Future of Solo

Justin · Sep 15, 2015

yes i would like one

SteveMyers75 · Sep 15, 2015

I'm doing some testing and a few improvements to the form-fit-function, so it's going to be a little while before this is ready for Prime-Time.

I'm going to switch from Surface Mounted (SMT) connectors to "Through-Hole" because after I did some stress testing of the SMT connectors, I didn't like how little force it took to displace one.(a nice way of saying break one off...)

Something like this needs to take a few hits and keep on ticking, or at worst case be able to replace a broken off connector. This is much easier with Through-Hole than SMT.

I'm also going to switch from Molex CLIK-Mate 1.25mm Pitch to Molex CLIK-Mate 1.5mm Pitch, (same as the connector the Gimbal uses) as it is more robust.

I think by Generation 2, it will be something I can offer as a link to the Eagle/Gerber PCB Files for those that want to "Do-It-Yourself", or as something I can put together for those that are interested.

More to come...

Timmytimetravel · Sep 15, 2015

I'm liking the ir landing idea. Thinking about the current quest for solo boat mode with either a dynamic moving home point (more importantly the ability to take off whilst boat rocking) but then augmented with ir landing instead of a catch landing. Not sure how accurate it is, but imagine it landing on say a geostationary motorized platform (ok i made that up) a bit of plywood with a motorized belly to present a horizon level landing surface) with an ir emitter and the solo landing happily on a moving boat !
That would be beyond impressive !

Oh. It needs a name . Slap. Solo landing aurdino platform

there has got to be something better

SteveMyers75 · Sep 15, 2015

Someone asked me what the log directory looks like from mounting the USB device on the Expansion Port.

Here is a screen shot:

Note:
If you build one of these, make sure the USB Cable is very short, like 24 inches max.
Any longer and it has a problem staying connected.

The good news is, it is very fast at transferring the logs...much faster than any other method I've tried to date.

SteveMyers75 · Sep 15, 2015

A little more:

I loaded a generic Windows 7 CDC Gadget Serial Driver and it connected right up as COMM17

Here is the link to the .INF I used.
Linux-CDC-ACM.INF

After loading that, and logging in using RealTerm it looks like this:

David Weston · Sep 15, 2015

Steve, you are absolutely awesome. I don't know how you can do all this stuff,,and make cables too but thanks. Hopefully I'll be able to buy a cable some day,,,with something attached to it!!

Good job!

SoloStein · Sep 18, 2015

I am trying to make a chdk cable. I got some OSH Park ~ Solo 3DR Bus Accessory Connector Breakout boards. Can anyone tell me what pins are the PWM pins?

Thanks

Justin · Sep 18, 2015

Not sure but you can order the cable at the tuffwing store.

SteveMyers75 · Sep 18, 2015

SoloStein said:
I am trying to make a chdk cable. I got some OSH Park ~ Solo 3DR Bus Accessory Connector Breakout boards. Can anyone tell me what pins are the PWM pins?

Thanks

Pin8 = PWM6
Pin5 = PWM7
Pin6 = PWM8

SoloStein · Sep 18, 2015

SteveMyers75 said:
Pin8 = PWM6
Pin5 = PWM7
Pin6 = PWM8

Thank you so much, you've been a big help.

I don't suppose any of these pins would be the equivalent of:
13-APM2 A9 pin 47-APM1 relay 50-Pixhawk FMU AUX1 51-Pixhawk FMU AUX2 52-Pixhawk FMU AUX3 53-Pixhawk FMU AUX4 54-Pixhawk FMU AUX5 55-Pixhawk FMU AUX6 111-PX4 FMU Relay1 112-PX4 FMU Relay2 113-PX4IO Relay1 114-PX4IO Relay2 115-PX4IO ACC1 116-PX4IO ACC2

Aux5 (54) is what I used on my X8, but there doesn't seem to be an equivalent here.

SteveMyers75 · Sep 20, 2015

Scratch that, it seems that 3DR decided to remove the PWM pins from the Expansion Port for the production models.

In fact, they removed more than just that;
Pins: 3-4-5-6-7-8-18-20-22 are not connected to anything on the production Solo's Expansion Port.

Their intent is to push using UAVCAN (CAN BUS) for everything going forward. (Pins 12 &13)

On another note, the USB BUS is supposedly Host/Device switchable via Pin 23 (BUSID aka OTG), so it may be able to be configured to plug directly into a Canon camera and trigger it without a CHDK cable.

SoloStein · Sep 20, 2015

SteveMyers75 said:
Scratch that, it seems that 3DR decided to remove the PWM pins from the Expansion Port for the production models.

In fact, they removed more than just that;
Pins: 3-4-5-6-7-8-18-20-22 are not connected to anything on the production Solo's Expansion Port.

Their intent is to push using UAVCAN (CAN BUS) for everything going forward. (Pins 12 &13)

On another note, the USB BUS is supposedly Host/Device switchable via Pin 23 (BUSID aka OTG), so it may be able to be configured to plug directly into a Canon camera and trigger it without a CHDK cable.

None of the options for a camera trigger in the Mission Planner parameters have the same name as any of the pins on the expansion port.

Can I set pin 12, 13, or 23 to act as a relay? Is that how I would go about it? What would they be called in the parameters?

Justin · Sep 20, 2015

I like how they heavily advertised solos expandability then they didn't include the most basic expansion features.

z-axis · Sep 21, 2015

SteveMyers75 said:
Scratch that, it seems that 3DR decided to remove the PWM pins from the Expansion Port for the production models.

In fact, they removed more than just that;
Pins: 3-4-5-6-7-8-18-20-22 are not connected to anything on the production Solo's Expansion Port.

Their intent is to push using UAVCAN (CAN BUS) for everything going forward. (Pins 12 &13)

On another note, the USB BUS is supposedly Host/Device switchable via Pin 23 (BUSID aka OTG), so it may be able to be configured to plug directly into a Canon camera and trigger it without a CHDK cable.

Bummer. Well at least they have a forward-looking vision but there are so many legacy/current solutions that would work great otherwise.

This might be one of the first real manifestations of an integrated Pixhawk2 vs standalone.

SoloStein · Sep 22, 2015

So the consensus is that it will not be possible to trigger a camera with a Solo?

Justin · Sep 24, 2015

I think we're going to have to use the molex connector that is the gimble data cable. Right now it triggers the gopro with the gimble attached.

Rod · Oct 6, 2015

SteveMyers75 said:
A little more:

I loaded a generic Windows 7 CDC Gadget Serial Driver and it connected right up as COMM17

Here is the link to the .INF I used.
Linux-CDC-ACM.INF

After loading that, and logging in using RealTerm it looks like this:

This is pretty cool. I've just started to look at the USB port to see if I can use if for networking. I would like to attach an RF radio that has a USB port and which will essentially do pass through of the IP signals to the Controller. I have the radio already hooked up to the receiving radio through a WiFi bridge and have pushed TCP and UDP data through. It looks as though the USB network driver is not loaded on the Solo, but one "should" be able to activate it as a module using MODPROBE (at least that is what I'm seeing from looking at research material). Anyone have any idea if this path will work? I am not using the nifty connector board you have yet, but that looks like it would make things much simpler.

PdxSteve · Nov 13, 2015

Wow, I just found this. Totally amazing and I cannot wait to dig into this further.

Has anyone considered using a Teensy v3.2 instead of an Arduino? They're very small (about 2 postage stamps) and are much more powerful (32bit/72Mhz/256k flash/64k RAM/21 Analog IO/12 PWM IO), are totally Arduino/code compatible and cost about $20. Might be a bit overkill for most solo projects powerhouse-wise, but still the price, package size and weight reduction is totally worth it.

I've used them for a number of projects and can't wait to tap into the Solo. First project, "UFO Solo" - adding a strip of WS2812b leds to the outer perimeter of the Solo's "X". I've been working on a number of projects using those LEDs with animation, etc. Should be able to do some very wicked effects.

I haven't thoroughly read everything here yet, so I apologize if this is covered, but what kind of power can you pull from the Solo with this board? I assume 5v or 3.3v, but how many amps? I'm wondering if I would need to go to an external power source to drive the LED strips.

Maddog · Nov 25, 2015

I just stumbled across this thread and thought y'all could help me.
I'm trying to figure out how to power and switch on/off some flashing LEDS mounted on Solo for better visibility. (Like full size aircraft)

I'm trying to figure out how to tap into either 5V or 14.8V and GND inside Solo. I have a list of pin assignments for the expansion port on the bottom of Solo but it looks like only half of them are connected.

I thought of tapping in on the circuit board below the battery tray but don't know how. Also need options for on-off switch bedsides a mechanical switch.

Any help in plain English would be greatly appreciated!

choppedxs · Apr 5, 2016

So has anyhone yet been able to trigger a camera with Solo? I have added the expansion board, have a camremote 2A setup and working from a normal transmitter but I cannot get the solo to trigger the camera (SX260 with CHDK). The only way I have managed so far is through setting up channel 7 as RC passthrough and holding down the pause button. This triggers camera once. I cannot get the camera trigger to work through channel 7. Surely there is someone out there who has managed it by now.