Worth keeping?

[Deleted member 9646]

Hey guys, I bought a backpack bundle from Best Buy for $299 and am deciding whether its worth keeping or returning.

How is the range out of the box? How long does the battery typically last? I am coming from flying DJI Phantoms.

Thanks

 

[annihil8ted]

Not to be a jerk but the search button and some research online can answer those questions for you.

Range out of the box: Depends on flight location. You can general expect 1000ft. On stock, I've gone up to 5100 ft.

Battery Life: Around the 20 minute mark.

 

[CanadianSolo]

RTFM

 

[Deleted member 9646]

Wow is everyone this friendly on this forum?

 

[twitchyzero]

tiring questions generally get stupid answers here...for good reasons.

anyways...if range and battery life is a big deal, you might not like the Solo

for $299 though? It's an amazing platform. Why not try it out before? Or does Best Buy not accept returns after using it?

 

[Deleted member 9646]

tiring questions generally get stupid answers here...for good reasons.

anyways...if range and battery life is a big deal, you might not like the Solo

for $299 though? It's an amazing platform. Why not try it out before? Or does Best Buy not accept returns after using it?

Great idea I will test fly it and decide. Thank you

 

[CanadianSolo]

Wow is everyone this friendly on this forum?

We are super friendly!! But this forum has PILES of info, and the questions you ask are clearly printed in the manual. And you can find lots of good info with the search field. Please try that first.

 

[Maddog]

Hi tonyt76- welcome to the forum!

That is an amazing price for Solo- or any quad of this caliber.
Range out of box depends on terrain and wifi congestion, etc.,but most people get at least 1200 ft. Usually farther.
Being built as a dedicated video platform, range wasn't a major priority.

Typically, with gimbal & GoPro installed I'm getting 15 min flight time, landing with about 15% battery remaining.

Best Buy will accept returns up to 15 days even if you flew it, so try it out. Even if you can't return it, you shouldn't have trouble selling it as Best Buy is liquidating all of their Solo inventory. Once they're gone, that's it- no more so they will become scarce. Particularly parts.

 

[Bilge]

Tony.....being you are from the DJI arena.....you may be disappointed with the Solo.....give it a chance......I know you like the price over the overpriced Chinese crap....

You have to love the open source of this platform vs the proprietary platform at DJI.....

And DJI drones have their fair share of problems

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[KnightRider]

Keep it, Fly it, Enjoy it.... great price for what you have.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

I think the annoyance people are expressing is because these are questions the responsible person asks and looks up BEFORE buying a product. Not something you buy, then ask people to spoon feed you after the fact. I agree with basically everything that's been said. Except the flight time will be more like 13-16 minutes with the gimbal and camera. Not 20.

 

[Hefe33]

We are super friendly!! But this forum has PILES of info, and the questions you ask are clearly printed in the manual. And you can find lots of good info with the search field. Please try that first.

this is why I am HUGE fan of Forums over FB Groups..
the info stays and is easily searchable.
big thanks to all who have contributed
I've been reading a bunch of old posts, all great info (well.... most )

 

[annihil8ted]

I think the annoyance people are expressing is because these are questions the responsible person asks and looks up BEFORE buying a product. Not something you buy, then ask people to spoon feed you after the fact. I agree with basically everything that's been said. Except the flight time will be more like 13-16 minutes with the gimbal and camera. Not 20.

Good clarification. Yes the ~20 minutes flight time is without gimbal and camera. With the gimbal and camera, I get ~15 minutes and bring it in at 20%.

 

[Deleted member 9646]

I think the annoyance people are expressing is because these are questions the responsible person asks and looks up BEFORE buying a product. Not something you buy, then ask people to spoon feed you after the fact. I agree with basically everything that's been said. Except the flight time will be more like 13-16 minutes with the gimbal and camera. Not 20.

I didnt have weeks to read the forums before making this purchase. The $299 backpack bundles sold out in a few days so I had to decide quick if I was going to purchase one.

Please don't accuse me of asking to be spoon fed information. I read the phantompilots forums on a daily basis and have been since 2015.

I decided to fly it today to see if I like it. I had it sitting outside with a clear view of the sky for 20% of my battery. The most GPS satellites I acquired was 5-6 and could not take off. I read that the backpack bundles have the new REV B gps installed? Does it also have the 3DR gps shield installed?

I'm not sure why the GPS in my bird is so lazy?

 

[SARDG]

Preinstalled gimbals have had Rev Bs, but that aside... the intial power up of any GPS that finds itself in a new location willl take longer to get a fix. In addition, the GPS board's battery is probably well discharged intially so retaining a location/fix betwen flghts may be tough on a newish bird. One tlog posted here of an initial 'flight' had the Solo starting iin Malaysia before making its way to TX.

 

[Deleted member 9646]

Preinstalled gimbals have had Rev Bs, but that aside... the intial power up of any GPS that finds itself in a new location willl take longer to get a fix. In addition, the GPS board's battery is probably well discharged intially so retaining a location/fix betwen flghts may be tough on a newish bird. One tlog posted here of an initial 'flight' had the Solo starting iin Malaysia before making its way to TX.

Thanks SARDG, I will keep trying

 

[Deleted member 9646]

Much better results after going to an open field I did go into manual mode once on the flight back. I might pick up a mRobotics gps but they are out of stock currently

 

[annihil8ted]

Much better results after going to an open field I did go into manual mode once on the flight back. I might pick up a mRobotics gps but they are out of stock currently

Order anyways. The mRo gps almost always show out of stock due to their popularity but within a couple of days, you'll get a delivery notice. And they are a definite improvement over stock GPS.

 

[Twinv]

Hey guys, I bought a backpack bundle from Best Buy for $299 and am deciding whether its worth keeping or returning.

How is the range out of the box? How long does the battery typically last? I am coming from flying DJI Phantoms.

Thanks

I will buy it from you for cost. 299.00 free shipping. Ya I would sell it unless you just want to have fun with it. After the warranty I don't expect parts from 3DR maybe aftermarket for simple shit but nothing else. I wanted to get a extra one tho since I have 4 already. Its a gift.

 

[Twinv]

Wow is everyone this friendly on this forum?

Search is good, but no reason to be impolite about a serious question. You will find tards in every forum.