1st Flight.......Finally!

[Jubalr]

After waiting since May 7th for my Solo, today I finally get to set it up. I have been flying MRs for 3 years, primarily FPV and AP. Started with a large hex (Streak 800) and more recently a Tarot 680 and TBS Discovery Pro. So the Solo is the first one that I didn't put together my self. But I have to say, I was impressed. I know a few others felt the controller felt cheap, but I thought it was pretty good and felt good in my hands (coming from a Futaba 14SG).

At lunch I plugged in the battery. After work I started the update process. On mine it took about 15 minutes to do the update. I know I have seen posts where they didn't wait long enough and interrupted it and started another time or 2, but I just left it alone. Got an LG 8" android that will only be used for the Solo. After the update, it did the level calibration, and then I assigned A to stabilize and B to manual. I took the props off and checked it out on the bench. It still hasn't been outside yet but I noticed it had 8 sats and a HDOP of 1.9. A good sign! Everything seemed to be working as it should so I took it outside. I put it in Stabilize mode and got the expected stick warning (must be all the way down as it will now fly as a traditional MR). It only took about 30sec to get the needed sats and got the OK to FLY. Held the Fly button and the props started right up at an idle. Raised the throttle to mid point and it smoothly lifted off. Right off the bat, this thing was exceptionally stable! On my other MRs, I had to dial them in to get them to fly this nice. It was very smooth to all input, but definitely a little soft for me. Landed and adjusted the slider up for more response. Took off again in stabilize and that made a lot of difference. Especially the throttle response, it really had some great power now. and much better response from the input of the sticks.

I flew it around in stabilize for a few minutes, then hit the Pause and it locked into place. Flew it around for a few more minutes with GPS and landed with 50% battery. I wanted to fly some more but I had to go buy some drugs (I'm a narcotics investigator). I hope to get more flights in tomorrow, but so far very impressed. The gimbal on this bird will really make it special.. Sorry so long winded..!

 

[Raybro]

Mine will arrive tomorrow according to UPS.....will be getting mine ready to fly!

 

[Jubalr]

I know how you feel.. Looking forward to your first report!

 

[aggravated...]

That is excellent news Jubalr. That's promising regarding the gps lock. I'm curious if some of the gps issues is due to the terrain of where they are getting set up. Do you live in a hilly area or is flat?

My malfunctioning Solo is on it's way back to 3dr and they are shipping a replacement as soon as it gets there. I'm looking forward to receiving it and giving it another try. This time around though I'm going to find the flattest area I can find to lock the gps in the first couple of times. While my cheaper Cheerson was able to lock on easily at my house I think it only requires 4 satellites before lock on.

Does anyone know what the minimum number of sats are for lock on the Solo? I'm still pretty confident mine was a hardware or software issue though because I got zero satellites while waiting at least 10 minutes.

 

[Jubalr]

That is excellent news Jubalr. That's promising regarding the gps lock. I'm curious if some of the gps issues is due to the terrain of where they are getting set up. Do you live in a hilly area or is flat?

My malfunctioning Solo is on it's way back to 3dr and they are shipping a replacement as soon as it gets there. I'm looking forward to receiving it and giving it another try. This time around though I'm going to find the flattest area I can find to lock the gps in the first couple of times. While my cheaper Cheerson was able to lock on easily at my house I think it only requires 4 satellites before lock on.

Does anyone know what the minimum number of sats are for lock on the Solo? I'm still pretty confident mine was a hardware or software issue though because I got zero satellites while waiting at least 10 minutes.

It definitely sounds like hardware and more specifically a GPS antenna/receiver failure to not have any sats at all. In my company, we use GPS in our in car DVRs, and when the customer is not able to get any sats at all, it is generally a faulty antenna. Swap it out and problem solved. On a rare occasion it will be the GPS module itself, but usually the antenna.

I live in southern TN. We have plenty of hills around, but nothing big enough to effect signal. On the rest of my MRs, Solo included, I can get 8 sats or more while powering them up inside my office with an HDOP of about 2-3. Move it outside and it drops pretty quick.

 

[aggravated...]

It definitely sounds like hardware and more specifically a GPS antenna/receiver failure to not have any sats at all. In my company, we use GPS in our in car DVRs, and when the customer is not able to get any sats at all, it is generally a faulty antenna. Swap it out and problem solved. On a rare occasion it will be the GPS module itself, but usually the antenna.

I live in southern TN. We have plenty of hills around, but nothing big enough to effect signal. On the rest of my MRs, Solo included, I can get 8 sats or more while powering them up inside my office with an HDOP of about 2-3. Move it outside and it drops pretty quick.

Cool, I'm in NETN. When I get some videos I will be sure to share them with you. Here is the view from my office. The Mountain straight ahead is Greenville TN and behind it is Asheville. As you pan toward the right you are looking at the Smoky Mountains. I looked it up on Google Earth and the last mountain I could see is about 90 miles away. Looking forward to getting some good aerial footage.

 

[fishpick]

... but I had to go buy some drugs (I'm a narcotics investigator)...

Already I see the "Orbit" mode being used around the bad guy with the expansion bay having a megaphone where you are yelling "drop the dope. get down on the ground. you are surrounded"
All while sitting half a mile away in a car with your bear claws making the controller all sticky

Good review too!

 

[Jubalr]

Already I see the "Orbit" mode being used around the bad guy with the expansion bay having a megaphone where you are yelling "drop the dope. get down on the ground. you are surrounded"
All while sitting half a mile away in a car with your bear claws making the controller all sticky

Good review too!

LOL..Hey!.. Good Idea! I do love the bear claws too.. Just need to use Tower to input the nearest doughnut shop, drop a small basket on a string to the drive through window and RTH..

 

[rrmccabe]

@fishpick Jubalr chose the Solo over some of the other quads with single antenna because it had two antennas and you could hold more donuts

 

[Jubalr]

@fishpick Jubalr choice the Solo over some of the other quads with single antenna because it had two antennas and you could hold more donuts

That's a true story.. And I also replaced the short antennas with 6db dipoles; allows for 1 more doughnut each..

 

[fishpick]

That's a true story.. And I also replaced the short antennas with 6db dipoles; allows for 1 more doughnut each..

That still leaves us with the issue of the bear claws (seeing as they have no holes) - but no fear - I'm very confident this community will figure out a solution for you!

 

[rrmccabe]

That still leaves us with the issue of the bear claws (seeing as they have no holes) - but no fear - I'm very confident this community will figure out a solution for you!

The tablet holder on the Solo works fine for bear claw !