I am DONE with 3DR

[Dark Alien]

O Dear ....what a shame I thought the Solo showed great promise...
Maybe it's a DJI 3 pro?
Or Walkeri cheapi as a intrum learning unit ...then reappraise Solo in 6 months....:-( bummer...DA

 

[ChrisM101]

If you want just a multirotor to learn to fly on just go with a used blade 350, if youre looking for an AP /FPV platform then the DJI platform is certainly mature enough in the P3 series

 

[ChrisM101]

If you want just a multirotor to learn to fly on just go with a used blade 350, if youre looking for an AP /FPV platform then the DJI platform is certainly mature enough in the P3 series

 

[Lou Mannatti]

Lou that's impressive !
The impression I get is its made pretty strong... so " crashing is not a problem" in terms of survivability...
6 out of 5 stars....Can't ask for better than that....
DA

Yeah, my 12 year flew right into an AC compressor unit. Hit it hard !!! Solo bounced around on the ground like a Mexican jumping bean. Replaced props, re calibrated , Was flying again (in moderate wind) in 30 minutes.

 

[JonW]

O Dear ....what a shame I thought the Solo showed great promise...
Maybe it's a DJI 3 pro?
Or Walkeri cheapi as a intrum learning unit ...then reappraise Solo in 6 months....:-( bummer...DA

That's exactly what I'm doing. Going today to pick up a Phantom 3 Pro locally. Sent my Solo back because the gimbal wait got ridiculous and I had all the usual issues (flips on takeoff and landing, lost connection with controller, bad satellite reception, noisy motors). I still want to own Solo and I hope 3DR gets the problems worked out. My plan is to wait until everyone else has their gimbals, users find all the inevitable problems with the first production run on those and 3DR has time to address and correct all the problems. My guess is that 2016 will be a good time to repurchase Solo.

 

[MarqueGlisson]

I'm thinking about getting a Solo... However would like a few of you owners to give it a score out of 5 and why that score if possible....
Would be greatly appreciated
BA

Solo = 3.1 Maybe I'm spoiled though because I have a Walera Voyager3 I give it a 3.4 I have the DJI Inspire I give it a 4.6 I also have all 3 Phantom 3's the Pro I give 4.5 the advanced a 4.2 the Standard a 4.0 the Walkera QXR 350 I give a 3.1 that's what I think is about the same as the Solo. Sorry Just my opinion my apology for any who may consider this skewed.

 

[ChrisM101]

Its also bad that we are starting to see motor failures, this solo has a high pitched motor noise compared to my last, my friend has one too that does it, it is his second solo, assuming they're both out of later runs, I have to wonder if there are going to motor bearing failures in them.

 

[bishopdablack]

hmm .. i just bought one .. granted i haven't bought a go pro yet and from what I'm reading i really don't have to worry about it until the gimbals actually start showing up. 1st flight i crashed it into a tree using the return to home feature ( didn't RTFM so didn't know it went up 10 ft in the air before it tried to land) 2nd flight was low level around the yard to make sure it still flys..

one thing i was surprised about it feel a good 20-30 feet from a tree and just popped the battery cover off .. i was totally expecting something to break.

 

[GoodnNuff]

Its also bad that we are starting to see motor failures, this solo has a high pitched motor noise compared to my last, my friend has one too that does it, it is his second solo, assuming they're both out of later runs, I have to wonder if there are going to motor bearing failures in them.

This is the first I've heard of this. How many have you heard about? Do you have a link to the thread? This is not good news.

 

[GoodnNuff]

I give the Solo a 4, and about 0.75 of that score is based on faith they will pull it together. If I had the gimbal I'd have to re-evaluate the score as well.
I have Phantoms, 1, 2, and 3Pro, as well as a couple of Blade 350s, a Yuneec Q500, and a 3DR Iris+. Based on how well Tower, Follow Me, and other features work on my Iris+, I believe the Solo will eventually get there.
The new Phantom 3 "smart mode" is not at all like 3DR's. The Phantom 3 shell seems to have a problem with stress cracks developing on the arms, and at least two look as though the motors have actually broken free in mid-flight. Some users are comparing photos of the shells, and it seems that later shells might appear stronger - but of course DJI is not addressing or admitting to any of this. And with the latest update that gave us the shoddy "smart modes" some people are now having lag time problems on their video feed.

People seem to flock to DJI because they are well established and almost a household brand now. But they are not perfect. While the Solo may deservedly feel like a beta run, so does each new DJI release, as well as almost every subsequent firmware update. Check any Phantom forum, there are Phantom pilots who no longer even update their drones due to the problems the updates often bring with them.
I'm not a fan boy of either. But the frustration of waiting for the gimbal and bugs and delayed features with the Solo is not much different than the frustrations associated with owning a Phantom.
At least as the owner of two 3DR products, and 3 DJI products, that is how I see it.

 

[ChrisM101]

This is the first I've heard of this. How many have you heard about? Do you have a link to the thread? This is not good news.

Here is one:
Solo took a little dip in the lake. | 3D Robotics Drone Forum

And of course this:

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Another with the sound in question:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=32595286&postcount=11504

 

[UCLABruins]

This response should be a sticky to all future complaints.
Good job, GoodnNuff!

I give the Solo a 4, and about 0.75 of that score is based on faith they will pull it together. If I had the gimbal I'd have to re-evaluate the score as well.
I have Phantoms, 1, 2, and 3Pro, as well as a couple of Blade 350s, a Yuneec Q500, and a 3DR Iris+. Based on how well Tower, Follow Me, and other features work on my Iris+, I believe the Solo will eventually get there.
The new Phantom 3 "smart mode" is not at all like 3DR's. The Phantom 3 shell seems to have a problem with stress cracks developing on the arms, and at least two look as though the motors have actually broken free in mid-flight. Some users are comparing photos of the shells, and it seems that later shells might appear stronger - but of course DJI is not addressing or admitting to any of this. And with the latest update that gave us the shoddy "smart modes" some people are now having lag time problems on their video feed.

People seem to flock to DJI because they are well established and almost a household brand now. But they are not perfect. While the Solo may deservedly feel like a beta run, so does each new DJI release, as well as almost every subsequent firmware update. Check any Phantom forum, there are Phantom pilots who no longer even update their drones due to the problems the updates often bring with them.
I'm not a fan boy of either. But the frustration of waiting for the gimbal and bugs and delayed features with the Solo is not much different than the frustrations associated with owning a Phantom.
At least as the owner of two 3DR products, and 3 DJI products, that is how I see it.

 

[brunoferreiro]

my gimbal from bh is has shipped!

 

[JonW]

Its also bad that we are starting to see motor failures, this solo has a high pitched motor noise compared to my last, my friend has one too that does it, it is his second solo, assuming they're both out of later runs, I have to wonder if there are going to motor bearing failures in them.

By the time I sent my Solo back it had developed a different motor sound. It was making a whistling noise. Is that the same thing you are hearing? It didn't seem to affect flight but I was concerned it was the precursor to a problem.

 

[ChrisM101]

By the time I sent my Solo back it had developed a different motor sound. It was making a whistling noise. Is that the same thing you are hearing? It didn't seem to affect flight but I was concerned it was the precursor to a problem.

Yeah it seems a very high pitched whistle, of course anywhere I hear that in equipment going fast I think bearings might be going bad.

 

[RichWest]

I think bearing noise is one thing and then ESC noise is another. How tuned you are to the differences is the question. After the fact we can identify the failure by either spinning the motor or looking to see a smoking ESC. I think most motor pod failures are with the ESC rather than the motor. Most just reply a Pod failure and a replacement is on its way.....no depth for what type of failure.

 

[fpvsteve]

Here is one:
Solo took a little dip in the lake. | 3D Robotics Drone Forum

Another with the sound in question:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=32595286&postcount=11504

OMG no surprise- running brushless motors w/o props mounted at full throttle is the most effective way to kill the bearings.
And then they post it all across the web and whine about the results.

 

[Bigskyflyer]

Its also bad that we are starting to see motor failures, this solo has a high pitched motor noise compared to my last, my friend has one too that does it, it is his second solo, assuming they're both out of later runs, I have to wonder if there are going to motor bearing failures in them.

I was wondering about the durability of the motors/esc's in my solo from the early threads of them tipping onto there sides and burning up the motors. I have crashed my P3 on it's top and ground the prop hubs clear through and not ruined a motor. It will be interesting to see how they hold up going forward.

 

[RichWest]

I was wondering about the durability of the motors/esc's in my solo from the early threads of them tipping onto there sides and burning up the motors. I have crashed my P3 on it's top and ground the prop hubs clear through and not ruined a motor. It will be interesting to see how they hold up going forward.

You mean the P3 didn't shut down when inverted, fail safe didn't activate?

 

[Bigskyflyer]

You mean the P3 didn't shut down when inverted, fail safe didn't activate?

Nope, after my initial panic, by the time I csc'd, they were ground clear through. I'm not sure if they have a failsafe, if there is mine obviously failed.