Here+ vs. MRO M8N GPS

Builderman86 · May 23, 2017

Hey all,

I know there are two popular GPS units for the Solo. I currently have the upgraded M8N chip but wondering if there are advantages to the Here? I have two solo's so could potentially have one of each but wanted to see what people think.

andrew.baker.142 · May 24, 2017

I have the mRo installed one of my Solos and the Here installed in another (I have 5 Solos total not counting the one I bought for parts off eBay). I noticed similar performance from both units, but would expect the Here to work better overall. The mRo looks factory, but is about $30 more. The Here performs as good or better and is $30 cheaper but requires external mounting. Here is a photo of my Here!

Builderman86 · May 24, 2017

andrew.baker.142 said:
I have the mRo installed one of my Solos and the Here installed in another (I have 5 Solos total not counting the one I bought for parts off eBay). I noticed similar performance from both units, but would expect the Here to work better overall. The mRo looks factory, but is about $30 more. The Here performs as good or better and is $30 cheaper but requires external mounting. Here is a photo of my Here!

Does the Here require you to run PixHawk2?

andrew.baker.142 · May 24, 2017

Not sure I understand your question, all Solos use the Pixhawk 2 as the flight controller.
My Solo is stock, but in order to use the Here GPS you will need to cut the stock GPS wires and splice in the Here.

cosmic explorer · May 28, 2017

andrew.baker.142 said:
I have the mRo installed one of my Solos and the Here installed in another (I have 5 Solos total not counting the one I bought for parts off eBay). I noticed similar performance from both units, but would expect the Here to work better overall. The mRo looks factory, but is about $30 more. The Here performs as good or better and is $30 cheaper but requires external mounting. Here is a photo of my Here!

Thanks for posting. Where did you source your here? What's the polar pro card on the bottom of your solo? Is it for lights

Zee Three · May 28, 2017

I bought Here here:

Pixhawk II - Here GNSS (M8N) GPS Unit [121K00011] - $48.00 : Ready Made RC LLC, The Leader in All Things FPV, RC, and Beyond

Over 40 in stock supposedly.

andrew.baker.142 · May 30, 2017

cosmic explorer said:
Thanks for posting. Where did you source your here? What's the polar pro card on the bottom of your solo? Is it for lights

I bought my Here GPS from readymadeRC. Located in Ohio and very fast shipping.
The edge of the card you noticed is for the Polar Pro light set. Makes it easy to determine orientation at a distance.

jbrunel · Jun 9, 2017

andrew.baker.142 said:
I have the mRo installed one of my Solos and the Here installed in another (I have 5 Solos total not counting the one I bought for parts off eBay). I noticed similar performance from both units, but would expect the Here to work better overall. The mRo looks factory, but is about $30 more. The Here performs as good or better and is $30 cheaper but requires external mounting. Here is a photo of my Here!

Does it come with the cable shown in the pic?

andrew.baker.142 · Jun 9, 2017

jbrunel said:
Does it come with the cable shown in the pic?

Yes it does come with the cable, but I'd recommend you buy the replacement cable set for Pixhawk 2.1 ($12). Will allow you to not cut any stock cables.

David Boulanger · Jun 9, 2017

I just put on my third mRo GPS on another Solo. This time I used the stock copper shield plus the mRo EMI shield they sell. 28 Sats max and an average of 25 according to my logs.

David Boulanger · Jun 9, 2017

At the 13 - 16 minute mark the Solo was upside down while I made camera adjustments in between flights.

Viper126 · Jul 22, 2017

What's the recommended site to get the mro m8n? Is the mrobotics or drotec preferred?
Thanks guys

Builderman86 · Jul 22, 2017

mRobotics is preferred. great group of people. After picking up the mRo though I realized I the Here is an awesome little unit priced at just $53 and to buy the mast to mount it is another $30. Food for thought

Viper126 · Jul 22, 2017

Builderman86 said:
mRobotics is preferred. great group of people. After picking up the mRo though I realized I the Here is an awesome little unit priced at just $53 and to buy the mast to mount it is another $30. Food for thought

I'm not liking the look of the mast or cutting into the original cap. Can the Here be run without the huge mast? I haven't read of anyone using it that way.

David Boulanger · Jul 23, 2017

I've bought 4 from mRobotics. Everyone of them has shipped they day I ordered. Their EMI material appears to work well also.

EmailGuy · Jul 31, 2017

On some other threads I'm hearing people are getting similar results between the Here and the mRo. From what I'm reading the mRo is more expensive, but fits in the stock location. The Here is cheaper, but once you add in the extras I cannot see it being really that much cheaper. If you buy the Here for $48 and spend $12 more for an extra set of cables so that you don't need to cut up the stock ones and then add a mast, it's only $5 to $10 cheaper. Am I missing something or is there some place that sells the entire 3DR Here package cheaper?

Are there STL files available to print my own mast? I have a high quality 3D printer.

Right now I'm running the Rev A GPS with the V2 EMI shield and things are working quite well. I'm thinking of an upgrade more as insurance to prevent any future issues. I have a spare Solo and Gimbal, but I'd hate to lose a Solo, Gimbal and my GoPro 4 Black from a flaky GPS.

RichWest · Jul 31, 2017

David Boulanger said:
At the 13 - 16 minute mark the Solo was upside down while I made camera adjustments in between flights.View attachment 6391

Am I reading this correctly? It took over 4 minutes to get a GPS lock?

pyrate · Jul 31, 2017

I have rev b, MRO and here gps units. Just received my here for the green cube solo. It was my test bird and had a rev b gps. I am replacing it with the here. The here also allows you to dump the solo in leg compass. After seeing how well the here performed on my DIY, it was a no brainer. I will be putting a green cube and here on my prime solo soon. It flies nice. You don't need the green cube for here.
If you don't like the mast, and are ok with the in leg compass, the MRO is a fine choice.

David Boulanger · Aug 1, 2017

RichWest said:
Am I reading this correctly? It took over 4 minutes to get a GPS lock?

It was in between two SUV's for a few minutes while I was tied up talking to some people. At about the 4 minute mark you will see a dip in the graph. That is when I picked up the Solo and set it out in the open about 10 meters.