Which GPS upgrade?

[BigTulsa]

The solo has parameters specifying a minimum of 5 sats and a minimum HDOP of 2.5. There are other factors that go into deciding the lock is ok though,.

Is 3M 3490 the material 3DR uses for their V2 shield? I've had it since the day it was released for purchase by 3DR and it is hasn't degraded at all. I have a solid lock with 8-10 sats in less than 30 seconds every time without fail, even on the crappy stock GPS. It's the only reason I haven't bought the mRo yet.

Shielding more of the housing is probably helping you a lot. Most of the RFI that screws with the GPS comes from the camera. Other action cameras do the same thing. When I turn my mobius on, I can watch the GPS start to wander. If you shield below and around the GPS, that should be all you need to do. And that is more than any 3DR shield provides.

I'm gonna guess those parameters requiring 5 sats and a minimum hdop of 2.5 can be changed just as they can be changed in Arducopter firmware via Missionplanner. Typically for my DIY hex with an M8N on it with Pixhawk and Arducopter I set minimum sats to 8 and minimum hdop to 1.5. On a good day with that rig I usually get between 20 and 22 sats and I've had my HDOP down to 0.8.

 

[richnat]

HDOP? That acronym is not in the listing stickied in the General Discussions section.

 

[BigTulsa]

HDOP? That acronym is not in the listing stickied in the General Discussions section.

Means "Horizontal Dilution of Precision". Typically it's a number that indicates the accuracty of the GPS co-ordinates on the horizontal plane, in meters. So in this case, HDOP of 2.5 means the accuracy is within 2.5 meters. The lower the HDOP, the better. There is also a term called VDOP, but we don't deal with that quite as much.

 

[richnat]

Good to know. Good candidate to be added to the glossary I'd say.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

Yes, you can change the parameters the same way. However, they may overwrite on reboot. I don't remember.

 

[BigTulsa]

Well, I'm not sure about that as my brother was trying to shoe-horn an old M8N into the solo. We decided to change one of the GPS parameters and it did keep after a reboot.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

It doesn't overwrite everything. There are specific ones it will always overwrite on reboot. Others it will overwrite on events and inputs from the controller, app, companion computer, or smart battery. As long as those two aren't ones that it overwrites, you can change them and they'll stick.

 

[FinniKris]

Just a quick note of interest: the same material from 3M that the V2 shield is made from is used to protect dignataries from RF by secret service. Used as clothing inserts, as well as liners/barriers in a variety of locations/circumstances. Obama was the first President to be protected by the material

 

[FlyXlsa]

The solo has parameters specifying a minimum of 5 sats and a minimum HDOP of 2.5. There are other factors that go into deciding the lock is ok though,.

Is 3M 3490 the material 3DR uses for their V2 shield? I've had it since the day it was released for purchase by 3DR and it is hasn't degraded at all. I have a solid lock with 8-10 sats in less than 30 seconds every time without fail, even on the crappy stock GPS. It's the only reason I haven't bought the mRo yet.

Shielding more of the housing is probably helping you a lot. Most of the RFI that screws with the GPS comes from the camera. Other action cameras do the same thing. When I turn my mobius on, I can watch the GPS start to wander. If you shield below and around the GPS, that should be all you need to do. And that is more than any 3DR shield provides.

Thanks for that advice P2P.... I've read a lot on here about upgrading the GPS, but why do it unless you're having "issues" with the stock GPS?

 

[Donell]

Thanks for that advice P2P.... I've read a lot on here about upgrading the GPS, but why do it unless you're having "issues" with the stock GPS?

The great thing about solo and the phantom is that thy are gps assisted drones, which make them really easy to fly. When you let go your joysticks, the drone stops. Increasing gps reliability, IMO, is a must, unless you have flown line of sight or FPV a lot. If you are on a gps assisted mode and the solo loses enough satellites, it will then be in "manual" mode. So if you hit forward on your drone, it will continue to go forward, until you manually correct the flight path.

Please Read the manual.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ralph E. Johnson]

There is no compass upgrade. And none is needed. Buy the $30 RF shield (Solo GPS Shield V2 - 3DR), or buy the $80 mRo GPS. Or both and you'll have utopia.

I have just installed the mRo GPS and I have the RF Shield installed. Should i also put a piece of cardboard in to stop grounding or is that necessary?? Also when I get out a little distance I lose the flight information that is at the top of my Ipad mini 4. Any idea why that is?? Thanks for any help.

 

[andrew.baker.142]

If you are using the stock copper shielding I would recommend a non metallic spacer. If you are using the V2 shield you should be good to go without spacer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ralph E. Johnson]

If you are using the stock copper shielding I would recommend a non metallic spacer. If you are using the V2 shield you should be good to go without spacer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the help Andrew. I am very pleased with the amount of sat's I have almost immediately. I have been flying Solo since they were first released and never had more than 12.
I was also wondering why i lose the flight info on my monitor? any idea. It only happens when I am over 3,000' away though.. This never happened until I installed the new MRO GPS. I'll keep searching through the Q&A info also

 

[andrew.baker.142]

Thanks for the help Andrew. I am very pleased with the amount of sat's I have almost immediately. I have been flying Solo since they were first released and never had more than 12.
I was also wondering why i lose the flight info on my monitor? any idea. It only happens when I am over 3,000' away though.. This never happened until I installed the new MRO GPS. I'll keep searching through the Q&A info also

I don't have any idea why you are losing data. If you are talking about the second row of data, it only shows up if you tap on the top row. Either way, I'm sure it is unrelated to your new GPS.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

Is it disconnecting, losing all data and video and the controller saying waiting for solo? Or just the little bar at the top going away?

 

[Ralph E. Johnson]

Is it disconnecting, losing all data and video and the controller saying waiting for solo? Or just the little bar at the top going away?

There is a bar at the top that says "Fly". When you tap on it gives a read out of info. That whole bar disappears when I get about 2000' out. Only since I installed the mR gps card.

 

[Ralph E. Johnson]

Scratching my head. But I'm also having a problem with my video feed being off intirely or turning off intermittently. I did what Russ said with reinstalling the hdmi cable and using the stiff piece of styrofoam and that fixed the rolling problem. But now I don't have a video feed or it turns off. Even though I can change the settings on the camera.

 

[Ralph E. Johnson]

Thanks for any thoughts. Not sure if maybe a defective gimbal. I just installled recently.

 

[Gatrgetr]

I've ordered the here gps and have a question. I need to know how to change the parameters. I've heard about downloading an app on the computer, but how do I get it on the solo?

 

[FinniKris]

Scratching my head. But I'm also having a problem with my video feed being off intirely or turning off intermittently. I did what Russ said with reinstalling the hdmi cable and using the stiff piece of styrofoam and that fixed the rolling problem. But now I don't have a video feed or it turns off. Even though I can change the settings on the camera.

Sounds like the cable isn't seated securely. Like it's disconnecting and reconnecting depending on how the aircraft jostles. Hard to know for sure until you get inside to check it out!