Installing Open Solo on new controller

[divsrfsh]

Hi,
I have a Solo with running OpenSolo and a recently installed Green cube. My controller recently died so I purchased a new (refurbished) one. Question: Are there special instructions for installing Open Solo on the controller. I understand I will need to update software on vehicle but is there anything else I should be aware of before starting?
Any advice is appreciated.

 

[USMC86]

Not to be a smart-ass.....
but when P2P says “follow the instructions EXACTLY” - that’s what you need to do!
IT’S NO JOKE- if you skip a step, or touch it before you’re suppose to... you just shot yourself in the foot!!! Watch his video, if he drinks, you drink. If he stands up, you stand up- if he runs to the liquor store for a six pack; I’d suggest you fill up your trunk!
However, the rewards out weigh the sweat equity!!! Good Luck! I’m sure you will be fine.

 

[USMC86]

Jester’s Drones has a video on his website- it may even be on youtube-
watch both videos if you haven’t already done it! I know how anxious one can get...

 

[IrishmanPDX]

Hi,
I have a Solo with running OpenSolo and a recently installed Green cube. My controller recently died so I purchased a new (refurbished) one. Question: Are there special instructions for installing Open Solo on the controller. I understand I will need to update software on vehicle but is there anything else I should be aware of before starting?
Any advice is appreciated.

You said you already had Open Solo running on the solo (with green cube), so just make sure that the version matches what you're loading onto the controller. The latest version was 3.0.0. So if your solo is already running that version, then you won't need to reload it onto the solo again. All you'll need to do is load open solo onto the controller and then pair it with the drone. No worries.

Your controller will reboot a couple of times, it may even seem that it powers off (it's just the screen going blank during the update process), make sure you leave the controller alone while it's doing the update. So if it goes blank, nothing happens........... keep your hands off it! Get a stop watch, set it for 10 minutes and that's how long you leave your controller alone while you do the update.

Make sure your battery is fully charged in the controller before you start the update.

 

[divsrfsh]

Not to be a smart-ass.....
but when P2P says “follow the instructions EXACTLY” - that’s what you need to do!
IT’S NO JOKE- if you skip a step, or touch it before you’re suppose to... you just shot yourself in the foot!!! Watch his video, if he drinks, you drink. If he stands up, you stand up- if he runs to the liquor store for a six pack; I’d suggest you fill up your trunk!
However, the rewards out weigh the sweat equity!!! Good Luck! I’m sure you will be fine.

Not helpful. Have you considered it was a faulty board and not me skipping a step? You're not the first to point out that I must've made a mistake because it worked for you.
I followed the instructions/video to detail. I waited for the tone before rebooting the system as instructed but the vehicle did not respond via wi-fi.
Regardless. I finished the install. The real problem was shorting out the controller. My bad.
In the future. Just answer the questions to be helpful. Don't be a bad contributor. I have been seeing this all to often on the board and frankly it's disturbing.

 

[IrishmanPDX]

Not helpful. Have you considered it was a faulty board and not me skipping a step? You're not the first to point out that I must've made a mistake because it worked for you.
I followed the instructions/video to detail. I waited for the tone before rebooting the system as instructed but the vehicle did not respond via wi-fi.
Regardless. I finished the install. The real problem was shorting out the controller. My bad.
In the future. Just answer the questions to be helpful. Don't be a bad contributor. I have been seeing this all to often on the board and frankly it's disturbing.

Hey dude.... Calm... you asked for advice and USMC86 gave you advice. I often tell people to watch the video while doing the update also and treat it like a karaoke video, you do what he does in the video, you do it when he does it and you're all fine. I don't see any mention in this post about faulty boards, why you had to replace the controller and USMC86 didn't blame you for anything. He simply advised you to follow instructions when you go to do the update. His advice and contribution was good, no need to think he was singling you out when he wasn't. We're all trying to learn things here and help each other out. Unfortunately doing this via text cannot always convey the sincerity or tone of that advice and sometimes it is all too easy to take things out of context.
Anyway, that aside, let us know how the update went, if you ran into any issues etc. It might be worth doing a follow up of your experience performing this update as a helpful guide to others.

 

[divsrfsh]

I apologize to USMC86 and you. You are correct I should be happy that anyone responds to my request.We are a small group trying to make the best of things.
I don't believe I was clear in my request.
I burned out my controller. I am trying to load Open Solo on a new one.
I cannot find a video that shows how to load files on the controller independent of the vehicle. JestersDrones website nor YouTube have anything searchable.
The vehicle is running Open Solo 3.0.0
The controller is running 3dr v0.6.14
When I paired the two the vehicle does not show up in Solex. It says no vehicle found.
They are not compatible so I cannot connect Solex and load files the traditional method. SOLEX will not load files unless it can connect to the vehicle.

Maybe, if I remove the microSD card from the burned out controller I can update everything and get off the ground. But I'm not sure if that will work. Already burned out one controller by taking it apart. Not sure I want to do that.
Thanks for listening, if you have a link that useful please post it.

 

[IrishmanPDX]

Yeah............. that is a problem. With Solex, you used to be able to download all sorts of packages which you could load onto your drone, compatible or not, which would lead to people getting into trouble. Kelly then put in a parameter check. Solex would connect to the drone, read the parameters, and then it would only download the packages that were compatible with that particular solo.
If Solex isn't seeing the vehicle, that's an issue.

Lets see....

OK, can you pair the controller to the solo? (you may get an error message saying "software mismatch" or something).

Remember, you'll need to set up a brand new connection on Solex to connect to the controller (so wifi search, find your new controller, use the default password "sololink" to connect etc.).

 

[IrishmanPDX]

You have another option also....

OpenSolo/documentation
Download the controller SD card image from here

Then refer to the instructions here:
OpenSolo/documentation

Ignore the "Copter" files section since you're not touching that, instead work from the "Controller" instructions onwards.

That will get open solo loaded onto the controller without the need to take anything apart.

 

[Wetstone]

I had to replace one controller on a stock solo that already had open solo. The trouble was that I could not update the controller firmware with open solo. Could not reset either.

After purchasing a new controller, I paired the new controller with the copter and used the original 3DR app to do it’s update. After that I was able to load open solo on the controller and the copter again using Solex.

 

[IrishmanPDX]

I did an experiment before, I thought I'd see if it was possible to upload Open Solo to a drone using a stock controller. Worked just fine. Even managed to update the controller without running the preflight update. That worked just fine too. However that was before the change in Solex that required the Parameter check.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

In the circumstances presented by the OP, it's pretty simple. Power up the new controller and pair it with the Solo. You may see messages in the 3DR Solo app telling you that you have to do an update. DON'T DO IT!! The 3DR app sees two different versions and the only thing it knows how to do is force you to update to the last 3DR version. Don't want to do that.

So once you have paired the controller and solo, ignore all the BS warnings. Go into Solex or SidePilot. Install ONLY the controller Open Solo package. There is no need to redo the copter package. Once that installation is done, you will need to reboot both and pair again. Done.

 

[divsrfsh]

For anyone following this thread I am still unable to load Open Solo on my new controller. The controller did say at one point it paired with the copter. Unfortunately, I did not get P2P instructions until after the controller did an update.
I tried to SSH into controller using WinSCP and followed instructions on Github to manually install OpenSolo Controller files.
After setting up temp/golden file the controller timed out. I saw the golden file in the tmp directory. When I restarted the controller it said "Controller updated", press A to continue. It froze, I had to pull the battery and reboot.
Now, I can no longer re-initiate the ssh command sequence. It seems the tmp folder is now located in a file called volatile.
Also, Solex does not find vehicle but does connect to Wi-fi signal..
Stuck, please advise. I'm not a coder but I've come this far.

 

[IrishmanPDX]

Have you done a reset of the controller (not just pulling the battery, but by starting with the controller powered off. Hold the power and Fly buttons simultaneously until you see the controller-updating display).

 

[divsrfsh]

IrishmanPDX, tried your suggestion with bad results. The controller froze with updating display. After 30 minutes I pulled the battery and re-booted. Now, the controller has no Wi-fi signal.
Not picking up any Solo wi-fi signal across three different devices.
Controller says waiting for solo.
Solo boots up with rapid beeping tones then displays flashing orange light on green cube and two solid green lights and rapid oscillating red and white lights on arms.
I opened the controller and tried reset button. I tried Copter pair button. I do not receive a Solo wi-fi signal across three different devices I have tried.

 

[XevetS]

You reset the controller back to the old firmware by holding the fly button and power, the solo is on the newer firmware sounds like a mismatch

 

[XevetS]

Start up the controller and peer underneath in the vents what is the LED status should be one red one green solid led, and one orange blinking led...

 

[divsrfsh]

Xevet, thank you for your quick reply. I understand what has happened. I still have the controller open. The main board has a solid red light and the wifi board has a solid green light.
No orange light.

 

[XevetS]

That indicates a bad boot re-seat the sd card and try again

 

[divsrfsh]

Peeled off the glue and r/r microsd card . Same results. No wi-fi signal.
Re-booted controller and copter twice.
Going to call it a day. thanks for the advice.