Another "Magnetic interference" Thread

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Hello Solo Owners! ...
YUP! I purchased another Solo and ended up having a magnetic interference issue. I ordered a new compass and installed it today. Took the Solo out to an area where I fly my other Solo and still received "magnetic interference" on my controller.
I decided to run a compass calibration and it went through the process without any issues ... Yet the magnetic interference would show on the controller .. I then picked up the Solo and turned it to it's side and the controller stated "Solo Not Level" which was good indication the compass must be working but still has that blasted "magnetic interference" would show up again when I set the Solo level.....

Anything new out there that someone has found in correcting this issue? .. I am wondering if it could be a software issue ... but I have updated the Solo to the latest rev and all is good there.

Tried to email 3DR but because they moved to commercial, I cant find any email address to contact them.
 
The 'Solo Not Level' comes from the IMU [Accelerometers specifically] not the compass. Not the same unit, though they are located in the same place, the PixHawk.

Get Mission Planner and get it fired up so you can discover whether it is the compass which is internal to the PixHawk or the Leg compass which is causing your problem.

I'd guess it's either a stiction issue or [very remotely a possibility] noise on the i2c bus.
 
Whats the best way to fix the issue? .. noise can be shielded ..not sure on the "stiction issue"
 
Thanks .... I fixed it ... it was neither of the two
And just like that the thread ends? What the fk, dude? Why won't you say what the fix was? It's like on facebook when some chick posts, "
I hate my life" or some bullshit like that and just leaves it there. Drives me insane.
 
"Stiction is the static friction that needs to be overcome to enable relative motion of stationary objects in contact." Huh?
 
And just like that the thread ends? What the fk, dude? Why won't you say what the fix was? It's like on facebook when some chick posts, "
I hate my life" or some bullshit like that and just leaves it there. Drives me insane.

Well Artcuda ....
First I would like to suggest you need to "calm down" penalizing people who post on this site must be the reason why there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of feedback ....

There wasn't a whole lot of feedback going on with my request in this forum
...... However, Bruce suggested software (programming) issues, and thought it can't be that .. having to go to look into my parameters ..

But to embrace you with my find with "dead end" threads of no answers ... here is what I did to fix "my" issue having Mag Interference...
For you It's "F'ing" Magic" - Hold on to your paints... Cause this worked for me and it could work for you one day..

1) I unplugged the leg compass and took it outside to do a compass calibration which will show up as a "compass error" even performing the cal.
THEN - when completed
2) Plugged back in the leg compass
THEN
3) Took it back out side and calibrated it again (same location)
....... Believe it or not .. these simple steps helped clear up the "mag interference" issue that I had.

MAGIC!

BTW:
Personally I really don't "Give a Shit" about your facebook "Chick Post" nor "I hate my life" ... The guy in the photo (me) has a smile on his face laughing at the majority of people like you with silly ass comments ...
Have a Great Day! :)
 
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Well Artcuda ....
First I would like to suggest you need to "calm down" penalizing people who post on this site must be the reason why there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of feedback ....

There wasn't a whole lot of feedback going on with my request in this forum
...... However, Bruce suggested software (programming) issues, and thought it can't be that .. having to go to look into my parameters ..

But to embrace you with my find with "dead end" threads of no answers ... here is what I did to fix "my" issue having Mag Interference...
For you It's "F'ing" Magic" - Hold on to your paints... Cause this worked for me and it could work for you one day..

1) I unplugged the leg compass and took it outside to do a compass calibration which will show up as a "compass error" even performing the cal.
THEN - when completed
2) Plugged back in the leg compass
THEN
3) Took it back out side and calibrated it again (same location)
....... Believe it or not .. these simple steps helped clear up the "mag interference" issue that I had.

MAGIC!

BTW:
Personally I really don't "Give a Shit" about your facebook "Chick Post" nor "I hate my life" ... The guy in the photo (me) has a smile on his face laughing at the majority of people like you with silly ass comments ...
Have a Great Day! :)
Wicked response. I like you. You're my kind of man. No shit talk, I like that. So, to fix your issue, you just calibrated the thing 2 times...1st no compass. 2nd with compass. Then success? That's kind of mondo bizarre. But then again with solo, not much surprises me anymore. For one fix ( I forget the symptoms) did you know that you just turn the bird on its back and slap the underbelly? True story. I once had a solo that had a mind of its own. But that turned out to be my fault in that I had both apps, solex and 3DR, apparently conflicting with eachother. That fix was to uninstall both apps. Install the 3DR app. set the thing up. Remove that app and install solex and then everything was Disney.
So, studmuffin, don't get your panties all up in a twist because someone doesn't reply to an inquiry in a fashion that suits you
 
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You are correct on the calibration stated above ..
From what I understand "slapping the belly" of the Solo apparently fixes IMU [Accelerometers] not the compass issue..
YEP! Thought it was a bit weird performing the sequence I described .. but it did work .. From what I was told the cube has several components inside it to include compass settings. The sequence I provided is supposed to adjust the cube compass, showing Compass Error on the controller .. yet still calibrating the system. Then adding the leg compass to the system re-aligns the system sequence after final compass calibration.
Apparently there's more technical info than I can address that allows this fix. Either way I was impressed with the simple process .... Hoping this process helps everyone else that may end up with the magnetic interference issue. Of course there is more that could be wrong that's not detected .. i.e, bad compass (leg), .. compass positioned incorrectly in the leg,... , esc wiring too close to compass wiring, .. bad cube (not likely) ... metal in the area, ... even heard the screw thats holds the compass inplace can sometimes cause "magnetic interference causing things to screwy??? With all the issues that were described to me .. I thought the SOLO has way to sensitive components or not shielded like they should be having this kind of issues. I could understand these issues due to a crash and trying to restore, but on a new model unit? .. I'm a bit puzzled ...

Other than that that's about all I know about the SOLO and the mag interference issue .. thought it was pretty interesting seeking this out and actually seeing it fixed my Solo magnetic interference..

As far as being a studmuffin and getting my panties in a twist .. it goes back to my original message
- The guy in the photo (me) has a smile on his face laughing at the majority of people with silly ass comments
- At my age and the type of work I do .. I have a lot of
patience but being stupid with silliness isn't one of them.
 
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You are correct on the calibration stated above ..
From what I understand "slapping the belly" of the Solo apparently fixes IMU [Accelerometers] not the compass issue..
YEP! Thought it was a bit weird performing the sequence I described .. but it did work .. From what I was told the cube has several components inside it to include compass settings. The sequence I provided is supposed to adjust the cube compass, showing Compass Error on the controller .. yet still calibrating the system. Then adding the leg compass to the system re-aligns the system sequence after final compass calibration.
Apparently there's more technical info than I can address that allows this fix. Either way I was impressed with the simple process .... Hoping this process helps everyone else that may end up with the magnetic interference issue. Of course there is more that could be wrong that's not detected .. i.e, bad compass (leg), .. compass positioned incorrectly in the leg,... , esc wiring too close to compass wiring, .. bad cube (not likely) ... metal in the area, ... even heard the screw thats holds the compass inplace can sometimes cause "magnetic interference causing things to screwy??? With all the issues that were described to me .. I thought the SOLO has way to sensitive components or not shielded like they should be having this kind of issues. I could understand these issues due to a crash and trying to restore, but on a new model unit? .. I'm a bit puzzled ...

Other than that that's about all I know about the SOLO and the mag interference issue .. thought it was pretty interesting seeking this out and actually seeing it fixed my Solo magnetic interference..

As far as being a studmuffin and getting my panties in a twist .. it goes back to my original message
- The guy in the photo (me) has a smile on his face laughing at the majority of people with silly ass comments
- At my age and the type of work I do .. I have a lot of
patience but being stupid with silliness isn't one of them.
I love you, man. You're ok in my book. Your detailed fix is just awesome and exactly what others will find useful and easy to follow, imo. Can you imagine being one of the first to score a solo? Paying big bucks for it and then having all of these issues and if it weren't for Kelly and Matt and the gang fixing all this shit, how screwed we'd be?! Don't even get me started on that flimsy ass gimbal. I've been trying to come up with some sort of cage type thing that I can affix to solo so as to encapsulate the camera/gimbal assy. I have some carbon fiber lengths of square rods that I will cut to size and then hopefully be able to accomplish my goal. It's just insane that the gimbal isn't more robust, seeing as how it's out there unprotected and all, just a smidgeon off the ground. Then this whole 'slew rate' thing causing motors to fail early... taboo subject here. Of course we could discuss the GPS placement and reliability of the original, but why ruin a good conversation? I especially admire the thought and effort that went into the decision to use a cable from the bird to the gimbal that was so unflexible as to cause a breakaway of the HDMI ports from their boards. But after all is said and done, our solo's are much less expensive than competitors and we have the ability to do mods and upgrades. All thanks to Matt and Kelly et al. So, bottom line is I like my solo.
 
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Like you, I really like the design of the Solo package .. I have two of them and seems to have issues with the gimbal area ..
Way too much jittery pics that could have been resolved by a ribbon cable .. and the height of the bird itself seems to be a bit low .. even in freshly mowed grass ..
However, I am out in the country and fly from areas that you can't see the bird 10 feet away on the ground ... I like the idea of retracts and a little more height to the bird for the gimbal. Looking at moving over to the Tabot axis gimbal .. I believe is a bit more reliable .. my Solo gimbal has a broken HDMI connector that I'm looking into repairing but "What a Pain!".... My GPS mod has really helped .. changed out to a MRO GPS unit to gain more sats .. That is really a great improvement and would recommend to others to change their type A or B to the MRO Solo GPS ... use to get 9 to 10 sats and now I gain 18 to 20.. Does a better job on the time it takes to sync on GPS..
The motor issue I have not ran into ... as of yet (hope not) ... I do plan on manning all of my machines with emergency parachutes for the "Just In Case" ...
Hopefully in the next couple of months I'll have my birds the way I want them .. but time and money is my biggest issue right now since I will be retiring in June ... and then being on a fixed income... Hopefully soon I'll get my FAA license and start doing this for a part time living .. Much rather do this than my desk job! .. WHEW!
 
I've been trying to come up with some sort of cage type thing that I can affix to solo so as to encapsulate the camera/gimbal assy. I have some carbon fiber lengths of square rods that I will cut to size and then hopefully be able to accomplish my goal.


Do you have a 3D Printer? .. You could build something from that using PETG or ABS filament - Perfect for the Drone world ...
 
Do you have a 3D Printer? .. You could build something from that using PETG or ABS filament - Perfect for the Drone world ...
I do not have a 3D printer. I'm not in the same financial position as you rich folks. But anyway, speak to me more about this gimbal you're talking about. I also have great news for you, but we'll get to that in a second. First, are you telling me that there is a gimbal out there that will accept the hero4 and be controlled as far as tilt, pan, etc by our solo controller? That would be so very cool and just what I am after. Ok, here's the news I have for you. I have 3 gimbals that have a broken HDMI port. I know, "so what", right? Lemme finish. I also have a 4th gimbal that was attached to my solo whilst testing a new battery mod. Unfortunately, solo died mid-air and face planted. Methinks it was because the battery became dislodged from its installed position. Regardless, the HDMI port is still firmly attached to the gimbal board. I had inquired about micro soldering in my area and found one place that said they did it in-house. I took a trip to their place and believe it or not, it's in the back of some phone selling store. They were speaking derka derka, but that doesn't bother me, as long as they can do the job. The guy said that I had to get him the correct HDMI port thing ( That surprised me as I assumed there was just one type) and I also had to remove the board from the assembled gimbal. Well, that put the brakes on right there for me. In attempting repairs in the past on other wasted gimbals, I have discovered that the delicacy of the stupid thing, along with the inability to NOT strip out the hex head teeny tiny screws is beyond my capability. That and then there's the ribbon connector piece of shit deal that is extremely delicate to mess with. I'm talking about the ribbon that is a part of the gimbal assembly.
So anyway, if you want this board with the HDMI port attached, I'll send you the complete gimbal and you can do with it as you wish. I hate Texas with a passion and pretty much anything to do with Texas, excepting of course for their Ladies....oh them ladies with their drawl. Schwing. But I'll make an exception in your case. Lemme know if this interests you. I haven't got a price in mind yet, so hit me with an offer.
 
I do not have a 3D printer. I'm not in the same financial position as you rich folks. But anyway, speak to me more about this gimbal you're talking about. I also have great news for you, but we'll get to that in a second. First, are you telling me that there is a gimbal out there that will accept the hero4 and be controlled as far as tilt, pan, etc by our solo controller? That would be so very cool and just what I am after. Ok, here's the news I have for you. I have 3 gimbals that have a broken HDMI port. I know, "so what", right? Lemme finish. I also have a 4th gimbal that was attached to my solo whilst testing a new battery mod. Unfortunately, solo died mid-air and face planted. Methinks it was because the battery became dislodged from its installed position. Regardless, the HDMI port is still firmly attached to the gimbal board. I had inquired about micro soldering in my area and found one place that said they did it in-house. I took a trip to their place and believe it or not, it's in the back of some phone selling store. They were speaking derka derka, but that doesn't bother me, as long as they can do the job. The guy said that I had to get him the correct HDMI port thing ( That surprised me as I assumed there was just one type) and I also had to remove the board from the assembled gimbal. Well, that put the brakes on right there for me. In attempting repairs in the past on other wasted gimbals, I have discovered that the delicacy of the stupid thing, along with the inability to NOT strip out the hex head teeny tiny screws is beyond my capability. That and then there's the ribbon connector piece of shit deal that is extremely delicate to mess with. I'm talking about the ribbon that is a part of the gimbal assembly.
So anyway, if you want this board with the HDMI port attached, I'll send you the complete gimbal and you can do with it as you wish. I hate Texas with a passion and pretty much anything to do with Texas, excepting of course for their Ladies....oh them ladies with their drawl. Schwing. But I'll make an exception in your case. Lemme know if this interests you. I haven't got a price in mind yet, so hit me with an offer.
Woah now art, were not all rich folks who have 3d printers, in fact I wasn't able to get a solo until it was $200 at b and h photo, then had to scrounge up the cash to get it over a month. The good thing is if your mechanically inclined and know your way around a little arduino ( basically C+ ) you can build your own printer for under $200 itself. Now I have a 3d printer as well as the skill to model up and design a protective cage for around the gumball if you'd be willing to maybe trade up 1 of those broken HDMI gimbals...
Ball is in your court bro, PM me back if your interested so we don't draw this thread out any further.
 
Woah now art, were not all rich folks who have 3d printers, in fact I wasn't able to get a solo until it was $200 at b and h photo, then had to scrounge up the cash to get it over a month. The good thing is if your mechanically inclined and know your way around a little arduino ( basically C+ ) you can build your own printer for under $200 itself. Now I have a 3d printer as well as the skill to model up and design a protective cage for around the gumball if you'd be willing to maybe trade up 1 of those broken HDMI gimbals...
Ball is in your court bro, PM me back if your interested so we don't draw this thread out any further.
Hey, Ghost. Ok, buds you got a deal. How do we accomplish this trade? I suppose you just give me your address and I ship the gimbal ? Tell you what, though; I'd like to see a picture of the cage and I'd like to know that it is something you would use as well. In fact, I'll bet there are others who would be willing to get a cage from you.....if the cage actually works. I just thought of something. Ya know, what better way to demonstrate the robustness and effectiveness of the cage than to have the solo face-plant at around 45 mph? This, of course, will take a little sacrificing on your part,. But don't most inventors have a a 'trial and error' period before they are successful? Let's just hope your cage hods up on the first try!!
 
Hey, Ghost. Ok, buds you got a deal. How do we accomplish this trade? I suppose you just give me your address and I ship the gimbal ? Tell you what, though; I'd like to see a picture of the cage and I'd like to know that it is something you would use as well. In fact, I'll bet there are others who would be willing to get a cage from you.....if the cage actually works. I just thought of something. Ya know, what better way to demonstrate the robustness and effectiveness of the cage than to have the solo face-plant at around 45 mph? This, of course, will take a little sacrificing on your part,. But don't most inventors have a a 'trial and error' period before they are successful? Let's just hope your cage hods up on the first try!!
I'm not here to try to screw you over dude, I wouldn't expect anything until I designed and printed a few prototypes and done some solid testing. As far as sacraficing my 1 and only solo to build a cage for a part of it would clearly not work and I'm sure u knew that. I meant no disrespect, if that's the way you took it I truly am sorry. I simply saw where u said u wanted a type of cage to keep the cam and gimbal safe and that you have a couple broken gimbals that may not be used anytime soon so I saw an opportunity for both of us to get something we wanted. As far as the cage like I said I'd design and test it, as well as take pics and short videos of testing and document results. Personally I don't sell anything that I wouldn't feel safe using myself, so to answer your question, yes I would use it on my own solo especially if it made my investment safer.
 
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I'm not here to try to screw you over dude, I wouldn't expect anything until I designed and printed a few prototypes and done some solid testing. As far as sacraficing my 1 and only solo to build a cage for a part of it would clearly not work and I'm sure u knew that. I meant no disrespect, if that's the way you took it I truly am sorry. I simply saw where u said u wanted a type of cage to keep the cam and gimbal safe and that you have a couple broken gimbals that may not be used anytime soon so I saw an opportunity for both of us to get something we wanted. As far as the cage like I said I'd design and test it, as well as take pics and short videos of testing and document results. Personally I don't sell anything that I wouldn't feel safe using myself, so to answer your question, yes I would use it on my own solo especially if it made my investment safer.
You want a gimbal that has an attached HDMI port, right? Or do you want a gimbal with a not attached HDMI port? Either/or, I have both. And you'll make a goPro 'cage' to help protect the gimbal and camera in exchange for this, right? Sounds like a plan to me. I apologize for sounding like an a'hole if you took my comments seriously. I forget most of the time that lots of people don't "get" my sense of humor for the most part. I would never in a million years expect you to actually, intentionally, deliberately suicide your Solo on purpose. I thought it was funny at the time, is all. Anyway, I'll try to figure out how to PM you so we can get this swap going.
 
You want a gimbal that has an attached HDMI port, right? Or do you want a gimbal with a not attached HDMI port? Either/or, I have both. And you'll make a goPro 'cage' to help protect the gimbal and camera in exchange for this, right? Sounds like a plan to me. I apologize for sounding like an a'hole if you took my comments seriously. I forget most of the time that lots of people don't "get" my sense of humor for the most part. I would never in a million years expect you to actually, intentionally, deliberately suicide your Solo on purpose. I thought it was funny at the time, is all. Anyway, I'll try to figure out how to PM you so we can get this swap going.
I am cool with either really, if it's one with the broken off HDMI I'd at least want to make sure the pads it was soldered to are still on the board and haven't been ripped off. And like I said I don't expect anything to be sent until I have at least checked the possibility of wether or not a protector of sorts can even be made without weighing too much, blocking the camera, or truly protecting it from any real damage. I have a couple ideas in mind however with how big the cam and gimbal are, along with the crappy ground clearance without leg extensions are really gonna complicate the possibility of such a device.... But I personally love a good challenge so we will see if I can't make something happen here. As far as private messaging just click on my name to view my profile and there will be a PM option.
 
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I am cool with either really, if it's one with the broken off HDMI I'd at least want to make sure the pads it was soldered to are still on the board and haven't been ripped off. And like I said I don't expect anything to be sent until I have at least checked the possibility of wether or not a protector of sorts can even be made without weighing too much, blocking the camera, or truly protecting it from any real damage. I have a couple ideas in mind however with how big the cam and gimbal are, along with the crappy ground clearance without leg extensions are really gonna complicate the possibility of such a device.... But I personally love a good challenge so we will see if I can't make something happen here. As far as private messaging just click on my name to view my profile and there will be a PM option.
I like a challenge as well. I have some small carbon fiber square rods from another drone which I was attempting to fabricate a cage from. You know, no matter how I configure the rods, this 'cage' is going to be large. By that I mean, encompass a substantial area of space. Aesthetics are not important to me. I figure a can of paint can can work wonders. Affixing it to Solo will be the real challenge, imo. However, perhaps the cage could 'wrap around' the Sol....much like us putting on a vest, a chic with her corset, or a dog and it's harness. Know what I mean? I got my dog a Serestos(sp?) flea collar and it came with these reflective clips that attach in the manner I'm thinking about. What do you think?
 

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