I am DONE with 3DR

[Raybro]

Had my P2 for 2 months when a poof of smoke blew out of one of the arms. Luckily it was during landing and it just touched down. The ESC's on those things seem to be pretty weak. Had maybe 30 flights on it at the time.
No quick fix, split the shell, de-solder, re-solder. Since you've done all that might as well replace the motor while you're at it....which I did.
BTW.....gotta have a heavy duty soldering iron as well.

 

[Dark Alien]

Solo 8, Support 4.

Still getting Controller to Solo disconnects with no solution from 3DR Support. I've accepted this is normal for the Solo.

So dissapointed in the " dissapointing" views on Solo, as the software concept to allow it to fly along " a line" away that allows you to concentrate on the video is a great idea.
Also the special camera operations available to the GoPro camera tells me they are onto a great concept.
I also like it's black against the sky and appears to be more rugged in construction than most other drones.
I really hope that they can get it "sorted out " as I will have to " stand aside " untill they do.
In the meantime will continue to "monitor " the drone market and this site....
I realley think this drone shows great promise if they can sort out software issues. DA

 

[Dark Alien]

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.

Bigsky ( maybe should call you " drone man" ( you certainly have a few) thanks for the scoring as I'm sure others will find that interesting as well. DA

 

[JonW]

So dissapointed in the " dissapointing" views on Solo, as the software concept to allow it to fly along " a line" away that allows you to concentrate on the video is a great idea.
Also the special camera operations available to the GoPro camera tells me they are onto a great concept.
I also like it's black against the sky and appears to be more rugged in construction than most other drones.
I really hope that they can get it "sorted out " as I will have to " stand aside " untill they do.
In the meantime will continue to "monitor " the drone market and this site....
I realley think this drone shows great promise if they can sort out software issues. DA

We all were excited about the "concept." But when we watched the 2001 Space Odyssey like promos with the monkeys and the space men maybe we should have taken the hint that it was science fiction. As soon as 3DR can step up their game and file it under "non fiction" I'm all ready to buy again.

 

[ChrisM101]

So to comment on the customer service of this incident I immediately sent a ticket saturday night got a contact back from Lou asking for all the pertinent info and pics and video... Nothing back Sunday of course thats expected, but nothing further today. I re-emailed and received a reply from Arman that they were going to look at everything, but not whether it was today or what? I feel its pretty cut n dry when you view the log and video. Its sitting flat and starts to think its leaning. That to me means the cals shifted as it sits there. which is visible in the video. This is basically the first flight for this unit if it is indeed a brand new one they sent off of my prior RMA.

 

[Bigskyflyer]

Bigsky ( maybe should call you " drone man" ( you certainly have a few) thanks for the scoring as I'm sure others will find that interesting as well. DA

Not my post. I only have the solo and p3. Can't compare the two yet as I don't have the gimbal yet. I bought these two for fpv and taking pictures and videos so right now I am flying the p3 and the solo sits on my desk. Nice looking paper weight though.

 

[Acroduster]

I'm hearing an odd whine. I'm post processing the video now and I'll post the vid with sound so you can hear it. I'm also getting a shudder in the video - I'm concerned.

 

[Acroduster]

After second thoughts, I went ahead and uploaded the unretouched video so that you can see the judder associated with the whine. Pay attention to the sound - it is a high-pitched, intermittent whine.

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[Acroduster]

Actually, now that I listen to it again, it sounds more like a chirp than a whine. I was at 130' and could hear it above the buzzing bees sound of the Solo.

 

[Alameda Flyer]

So to comment on the customer service of this incident I immediately sent a ticket saturday night got a contact back from Lou asking for all the pertinent info and pics and video... Nothing back Sunday of course thats expected, but nothing further today. I re-emailed and received a reply from Arman that they were going to look at everything, but not whether it was today or what? I feel its pretty cut n dry when you view the log and video. Its sitting flat and starts to think its leaning. That to me means the cals shifted as it sits there. which is visible in the video. This is basically the first flight for this unit if it is indeed a brand new one they sent off of my prior RMA.

I could see another drone in the far distance. Did you see it?

 

[ChrisM101]

Yeah

I could see another drone in the far distance. Did you see it?

Yeah when I saw his video on diydrones I thought the same thing. It looked like another solo. Maybe he had a neighbor who had one.

 

[ChrisM101]

So later last night, I got another contact from 3DR engineering, they want solo back and will expedite the turn around.... So I don't know what to do, either way I said send a label today.
Part of me just wants to cash out here. But the other part wants the damn thing to work as it was sold to me.

 

[JonW]

After second thoughts, I went ahead and uploaded the unretouched video so that you can see the judder associated with the whine. Pay attention to the sound - it is a high-pitched, intermittent whine.

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That's exactly the noise mine was making

 

[Acroduster]

JonW, did you get that wobbling as well? Trying to think it through - I would guess that if a motor was faced with varying friction internally, the RPM would reduce a little, upset the balance, signal the gyros, which would then signal the ESC of that motor to step it up. Since the friction varies, there can be a cyclic nature to this loop that causes the wobble. What do you think?

 

[unclejas]

So later last night, I got another contact from 3DR engineering, they want solo back and will expedite the turn around.... So I don't know what to do, either way I said send a label today.
Part of me just wants to cash out here. But the other part wants the damn thing to work as it was sold to me.

My advice: give 'em "another" chance to redeem themselves since you're already vested in this latest scenario (fedex labels etc). If it fails again, then pull their card and come over to the darkside. I've owned a P3P since July and haven't had one single issue. It operates and flies smooth as butter. I have over 60 flights of 15+ minutes each and over 150,000' of distance on the bird.

My father owns a Solo (no gimbal yet) and has already had one issue where he launched via the fly button and it hovered for about 20 seconds and then immediately took off with no interaction on his part. Fortunately some tall bushes stopped its flyaway and it fell to the ground with some damaged props.

I'm of the mindset these issues are software related and 3DR is in the midst of a learning curve. If they survive, their Solo platform will be a winner. Either way, I'm out flying every weekend and enjoying the hobby. I hope you do as well very soon.

 

[Justin]

I have 2 solos and they both make that noise. I had sent one back because of that noise and the new one I got made it as well. I have accepted that sound as normal and have logged over 100 flights with it.

 

[ChrisM101]

My advice: give 'em "another" chance to redeem themselves since you're already vested in this latest scenario (fedex labels etc). If it fails again, then pull their card and come over to the darkside. I've owned a P3P since July and haven't had one single issue. It operates and flies smooth as butter. I have over 60 flights of 15+ minutes each and over 150,000' of distance on the bird.

My father owns a Solo (no gimbal yet) and has already had one issue where he launched via the fly button and it hovered for about 20 seconds and then immediately took off with no interaction on his part. Fortunately some tall bushes stopped its flyaway and it fell to the ground with some damaged props.

I'm of the mindset these issues are software related and 3DR is in the midst of a learning curve. If they survive, their Solo platform will be a winner. Either way, I'm out flying every weekend and enjoying the hobby. I hope you do as well very soon.

Well theyve told me they will send me a solo and a gimbal this time, just waiting for customer service to send the fedex labels. 3RD time's a charm I hope, here i go for another month of downtime waiting though...even if its expedited.

 

[Walter]

Thanks Chris...
looks like it maybe too soon to get now... Maybe
2016

I would wait a while longer to invest. The beta comment is probbeably close to the truth. I have two Solo's and have had a few problems. Next year you will have even more choices as new manufacturers are getting into this market. With that said, in may opinion, Solo is the future of UAV's.

 

[JonW]

JonW, did you get that wobbling as well? Trying to think it through - I would guess that if a motor was faced with varying friction internally, the RPM would reduce a little, upset the balance, signal the gyros, which would then signal the ESC of that motor to step it up. Since the friction varies, there can be a cyclic nature to this loop that causes the wobble. What do you think?

Mine did not develop any wobble. At least none that was noticeable. Of course i didn't have a gimbal so if there was subtle vibration I wouldn't have known.

 

[ChrisM101]

So I got my Label, Shipping back tomorrow. Im still undecided as to take the 3rd solo or get a refund. Its not like they could deny refunding if the 3rd is bad. at this point what do i wanna do...
I could get a P3 and paint it black i suppose.... or stick it out a bit longer.