that follow me would be better with the stock omni antennas, but if you are just driving or biking without a lot of sharp turns and cut backs, then as long as you orient the FPVLRs toward the Solo, then they would probably be better. I've driven to fast (in a straight line) with the omni's and lost connection with the Solo (when that happens the Solo just give up and returns to home).

JD Films · Jan 26, 2016

BlueRidgeVis, We were talking more about the follow me mode in this thread here - Using an iphone and follow me feature | 3D Robotics Drone Forum

BlueRidgeVis · Jan 26, 2016

Update:

After we dug my wife's car out of this blizzard, I was able to take about 30 minutes and fly around. It wasn't in the best area. Not as open as I would have liked. But this thing is so damn stable compared to the little toy ones I've been practicing on that it's unbelievable.

So far, I'm in love with it. A lot louder and windier(if that's even a word) than I expected. The stability again is insane. Love it. The first battery went from 100% to 25% in maybe 15 minutes of on and off flying. No complaints. I love how it gave me some haptic feedback and a notification that the battery was low with plenty of time to spare.

My only issue was geting my gopro to show a live feed and having the controls for the gopro accessible on screen. I updated everything. Cell, app, controller, drone, gopro, gopro app even, just cause. I did a factory reset on the gopro which was brand new anyways as of yesterday. The ONLY way I could get it to show was to power up everything and become fully connected and then and only then was I able to place the gopro in the gimbal. But the GoPro had to be on before I connected it to the gimbal. Is this normal? I thought I could just keep it in the gimbal, and pull out the drone, power it up and the gopro would turn on and sync. But instead I have to wait until everything is flight ready and then plug in a powered up gopro and it works fine. Minor issue, but just wondering.

I also love how I can safely glance down at the screen to adjust whatever I need to and know with confidence that my drone will still be hovering in the same spot in the air, more or less. And this is all in manual mode. I never once flew it with GPS assistance yet.

Anyways... thanks for welcoming me and I guess I'm official now that my first, be it very short, couple of flights are logged. Thanks guys.

1264_Solo · Jan 26, 2016

Happy Flying BlueRidge, with it being so cold did notice any performance issues?
I just ask cuz Im california and we're sort of spoiled out here. I've seen videos of the solo in colder temperatures
but never really asked someone personally.

BlueRidgeVis · Jan 26, 2016

Well, it was about 40 degrees, so it's not much of a great judgement. That snow was from the weekend. But at 40 degrees it flew super strong and stable. Nothing erratic. I flew at performance level slowest and then again at medium. I felt a noticeable difference, so I'd say it's performance as it should. I'll get out there if we get a day in the single digits and let you know. I plan on taking it to Heavenly Ski Resort next month. I have no idea how cold it gets out there, but hope it works fine.

Jubalr · Jan 26, 2016

Great job BR, and I'm glad you were flying in manual when you were so close to the kids. That's much closer than I would, as I have flown for many years and know that anything can and will go wrong. But by being in manual, at least you take the GPS glitch out of the equation. Because flying low and around obstacles is where it is most likely to happen.

Gary Burch · Jan 26, 2016

Try to turn on your gopro first while it is in the gimbal and connected. Then I turn on solo, then turn on controller and then the app. Make sure you are connected to solo wifi. Turn on connect button in app aND you should have live view and connection to gopro. If the gimbal does not connect start process over. Remember to connect gopro again on app after take off to get live view. After landing, turn solo off first and camera will turn off automatically. Then turn off controller and app. Happy flying. I always push the fly button twice to regain flight manually. You are smart to learn how to fly on smaller copters first. You will feel more comfortable under strange flying conditions. Make sure your battery is charged. The battery will discharge by itself in so many days.

BlueRidgeVis · Jan 27, 2016

Jubalr said:
Great job BR, and I'm glad you were flying in manual when you were so close to the kids. That's much closer than I would, as I have flown for many years and know that anything can and will go wrong. But by being in manual, at least you take the GPS glitch out of the equation. Because flying low and around obstacles is where it is most likely to happen.

Thanks, haha that's actually my wife and our daughter. I used lens distortion correction so it crops in n the image a bit. The drone was about 30 feet away. My daughter is scared to death of it. She'd be crying if it got close.

Yeah I'm scared of GPS mode and smart shots. I have to wait for a chance to get out to an open field so I have room to recover if it does something funny.

BlueRidgeVis · Jan 27, 2016

Gary Burch said:
Try to turn on your gopro first while it is in the gimbal and connected. Then I turn on solo, then turn on controller and then the app. Make sure you are connected to solo wifi. Turn on connect button in app aND you should have live view and connection to gopro. If the gimbal does not connect start process over. Remember to connect gopro again on app after take off to get live view. After landing, turn solo off first and camera will turn off automatically. Then turn off controller and app. Happy flying. I always push the fly button twice to regain flight manually. You are smart to learn how to fly on smaller copters first. You will feel more comfortable under strange flying conditions. Make sure your battery is charged. The battery will discharge by itself in so many days.

Thanks for the tips. I'm definitely going to try this out as soon as I get home. I really don't like having to install the go pro as my last step.

BlueRidgeVis · Jan 27, 2016

Gary Burch said:
Try to turn on your gopro first while it is in the gimbal and connected. Then I turn on solo, then turn on controller and then the app. Make sure you are connected to solo wifi. Turn on connect button in app aND you should have live view and connection to gopro. If the gimbal does not connect start process over. Remember to connect gopro again on app after take off to get live view. After landing, turn solo off first and camera will turn off automatically. Then turn off controller and app. Happy flying. I always push the fly button twice to regain flight manually. You are smart to learn how to fly on smaller copters first. You will feel more comfortable under strange flying conditions. Make sure your battery is charged. The battery will discharge by itself in so many days.

Thanks, this worked out flawlessly today.