Solex for Solo

[Deleted member 7413]

Solo & Solex supports all GP F/W.
That said, keep in mind that 3DR has stopped updating Solo for a while now. Any Ver. above 3.0 of GP, has a flaw that doesn't allow the GP to turn on with Solo. one needs to turn on the GP, before flying.
The later updates 4 & 5 from GP, offer other nice features that the Solo app & Solex App. have access to.
All this Info. in much more detail, can be found by using the search function of this site.

Happy Flying

Steve, WRT the 4 & 5 updates are these also for the GP 3+ Black?
Thanks Sam.

 

[John Githens]

Update: Touchscreen response is much better after using four strips of black foamcore board, stuck together with carpet tape, then adding a 2" wide strip of 10lb Velcro. There is a slight tablet wobble when pressing with a stylus, but no signs of the tablet being at risk of detaching, and the touch response rate is much higher. Images attached. View attachment 6195 View attachment 6195

Some time ago in this thread, I described being able to repeat an Asus Nexus 7 touchscreen problem many times over, consecutively. More recently, the good news is that the tablet now performs as desired when clamped in the standard 3DR Solo holder. The bad news is that I still suspect an intermittent hardware problem that may emerge again. I did leave a strip of 2" wide velcro on the backside of the tablet, which may have helped. I also removed a number of apps, and upgraded Solo firmware to 1.5.3. Time will tell.

 

[John Githens]

A question for Kelly Schrock: I'm trying to solve a mystery. A few times I have launched and selected a Cable Cam in Saved Shots, however there are no additional prompts (Fly me there...). Instead, I have been prompted to press 'A' to start a Cable Cam. Other times everything works flawlessly. For background, for various reasons I may switch between Solex, the Solo App, and Tower (terminating each app, each time, on my ASUS Nexus 7 tablet). Could this problem be related to an unfortunate equipment startup sequence, or to a chunk of code intended to save me from an operator error or an unfortunate system state?

A tip for learning to use Solex (or Tower) in the field, in bright sun (finally), while looking at a small, glossy Tablet screen with many informational sections and items, and especially when your Solo is hovering nearby, waiting for you to do something:

Be patient. Wait a few moments before the next tap/click to see small black messages with tiny white text (Reading vehicle parameters; High message traffic). Wait until both messages vanish. Go slower than when you are indoors with a fast laptop/desktop.​

My occasional issues were related to moving too fast with my next taps on a Nexus 7.

 

[Bladestrik3]

Solex on BT-300

I am wondering has anyone with a Epson Moverio BT-300 tried sideloading the Solex app ?

 

[SteveReno]

Solex on BT-300

I am wondering has anyone with a Epson Moverio BT-300 tried sideloading the Solex app ?

the Author @Kelly Schrock say that any android platform Ver.4.4 should work

 

[davemh]

First I must say I enjoy using Solex a lot. Had been a Tower user for a couple of years but rarely use it now. I ran a mission out 2600 feet yesterday successfully without signal or video loss.
I have two request (wish list) items for you Kelly/Solex.
In the past, after loading a mission I've cleared it off my tablet and then downloaded from Solo to verify it uploaded correctly and that the quad has the mission I intend to fly.
Secondly, I often modify a saved mission and re-save under a different name with out starting over.
I don't believe Solex does either of these procedures.
Please correct me if I'm mistaken.
Something more to add to your never ending list.
Thanks for giving us a great app.

 

[SteveReno]

First I must say I enjoy using Solex a lot. Had been a Tower user for a couple of years but rarely use it now. I ran a mission out 2600 feet yesterday successfully without signal or video loss.
I have two request (wish list) items for you Kelly/Solex.
In the past, after loading a mission I've cleared it off my tablet and then downloaded from Solo to verify it uploaded correctly and that the quad has the mission I intend to fly.
Secondly, I often modify a saved mission and re-save under a different name with out starting over.
I don't believe Solex does either of these procedures.
Please correct me if I'm mistaken.
Something more to add to your never ending list.
Thanks for giving us a great app.

I'm a little mixed up, But i think your asking
1. A way to verify a mission before you use it. Like a dry run on screen? talked about, hasn't been implemented yet.
2. Save a mission under multiple names at multiple points? Stop mission, save, then proceed.
Hope this helps

 

[SteveReno]

Kelly Schrock
4 hrs
Solex 1.4.4 is rolling in

Kind of like the storms we had here earlier today.

This is mostly a bug-fix/stability sort of release, so here's what's in it:

. Firmware Updates

This is the main new "feature" in this update.

If you turn "Advanced Mode" on in the App settings, you should see a "Firmware Updates" item on the main menu. Click that, and and you'll see a list of packages available for installation on your Solo. The only one available right now is the latest package from Matt Lawrence for updating the yaw in several of the smart shots, and it's only for the green-cube Solos. As time goes by, the list of packages available here will update to correspond to new releases from Matt (and eventually ArduPilot itself when it starts distributing Solo-based builds). A given update package can contain both firmware and Python files, so it should be possible to use this to install new Smart Shots, as well as fixes to existing ones. (Selfie, I'm looking at YOU.) I plan to update this feature soon so it can not only install the files for an update, but also change parameters on the vehicle for a given update, should it need parameters to be a specific value. For now, it doesn't do that.

. Minor fix to Sharing UI

The sharing UI was getting a bit crowded, and looked strange with scrolling lists of things inside a main scrolling list. So that's been fixed.

. Minor fix to Follow/Optical start

Follow/Optical should start more readily now. There was some logic in it preventing the Start button from being enabled when it should have been.

. Fix top bar crowding on small devices

The top bar on small devices should now show all of the fields when "Advanced Mode" is turned on.

. Fix control palette scrolling

The controls panel is full enough that it wasn't showing all of its icons on phones. So now it scrolls, and you should be able to get to all the controls on it on a small device.

. Fix some "Android Vitals" reports

Google released an "Android Vitals" report in the console, which shows a lot of activity indicating there were some infrequent crashes and other issues in the app. We're talking about something like 1 crash out of 2800+ users. Still, crashes are annoying, so the ones where I could find the cause are fixed.

. Fix TapToFly speed adjustment

TapToFly wasn't allowing speed adjustments as of a couple of versions ago, but now it is.

. Small Mission editor updates

Small update to missions: I found it kind of annoying to have to name an ROI after adding it. A small thing, really. So now, when you add an ROI, it will get a default name. You can still change it, but if you don't want to, you don't have to.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

Today's update is HUGE despite @Kelly Schrock calling it fairly minor. The firmware installer literally game changing on the ArduPilot master project!

 

[speatuk]

Yes Matt. I'm with you there. It's a massive a total game changer. Thank you Kelly and thank you Matt. You are both hard at this and the work you are both doing in the background is totally incredible and I for one, think you are both superstars.

I really do appreciate your hard work. I also believe everyone on here feels the same way.
A big thumbs up to both of you. [emoji106]

 

[BiggityBates]

So because I'm an idiot and I love new things, I went ahead and clicked on all three available updates.... Solo beta 1.2.0, Yawfixes, and beta 1.0.1.

They all say "downloaded" by them now. I haven't hooked up my Solo to solex out anything yet though. Can anyone tell me what's going to happen next time I take my Solo out for a spin with solex?

Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 7413]

You're not the only one. I did also under the assumption that the updates will only install if your firmware and/hardware has been updated. The other option may be to uninstall/reinstall Solex before you connecting to your solo. I'm sure that Kelly will step in this conversation and correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[SteveReno]

So because I'm an idiot and I love new things, I went ahead and clicked on all three available updates.... Solo beta 1.2.0, Yawfixes, and beta 1.0.1.

They all say "downloaded" by them now. I haven't hooked up my Solo to solex out anything yet though. Can anyone tell me what's going to happen next time I take my Solo out for a spin with solex?

Thanks.

Have you tried to "download" any updates yet?

 

[pyrate]

unless you have the green cube installed, it does not hurt to download them
But I have no idea what would happen if you actually load those onto a stock solo
But I dont think it would be good.

Just downloading them only puts them as available on the controller
I think you have to select one, and then click flash or install
A big box comes up saying dont do it if you dont have the cube.

Personally without the green cube just stay out of that section

 

[Kelly Schrock]

So because I'm an idiot and I love new things, I went ahead and clicked on all three available updates.... Solo beta 1.2.0, Yawfixes, and beta 1.0.1.

They all say "downloaded" by them now. I haven't hooked up my Solo to solex out anything yet though. Can anyone tell me what's going to happen next time I take my Solo out for a spin with solex?

Thanks.

If all they say is "Downloaded", and you haven't gone through the install process, you're fine. Nothing has been installed on your Solo. But be aware there is nothing preventing you from installing an update like this on a stock Solo. If the instructions say not to install it on stock Solo, please do not install it. Because if you do, there will be files on your stock Solo that will cause big problems for you when you reboot it.

 

[Kelly Schrock]

First I must say I enjoy using Solex a lot. Had been a Tower user for a couple of years but rarely use it now. I ran a mission out 2600 feet yesterday successfully without signal or video loss.
I have two request (wish list) items for you Kelly/Solex.
In the past, after loading a mission I've cleared it off my tablet and then downloaded from Solo to verify it uploaded correctly and that the quad has the mission I intend to fly.
Secondly, I often modify a saved mission and re-save under a different name with out starting over.
I don't believe Solex does either of these procedures.
Please correct me if I'm mistaken.
Something more to add to your never ending list.
Thanks for giving us a great app.

I like the idea of doing a "Save As" operation, and I'll add that to my list of things to build. As for the other option, that's a bit more difficult. A Solex mission isn't actually a "mission" until you send it to the copter. There's a bunch of extra information in it (actions, etc) and it's laid out differently (ROIs don't appear inline with other items in Solex). So it would probably be possible to build something that shows the downloaded mission as a different set of markers on the map, for the purposes of validation. How does that sound? I like the idea, but would need to think about how to put it together so it didn't look terrible.

 

[BiggityBates]

If all they say is "Downloaded", and you haven't gone through the install process, you're fine. Nothing has been installed on your Solo. But be aware there is nothing preventing you from installing an update like this on a stock Solo. If the instructions say not to install it on stock Solo, please do not install it. Because if you do, there will be files on your stock Solo that will cause big problems for you when you reboot it.

Thanks Kelly. They all said "Download" by them after I clicked them once, but then I just clicked one of them again and I got the warning box that says its for the Green Cube Solo configuration. Sorry to waste your time. Thanks for your help.

 

[Kelly Schrock]

Thanks Kelly. They all said "Download" by them after I clicked them once, but then I just clicked one of them again and I got the warning box that says its for the Green Cube Solo configuration. Sorry to waste your time. Thanks for your help.

No problem at all! I updated Solex today so it shouldn't allow it to install if it's not appropriate for it to be there.

Thanks,
Kelly

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

You'll notice that if you don't have the solo connected, the install button is greyed out. You can't install it if the Solo isn't there.

DO NOT INSTALL THESE FILES ON A STOCK SOLO! IT SAYS GREEN CUBE ONLY FOR A REASON. THAT REASON IS YOUR SOLO WILL LIKELY CRASH WITHOUT THE GREEN CUBE.

 

[Deleted member 7413]

I think there is still some confusion as to if downloading the file will cause the Solo to install it automatically when it's connected to Solex or if you have to go to the Solex download directory and manually install it. The issue is that the files can be downloaded whether or not you're connected to the Solo.