Not Pleased At All

[Franklin Marquette]

I researched for a very long time whether I wanted to go with 3DR or DJI and I picked 3DR because of the smart shot features. I am beginning to regret that decision. I have emailed their support multiple times and they haven't replied yet (I sent it last Friday). I am having NUMEROUS problems with it. Maybe its my fault but I am leaving on a year long "gap year" in Thailand in a couple months and I want to make sure before I leave that this drone will actually work.

Here is a list of my problems:

GPS takes 5-6 minutes to get a lock and when it does I only ever get 5 or 6 sats on a day when the UAV forecaster says I should get 16 or 17

Follow me has never worked and the drone changes its altitude mid flight without me touching anything - I stopped using it after the drone dropped from 80 to 50 ft and hit a tree

The drone won't transmit video any better than 1080 30FPS and if I try to do so it just shows green lines on my phone

When the drone gets in the air it changes the video to the go pros lowest quality and glitches out when I try to change it

The video lags very bad and my range in rural areas is less that 1000ft

It DOES NOT stay in the same place and drifts all around everywhere

Once when I was trying to do multipoint cable cam I set point A with the drone 8ft off the ground maybe 5 ft away from me and it came back and did a nose dive into the ground 10 ft to the left of me

The gimbal vibrates and gets the leg in the video even when there is less that 5mph winds - also it is never straight and often is tilted to the left

The drone spends 3-5 minutes calibrating its sensors before it lets me take off

Also are they still doing the "If your not satisfied you can send it back for a refund within 30 days" thing?

Thanks a bunch for the help!

 

[pyrate]

try support chat
did you send logs?

 

[Franklin Marquette]

How do I send the logs? I really want to love this thing but at this point the issues are too distracting

 

[Maddog]

With that many issues I would just return it.

 

[Franklin Marquette]

Do you think its faulty? Should I get a replacement?

 

[EyeWingsuit]

The drone won't transmit video any better than 1080 30FPS and if I try to do so it just shows green lines on my phone
Thanks a bunch for the help!

It's not sending 1080p30 anyway. 720p.
I suggest a factory reset and re-calibrate. Have you tried the online chat with their tech people? I've had good luck there.

 

[Franklin Marquette]

It's not sending 1080p30 anyway. 720p.
I suggest a factory reset and re-calibrate. Have you tried the online chat with their tech people? I've had good luck there.

I realize that. If I try to say tell the GoPro to record in 4K I wont be able to get a live video feed.

 

[Bart]

Not understanding that. Mine records at 4k and still streams live video. You have a lot of issues going on there. Your GPS issue is the biggest priority. Many of the issues you listed are probably due to a poor GPS lock. Use the live chat feature if you can I've had good luck with that.

Few other questions that might help others here help you:

- Where are you located?
- When and where did you buy your solo (eg. can you take it back and get a replacment)?
- Have you upgraded your software? - it should have done that when you powered it up.
- What version is the solo and controller software.
- What kind of phone are you using (what version of the 3dr app is installed?)

 

[EyeWingsuit]

I realize that. If I try to say tell the GoPro to record in 4K I wont be able to get a live video feed.

you should be able to stream 720 and record 4K. Are you sure your wifi is off on your GoPro?

 

[CanadianSolo]

I researched for a very long time whether I wanted to go with 3DR or DJI and I picked 3DR because of the smart shot features. I am beginning to regret that decision. I have emailed their support multiple times and they haven't replied yet (I sent it last Friday). I am having NUMEROUS problems with it. Maybe its my fault but I am leaving on a year long "gap year" in Thailand in a couple months and I want to make sure before I leave that this drone will actually work.

Here is a list of my problems:

GPS takes 5-6 minutes to get a lock and when it does I only ever get 5 or 6 sats on a day when the UAV forecaster says I should get 16 or 17

Follow me has never worked and the drone changes its altitude mid flight without me touching anything - I stopped using it after the drone dropped from 80 to 50 ft and hit a tree

The drone won't transmit video any better than 1080 30FPS and if I try to do so it just shows green lines on my phone

When the drone gets in the air it changes the video to the go pros lowest quality and glitches out when I try to change it

The video lags very bad and my range in rural areas is less that 1000ft

It DOES NOT stay in the same place and drifts all around everywhere

Once when I was trying to do multipoint cable cam I set point A with the drone 8ft off the ground maybe 5 ft away from me and it came back and did a nose dive into the ground 10 ft to the left of me

The gimbal vibrates and gets the leg in the video even when there is less that 5mph winds - also it is never straight and often is tilted to the left

The drone spends 3-5 minutes calibrating its sensors before it lets me take off

Also are they still doing the "If your not satisfied you can send it back for a refund within 30 days" thing?

Thanks a bunch for the help!

I suggest ensuring your phone is on the compatibility list!
I suggest going outside away from magnetic interference and doing a full calibration on your sensors. (Its in the app super easy to do) Streaming is done in 720, and it does'nt matter what resolution the camera is recording.

GPS issues were solved in an early update a while back. Ensure your not under a canopy tree or near any high rise buildings! you need clear line of sight to the sky!

Ensure your gopro has the latest firmware.

Ensure that your set to MEDIUM FOV in your gopro = no legs. However in pic mode the leg might show.

In the solo app it says support tap that and it will send logs along with your story that you will describe. Support has always been fantastic in responding to me. Usually 8-12 hrs later!!

Have fun!

 

[Franklin Marquette]

Little Falls, MN - about an 8000 person town

Yes it is the latest version (2.4.0)

SOLO: 2.4.0
Controller: 2.4.0

iPhone 6s version 2.4.0 app

Yes wifi is off - I don't understand it either it will only stream if I have it set at 1080 30 FPS or lower

 

[prowler9]

What gopro is it? And is your software up to date on the gopro?

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Franklin Marquette]

It's a Hero 3+ Black and I didn't think about that.

I have a Hero 4 Black on the way so I'll test it with that too

 

[Bart]

For the gimbal vibrations - I didn't have any but I did notice that cable routing is critical and you have to make sure that neither the HDMI cable nor the data cable touch the top gimbal plate or top servo motor in any way. There is a member on here that has a good video on how to route the cable. I'll see if I can find it for you but there are several on youtube if you search. Point being that correct cable routing is more important than it might seem.

Not sure if thats your issue, but I've had my solo and gopro 4 in the air for a couple of weeks now and I can absolutely confirm that the platform can perform in the way you are expecting it to. Whether yours needs some repair or something setup related I'm not sure.

 

[PdxSteve]

If you consistently have a long time waiting for gps lock, use the chat support. Waiting more then 2 or 3 minutes on the most recent firmware is not normal and there could be a defect in the GPS shielding. They will fix it if you contact them. You can also send a log from the app - click Support in lower right hand of app and choose Contact Us option at the bottom. It will send the logs to them automatically.

For your gopro video feed issues, make sure your gopro firmware is up to date. This is important as earlier firmwares had problems when switching video modes. Your H4 black will work superbly as it was really made for it and you have full gopro control from the app.

For range, and more importantly signal strength, you'll want a FPVLR antenna. They are about $130. This is really the only aftermarket equipment you will probably really need. Don't put up with the frustration of losing some shots due to signal loss and having Solo RTH, or a crappy laggy live video feed. This antenna will fix both issues. Since it's a stronger signal, it will also penetrate things like trees and buildings better (depending on the building obviously).

What the UAV forecaster says is available in the sky is not necessarily what Solo will use. It only uses the strongest signals for a solid lock and not everything possible in the sky, but you should definitely get more than 5 or 6 - again contact support.

 

[Franklin Marquette]

Okay thanks! I have to wait until Tony and the crew are done moving their warehouse because they can't take new orders until July 20th. Unless I can find one used or something...

I will also have to modify my backpack a bit to fit the bigger antennae - any suggestions on that?

I have sent in my logs and stuff to 3DR they said they will reply with a solution today.

Thanks for everything guys!

 

[PdxSteve]

I didn't modify the backpack for the FPVLR. I just have it sitting on top of the controller, and then solo on top of that. Fits perfectly.

 

[Franklin Marquette]

I didn't modify the backpack for the FPVLR. I just have it sitting on top of the controller, and then solo on top of that. Fits perfectly.

View attachment 3678

View attachment 3679

Okay awesome that makes me feel better I didn't really want to hack the backpack up but thats all I saw online. So then do you hook it up to the controller every time? Does that take long?

Thanks

 

[PdxSteve]

Yes you need to connect it each time. Takes about 30 seconds to screw the 2 connectors on. Not really any longer than removing/installing the stock antennas.

 

[Franklin Marquette]

Okay cool now if 3DR helps me through these problems ill be set