Cardboard GPS spacer/rev B GPS

[jross]

I have a rev B stock GPS (black board) and I'm not having any issues, but I was wondering if the cardboard trick could give me any improvement. I have only seen it used on green board solos so far. Thanks

 

[XevetS]

I'm thinking it would not give you any real improvement, it's also been frowned upon to actually insert cardboard in the Solo as it has a high incidence of retaining moisture from humid days/condensation etc. Plastic would be the way to go but a real noticeable improvement would be the Mro or the HERE GPS/Compass.

 

[IrishmanPDX]

You can still get the GPS Shield Ver 2 from 3DR on Amazon, last time I saw the price it was $14 or so. I put them in the non HERE Drones and it worked just fine.

 

[User Name]

I have a rev B stock GPS (black board) and I'm not having any issues, but I was wondering if the cardboard trick could give me any improvement. I have only seen it used on green board solos so far. Thanks

The cardboard "mod" was intended to stop the bare copper back of the stock foil shield from shorting on components of the GPS. The problem is... the foil shield was not bare copper. There is a very tough clear adhesive film on the back, so shorting wasn't an issue outside the rare possibility of it tearing from extremely harsh treatment.

I experimented with a spacer made from tough foam and noticed zero improvement in reception, unsurprisingly. I think improvements from a lot of mods like this are very much anecdotal and subjective. If a simple spacer made a reliable improvement, it would have come with one.

 

[KenMc]

The Ardupilot docs about mounting the GPS module:

OSH Park ~

Towards the bottom of that page it advises:

"Mounting the GPS Module
This module permits the GPS to be mounted separately from the flight control module so that it can have the best clear (view) of the sky and allows the compass to be distanced from interfering magnetic fields."

The magnetic fields referred to seem to be what is generated by the ESCs and motors.

3DR engineers chose to use a copper foil shield and (assumption here) a ferrite core on the motor wires - to reduce that interference.

I have no way to test the interference directly and it's impossible to judge it's impact on the GPS unit by how the unit connects to satellites.

I am certain that the 3DR engineers would not have used the copper foil insert (material and assembly expen$s) if the interference was not an issue.

Shielding magnetic interference is not trivial - it's not like painting a window black to cut out the light. Take a compass, a magnet and a variety of materials - you'll be surprised -- and that's a static magnetic field - not oscillating.

 

[Michael Lione]

First came the (green) Rev A GPS. It had issues especially in "fringe" locations. Next the (Black) Rev B. Better but not perfect and still built on the M7N platform. Last came the 3M V2 shield which did improve reception. I not going to get into the hows and why's. There are several excellent discussions Ian this forum if you want to dig in.

I guess because the V2 shield which many of us agree should have been a warranty replacement was sold by 3DR for $35 ($15 if you were lucky enough to have a discount code) some Genius suggested the "cardboard mod" which despite it being pure snake oil went viral. Several here have explained exactly why this was total stupidity.

Biggest advantage, now common knowledge, is the Plug-n-Play mRo and DYI HERE are based on the M8N platform. The mRo is marketed by Jordi Munoz who at that point was the estranged co-founder of 3DR. Many (myself included) suspect the mRo would have been 3DRs Rev C if they didn't dump the Solo.

The mRo requires the shield. The HERE being mounted outside the Solo does not. Additionally the HERE moves the compass out of the leg to a top, center, up front position that greatly reduced mag interference. BUT! Many complain it's ugly. I fly for performance not asthetics. Nothing very pretty about the gimbal either.

 

[KenMc]

That's a solid addition to the discussion. 'Snake oil' boils it down to 2 words. Thanks!

 

[XevetS]

My first Solo has a rev. A GPS module, I have not done any mods to the GPS it locks fairly quickly and I rarely lose a signal. I guess it depends on a few factors such as location, environment, and actually paying attention to the HDOP and number of satellites I never fly with less than 8. I'm not saying I havent lost GPS while flying I have, and that's why i'm versed and proficient flying in manual mode, but that's a whole different subject.

 

[IrishmanPDX]

My first Solo has a rev. A GPS module, I have not done any mods to the GPS it locks fairly quickly and I rarely lose a signal. I guess it depends on a few factors such as location, environment, and actually paying attention to the HDOP and number of satellites I never fly with less than 8. I'm not saying I havent lost GPS while flying I have, and that's why i'm versed and profociant flying in manual mode, but that's a whole different subject.

My first bird was also a Rev A. I would have to wait over 3 minutes to get a GPS lock and on some days I wouldn't get a lock at all (10 minutes + waiting). I did the MRO upgrade and it was like night and day. Sat lock within 30 seconds, sometimes by the time the solo had finished booting I'd have a lock straight away. Also did the HERE upgrade and that was even better. I also like the look of the HERE upgrade, kinda looks bitchin! Plus I'm a man, so flashy lights are good....
I think if you live in an area with a great GPS signal, you can get away with a Rev A no issues. However should you fly in an area with spotty signal .... you're taking one heck of a gamble. Considering how cheap it is to upgrade, I think it's a worthwhile investment.

 

[Saijin_Naib]

Stacked OEM copper foil and 3DR V2 shields on two RevA birds with updated GPS firmware and tweaked GPS firmware settings. Locks quickly on the ground (sub-30s) with usually sub 2 HDOP, usually sub 1 HDOP at altitude (400ft AGL). Total satellite count is low where I am, but quality is more than sufficient for the survey work I do.

My MRO did get more sats faster than the RevA (and my one RevB), but I've not noticed a significant difference in HDOP (slightly lower, obviously). All of my Solos run stacked copper/V2 shielding. I do not have a HERE yet.

 

[XevetS]

I do not have a HERE yet.

I have the older HERE-GPS/Compass on one of my Solos it is superb a night and day difference from the revision A GPS, It regularly gets 14+ satellites and a very low HDOP, it also makes the Solo look as if it's nailed to the sky while loitering, pretty awesome for the price highly recommended.

 

[Saijin_Naib]

I have the older HERE-GPS/Compass on one of my Solos it is superb a night and day difference from the revision A GPS, It regularly gets 14+ satellites and a very low HDOP, it also makes the Solo look as if it's nailed to the sky while loitering, pretty awesome for the price highly recommended.

I'm planning on going Cube+HERE, but that's quite a tough sell to the wife

Has anyone run the shielding in the HERE puck? Any benefit?

 

[XevetS]

but that's quite a tough sell to the wife

Just show her all the bling and she must agree it's worth it ha ha oh boy I'm starting trouble...This one has Green-cube and HERE

 

[CAMXPOSURE]

Cut a milk carton and use that along with a bubble pack cardboard backing (poster board) in between the two formed plastic panels - the reasoning is the cellulous materials make a cavity the waves are not readily able to make echo signals causing misses or falses

 

[J0S0L0]

Cardboard isn't going improve gps performance.

After you install the gps along with the shield, cover the top of the shield with electrical tape including the battery wall..