GPS problems!

[Raptor]

Just did first test flight on my new solo. Went well at first until remote said lost GPS connection, fly manually. It was at this point the drone did not respond to my commands well and hit the dirt. Blades were still running and I got cut up trying to keep it from destroying itself. This happened twice and now I have to buy new props. What's going on? Am I messing it up or is it the drones fault. Do I need to return it ASAP? Any help would be terrific! Hanks in advance!

 

[just_bruce]

That depends. What is the flight location? What was your HDOP at launch ? Have you flown manually on Solo before? What were the weather conditions? Did you read the manual ? if you had you'd know about A+B+PAUSE as the kill switch, I think.

Can't answer the take it back questions for you. Those are a comfort level type of thing.

 

[Raptor]

That depends. What is the flight location? What was your HDOP at launch ? Have you flown manually on Solo before? What were the weather conditions? Did you read the manual ? if you had you'd know about A+B+PAUSE as the kill switch, I think.

Can't answer the take it back questions for you. Those are a comfort level type of thing.

My location was my drive way. I don't know what HDOP is. But I think I had 7 satilites. Have never flown solo manual before. Weather was partly cloudy? I read the quick setup guide and I don't remember the kill switch but that would have been very handy.
Did a cardboard mode on it. Seems to have improved it. Will test it more thoughly later.

 

[Lon Denard]

HDOP is horizontal dilution of precision. What it means is when the number is high, your sat signal is weak, when it is low your sat signal is good and thus your accuracy is good. Typically, the more sats you have the better as it gives the computer more points to triangulate your position. Which makes it more accurate.

When you get a chance, on a windless day and in an open field, practice flying in manual. Trust me it'll come in handy for you! If you feel like you're about to lose it just hit "FLY" and it'll put you back into gps assist mode. In fact, I programmed "B" as manual on mine. When I was practicing, I took it up in the air 100' or so, put it in "MANUAL" and practiced with my thumb ready to hit "FLY"! Hahaha!

 

[Raptor]

HDOP is horizontal dilution of precision. What it means is when the number is high, your sat signal is weak, when it is low your sat signal is good and thus your accuracy is good. Typically, the more sats you have the better as it gives the computer more points to triangulate your position. Which makes it more accurate.

When you get a chance, on a windless day and in an open field, practice flying in manual. Trust me it'll come in handy for you! If you feel like you're about to lose it just hit "FLY" and it'll put you back into gps assist mode. In fact, I programmed "B" as manual on mine. When I was practicing, I took it up in the air 100' or so, put it in "MANUAL" and practiced with my thumb ready to hit "FLY"! Hahaha!

Thank you very much! I have flown drones manually before but never as big or expensive as solo. I will definitely try that. Thank you again for taking the time to give me help!

 

[Maxheadspace]

My location was my drive way. I don't know what HDOP is. But I think I had 7 satilites. Have never flown solo manual before. Weather was partly cloudy? I read the quick setup guide and I don't remember the kill switch but that would have been very handy.
Did a cardboard mode on it. Seems to have improved it. Will test it more thoughly later.

I never lift off with less than 10 satellites. The satellite count will go up and down, so if you start with 7 you may find yourself dipping below a sufficient number of satellites. It takes a bit longer waiting for 10, but I've never had a GPS issue.

 

[Lon Denard]

Thank you very much! I have flown drones manually before but never as big or expensive as solo. I will definitely try that. Thank you again for taking the time to give me help!

No problem bro! I don't know where you bought your unit but if it gives you any more trouble, I'd probably exchange it, myself but I admit that I'm quick on the draw when it comes to taking stuff back! Hahaha!

 

[Lon Denard]

I never lift off with less than 10 satellites. The satellite count will go up and down, so if you start with 7 you may find yourself dipping below a sufficient number of satellites. It takes a bit longer waiting for 10, but I've never had a GPS issue.

To be honest, I didn't think you could get RTF with only 7 sats... I totally agree that I'd hesitate to take off under those conditions! Not to mention what the HDOP must have been.

 

[Vegasrobbi]

You have more issues than GPS if Solo did not respond to the controller in manual.

First make sure your running the latest app/firmware; early firmware had different GPS requirements.

Don't take off unless hdop is <2.0 and I like to see a minimum of 9 and preferbly 10+ SATs.

I recommend upgrading the GPS module, I have the mRo and I easily get 15 SATs by boot up and 19 in flight. My GPS has been rock solid with the mRo, better than my P3 and 4.

Do a factory reset on Solo and the controller then update.

Do a level calibration and compass calibration away from magnetic interference.

Set button A to FLY manual. Assuming you can fly in manual go through a battery or two in manual. Set flight performance parameters and get comfortable with Solo.

You can get into GPS mode by pressing the fly button anytime, make sure you have sufficient SATs and a low hdop. Solo should be solid in FLY, even in the wind. Solo should stay within about a 6-9 foot box if allowed to loiter, mine holds 5 feet.

You may look into LR antennas, I have the FPVLR's and video and rssi is solid to more than a mile out.

Solo requires a bit more diligence than other drones to understand, but once you do there is nothing out there that can compete with Solo. Think of it as a high performance car vs a Hundai.

 

[Lon Denard]

You have more issues than GPS if Solo did not respond to the controller in manual.

First make sure your running the latest app/firmware; early firmware had different GPS requirements.

Don't take off unless hdop is <2.0 and I like to see a minimum of 9 and preferbly 10+ SATs.

I recommend upgrading the GPS module, I have the mRo and I easily get 15 SATs by boot up and 19 in flight. My GPS has been rock solid with the mRo, better than my P3 and 4.

Do a factory reset on Solo and the controller then update.

Do a level calibration and compass calibration away from magnetic interference.

Set button A to FLY manual. Assuming you can fly in manual go through a battery or two in manual. Set flight performance parameters and get comfortable with Solo.

You can get into GPS mode by pressing the fly button anytime, make sure you have sufficient SATs and a low hdop. Solo should be solid in FLY, even in the wind. Solo should stay within about a 6-9 foot box if allowed to loiter, mine holds 5 feet.

You may look into LR antennas, I have the FPVLR's and video and rssi is solid to more than a mile out.

Solo requires a bit more diligence than other drones to understand, but once you do there is nothing out there that can compete with Solo. Think of it as a high performance car vs a Hundai.

Hey, you have way more experience than I do with the Solo, do you think that since it's crashed, that he might be better off exchanging it to prevent possible other problems?

Oh and I agree about the mRo, I get about 16 sats on another platform but routinely got 20+ with the Solo and the mRo.

 

[Raptor]

You have more issues than GPS if Solo did not respond to the controller in manual.

First make sure your running the latest app/firmware; early firmware had different GPS requirements.

Don't take off unless hdop is <2.0 and I like to see a minimum of 9 and preferbly 10+ SATs.

I recommend upgrading the GPS module, I have the mRo and I easily get 15 SATs by boot up and 19 in flight. My GPS has been rock solid with the mRo, better than my P3 and 4.

Do a factory reset on Solo and the controller then update.

Do a level calibration and compass calibration away from magnetic interference.

Set button A to FLY manual. Assuming you can fly in manual go through a battery or two in manual. Set flight performance parameters and get comfortable with Solo.

You can get into GPS mode by pressing the fly button anytime, make sure you have sufficient SATs and a low hdop. Solo should be solid in FLY, even in the wind. Solo should stay within about a 6-9 foot box if allowed to loiter, mine holds 5 feet.

You may look into LR antennas, I have the FPVLR's and video and rssi is solid to more than a mile out.

Solo requires a bit more diligence than other drones to understand, but once you do there is nothing out there that can compete with Solo. Think of it as a high performance car vs a Hundai.

Thank you! I am looking into a updated gps board.

 

[Raptor]

And BTW.....my solo was a purchase of eBay. So I can't exactly return it to the store.

 

[Raptor]

And how do I find the HDOP?

 

[Lon Denard]

Thank you! I am looking into a updated gps board.

My advice is the mRo board. Plug and play, I believe that the guy that owns the company helped start/design the Solo. Anyway, here's the link, good luck!

mRo GPS u-Blox Neo-M8N / 3DR SOLO Upgrade

 

[Lon Denard]

And BTW.....my solo was a purchase of eBay. So I can't exactly return it to the store.

Gotcha!

 

[Lon Denard]

And how do I find the HDOP?

You just tap any of the info at the top of the screen.

Here's a link to the manual, you can download it onto your phone/tablet that'll help you if you get stuck out in the field.

https://3dr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/v8_01_05_16.pdf

 

[Raptor]

You just tap any of the info at the top of the screen.

Here's a link to the manual, you can download it onto your phone/tablet that'll help you if you get stuck out in the field.

https://3dr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/v8_01_05_16.pdf

Thank you very much. You have been very helpful

 

[Lon Denard]

Thank you very much. You have been very helpful

No problem! When I first joined I got a lot of "read the manual" replies when I asked questions. I do encourage you to read the manual, lots of good info there but I see no point in belonging to a forum if all you're going to do is refer new guys to the manual when they have questions! There are also a ton of videos on you tube produced by 3DR that go over a lot of the flight modes, tips and tricks.

 

[Lon Denard]

Oh and I posted the page afterwards. I had to screen shot it! Hahaha!

 

[bryantmendoza666]

Practice manual flying a lot for when this happens you can control the drone properly and update your GPS to a MRo worth every penny if you are serious about flying.

I updated my props and got the MRo gps about 5 months ago and I have never had a issues with my drone ever since