GoproH4B, No control in Solex or Solo Apps.

[Nidge]

New Solo owner but not new to the Arducopter environment.

As the title states I am unable to control any of my GPH4B’s from within the Solex or Solo APPs.

The Solo and the gimbal were acquired as new in the box with the manufacturers seals still unbroken. As 3DR’s servers are non-existent I went for a clean install of OpenSolo4 via the Solex APP, both packages I am very impressed with.

First I tried a GoproH4B with V5.0 firmware. The camera does not power on with the Solo but I understand this is a “feature” of the V5 firmware. I have no problems seeing the live video in Solex but I’m unable to select the camera type or edit the functions as these are greyed out. Tilting the Gimbal results with the message “No Solo Gimbal Found” on the controllers OLED screen. Performing a soft reset of the Solo via the Solex APP appears to fix this issue but control of the GoproH4B is still not possible. Also looking in the vehicle settings show the correct firmware for both the Controller and the Solo but there’s nothing listed for the Gimbal. The APP is communicating with the gimbal as I can tilt the camera by sliding a finger up and down the screen.

Using the old Solo APP the results are the same with the exception that it’s possible to select a camera type but it doesn’t make any difference.

I have tried it with a number of GPH4B’s with different firmware versions with the same results.

I’ve also tried different Smart devices from Samsung, Huawei, Teclast, and no name Android devices with the same results.

I have rolled back to OpenSolo3 with no change.

In Mission Planner the correct Gimbal is displayed in the gimbal setup screen. In the parameter screen the camera type is set to none. I have edited this to reflect a Gopro with Solo Gimbal but again I’m getting the same results.

I’ve checked and rechecked the gimbal data cable for a possible break but there is continuity on all wires.

Is it possible that a process related to the Gopro is not initialising and is there a command I can try via SSH login to see if the system has recognised that a camera is attached to the gimbal?

I’m not kidding when I say I have been consumed by this issue, so for the sake of my sanity I would really appreciate any and all assistance.

Regards

Nidge.

 

[RichWest]

Video is independent of the camera control. Sounds like the gimbal is getting power (stabilized) but no data for control (gimbal not recognized). Couple of things to check...

Check the Hero port on the camera, sometimes the contacts are not in contact for a variety of reasons. This was a common issue on the camera.

Check your data cable connectors for any issues. Make sure it is properly seated to the gimbal. As well check the data cable termination at Solo's main board.

There where a couple of rare mis-wired data cables in the past, either at the data connector or the terminated cable to Solo. Search the forum for a reference to the color match sequence.

 

[Nidge]

Video is independent of the camera control. Sounds like the gimbal is getting power (stabilized) but no data for control (gimbal not recognized). Couple of things to check...

Check the Hero port on the camera, sometimes the contacts are not in contact for a variety of reasons. This was a common issue on the camera.

Check your data cable connectors for any issues. Make sure it is properly seated to the gimbal. As well check the data cable termination at Solo's main board.

There where a couple of rare mis-wired data cables in the past, either at the data connector or the terminated cable to Solo. Search the forum for a reference to the color match sequence.

Thank you for the reply and the pointers, Rich.

I have checked the electrical integrity of the data lead connections and they are sound. I wasn’t aware of some Solos leaving the factory with incorrectly wired data leads so I’ll check this out further. My Solo appears to be the A version as the wires are soldered to the main board, I understand 3DR revised this for a Molex type connector.

I believe the data ports on all my GPH4B’s are are good as they all function with the optional LCD back.

One thing I’m puzzled by is the omission of a firmware listing for the Gimbal in both the 3DR and Solex APPs under the vehicle settings. My Solo has not had the original 3DR preflight firmware installed on it which I’m led to believe contained the Gimbal firmware also. OpenSolo4 was installed straight out of the box and browsing the GitHub I think I read something about the Gimbal not being included in the code (?) If this is the case it may account for the lack of GoPro support.

I’m currently searching for an image of the original 3DR firmware. However my current level of coding abilities are very limited and even if I had the firmware I may struggle to utilise it without stripping the Solo down to physically access the SD-Card as I did when I installed OpenSolo3.

It’s not particularly time sensitive as we’re in the Grips of a Storm and a COVID lockdown in the UK so it will be a while before this Solo gets used in anger.

Regards

Nidge.

 

[RichWest]

I have checked the electrical integrity of the data lead connections and they are sound. I wasn’t aware of some Solos leaving the factory with incorrectly wired data leads so I’ll check this out further. My Solo appears to be the A version as the wires are soldered to the main board, I understand 3DR revised this for a Molex type connector.

I believe the data ports on all my GPH4B’s are are good as they all function with the optional LCD back.

One thing I’m puzzled by is the omission of a firmware listing for the Gimbal in both the 3DR and Solex APPs under the vehicle settings. My Solo has not had the original 3DR preflight firmware installed on it which I’m led to believe contained the Gimbal firmware also. OpenSolo4 was installed straight out of the box and browsing the GitHub I think I read something about the Gimbal not being included in the code (?) If this is the case it may account for the lack of GoPro support.

The data wiring issues was only 2-3 units, like I said rare...but worth checking.

You didn't mention having multiple GPH4 in your original posting. So I assume now you tried several GP in the gimbal...and still no control.

I'm not a software guy, so I'm no further help related to FW or OpenSolo issues. As it is, I'm flying with the 3DR FW released around Oct. 2015 and is very stable. You may want to check any of the FB groups, they may have what you need.

Good luck in finding a solution to your issue.

 

[Nidge]

Once again, Rich, thank you for taking the time to reply.

I’m also not a coder by nature but I have logged into the Solo and navigated to where the Gopro Python scripts are located. One thing I have found is a difference in the Gopromanager.py file and one I found online. The one installed on my machine has one or more statements missing that the online one has in the preamble. When I’m next at my bench I’ll copy over an edit and see if that wakes things up.

Again, thank you, Rich

Nidge.

 

[Nidge]

On the suggestion of another member of the Solex Facebook group, whom also experienced this problem, I removed the data cable from the motherboard. Removed all the old solder. Re-soldered the cable to the motherboard. and... still no control of any of my Gopro4's, on any firmware version.

I still think that because neither the Solo or gimbal had been used with any firmware other than OpenSolo4 that Solex and/or OpenSolo truly see that the gimbal and Gopro are actually attached.

Back to the drawing board for more prodding and poking.

 

[RichWest]

I don't envy soldering the leads back, sorry that didn't work out.

If any Open4 gurus are active, they'll be on FB. But the culture of Solo says you'll need to search out the previously provided answer. You arrived late to the party, you're drinking from someone else's nah-nah beer...

 

[Nidge]

You arrived late to the party, you're drinking from someone else's nah-nah beer...

Thanks Rich. I don't have problems soldering but I do struggle with debugging code.

I know exactly what you mean. After trawling through the forums and Facebook Groups I've seen plenty of "I know how to do it, but I'm not going to tell you as that's my superpower." replies to plaintive pleas. I'd understand if questions had previously been answered in full, infinitum, but in the case of my issue the question has been previously asked by many but never resolved.

I shall endeavour to prod and poke at the code in the hope the solution slaps me in the face.

 

[just_bruce]

Thank you for the reply and the pointers, Rich.

I have checked the electrical integrity of the data lead connections and they are sound. I wasn’t aware of some Solos leaving the factory with incorrectly wired data leads so I’ll check this out further. My Solo appears to be the A version as the wires are soldered to the main board, I understand 3DR revised this for a Molex type connector.

I believe the data ports on all my GPH4B’s are are good as they all function with the optional LCD back.

One thing I’m puzzled by is the omission of a firmware listing for the Gimbal in both the 3DR and Solex APPs under the vehicle settings. My Solo has not had the original 3DR preflight firmware installed on it which I’m led to believe contained the Gimbal firmware also. OpenSolo4 was installed straight out of the box and browsing the GitHub I think I read something about the Gimbal not being included in the code (?) If this is the case it may account for the lack of GoPro support.

I’m currently searching for an image of the original 3DR firmware. However my current level of coding abilities are very limited and even if I had the firmware I may struggle to utilise it without stripping the Solo down to physically access the SD-Card as I did when I installed OpenSolo3.

It’s not particularly time sensitive as we’re in the Grips of a Storm and a COVID lockdown in the UK so it will be a while before this Solo gets used in anger.

Regards

Nidge.

The gimbal firmware file is available in a github repository [gimbal_firmware_1.3.6.ax]. Transfer to the gimbal and the upgrade process are handled by a python file which resides on the bird, which I don't believe is modified in OS4

 

[Nidge]

Thanks for the info, Bruce. I had found the loader script and the firmware file on the Solo itself but it wouldn’t install. It’s a moot point now unfortunately. The camera started to be recognised by Solex but the gimbal has decided it still wants to fluff with me. Now the gimbal motors no longer initialise and I’ve got the “Breathing Red LED” on the gimbal, for which there’s no specific description other than a temporary fault. I actually think it’s permanent.

All is not lost however. A very kind gent has offered me his Solo setup as a gesture. This includes two Solo’s, one still boxed, three gimbals, two of which unused and boxed, ten batteries, five still boxed, and a shed load of unused spares. I’m just waiting on my C19 vaccinations before I go to collect. After that no doubt there’ll be sparks and profanity as I bugger something else up.